Beatrice Cenci. Beatrice Cenci was a young Roman noblewoman who murdered her father, Count Francesco Cenci.
The subsequent, lurid murder trial in Rome gave rise to an enduring legend about her. She was condemned and beheaded for the crime in 1599.
Beatrice was the daughter of Ersilia Santacroce and Count Francesco Cenci, a violent and dissolute man. When Beatrice was seven years old her mother died; Beatrice and her elder sister Antonina were sent to a small monastery, Santa Croce a Montecitorio for Franciscan Tertiary nuns in the Colonna district of Rome.
The family lived in Rome at the Palazzo Cenci in the rione Regola. The members of the extended family living together included Count Francesco's second wife, Lucrezia Petroni; Beatrice's elder brother, Giacomo; and Bernardo, Francesco's son from his second marriage.
They also possessed a castle, La Rocca of Petrella Salto, a small village in the Abruzzi mountains northeast of Rome. According to historical details leading to the legend, Francesco Cenci abused his first wife Ersilia Santa Croce and his sons and raped Beatrice multiple times, thus being guilty of incest. He was jailed for other crimes, but due to his noble status, he was freed early. Beatrice tried to inform the authorities about the frequent mistreatment, but nothing happened, although many in Rome knew what kind of person her father was. When he found out that his daughter ha
The subsequent, lurid murder trial in Rome gave rise to an enduring legend about her. She was condemned and beheaded for the crime in 1599.
Beatrice was the daughter of Ersilia Santacroce and Count Francesco Cenci, a violent and dissolute man. When Beatrice was seven years old her mother died; Beatrice and her elder sister Antonina were sent to a small monastery, Santa Croce a Montecitorio for Franciscan Tertiary nuns in the Colonna district of Rome.
The family lived in Rome at the Palazzo Cenci in the rione Regola. The members of the extended family living together included Count Francesco's second wife, Lucrezia Petroni; Beatrice's elder brother, Giacomo; and Bernardo, Francesco's son from his second marriage.
They also possessed a castle, La Rocca of Petrella Salto, a small village in the Abruzzi mountains northeast of Rome. According to historical details leading to the legend, Francesco Cenci abused his first wife Ersilia Santa Croce and his sons and raped Beatrice multiple times, thus being guilty of incest. He was jailed for other crimes, but due to his noble status, he was freed early. Beatrice tried to inform the authorities about the frequent mistreatment, but nothing happened, although many in Rome knew what kind of person her father was. When he found out that his daughter ha
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