Toxicology in the Borgias period: The mystery of Cantarella poison. (30th April 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Karamanou, Marianna; Androutsos, George; Hayes, A Wallace; Tsatsakis, Aristides
• Is Part Of: Toxicology research and application. Volume 2(2018)
• Publication Date: 2018-04-30
• Subjects: Borgias -- poisoning -- cantarella -- history of toxicology -- arsenic; Toxicology -- Periodicals; 571.9505
• DOI: 10.1177/2397847318771126
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2397-8473

Abstract

Since antiquity, poisoning has been a traditional political weapon. In Renaissance Italy, murder in political circles became so frequent that nobody believed in the natural death of popes, cardinals, and royalty. This period in history was marked by poisoning attempts of the Borgia family. It was said that they were using several kinds of poison among which cantarella a variation of arsenic, the composition of which remains unknown. In our article, we try to trace cantarella's composition and etymology.