Giovanna Bonanno
Encyclopedia
Giovanna Bonanno was an alleged Italian witch and professional poison
er.
Little is known of Giovanna Bonanno's early life, though she is believed to have been the same woman as Anna Panto, mentioned in 1744 as the wife of one Vincenzo Bonanno. She was a beggar in Palermo, Sicily in the reign of Domenico Caracciolo, Viceroy of Sicily (term 1781-1786). During her trial, she confessed to being a poisoner, and that she sold poison to women who wanted to murder their husbands. The typical client was a woman with a lover; she bought the first dose to give her husband stomach pains, the second to get him to hospital
, and the third to kill him. The doctor
was, in these cases, unable to ascertain the cause of the deaths. In the Ziza quarter in Palermo, several suspicious cases had occurred. The wife of a baker
, a nobleman
who had wasted his family's fortune, and another baker's wife (who was thought to have had an affair with a gardener) had all become ill.
One day, a friend of Bonanno, Maria Pitarra, was delivering a poison when she realized that the victim was to be the son of a friend, and decided to warn the mother. The mother made an order for the poison herself, and when Bonanno arrived, she was arrested. The trial opened in October 1788. Bonanno was accused of sorcery. Some of the apothecaries who were selling her potions were called to testify. She was executed by hanging on 30 July 1789.
Poison
In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
er.
Little is known of Giovanna Bonanno's early life, though she is believed to have been the same woman as Anna Panto, mentioned in 1744 as the wife of one Vincenzo Bonanno. She was a beggar in Palermo, Sicily in the reign of Domenico Caracciolo, Viceroy of Sicily (term 1781-1786). During her trial, she confessed to being a poisoner, and that she sold poison to women who wanted to murder their husbands. The typical client was a woman with a lover; she bought the first dose to give her husband stomach pains, the second to get him to hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
, and the third to kill him. The doctor
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
was, in these cases, unable to ascertain the cause of the deaths. In the Ziza quarter in Palermo, several suspicious cases had occurred. The wife of a baker
Baker
A baker is someone who bakes and sells bread, Cakes and similar foods may also be produced, as the traditional boundaries between what is produced by a baker as opposed to a pastry chef have blurred in recent decades...
, a nobleman
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
who had wasted his family's fortune, and another baker's wife (who was thought to have had an affair with a gardener) had all become ill.
One day, a friend of Bonanno, Maria Pitarra, was delivering a poison when she realized that the victim was to be the son of a friend, and decided to warn the mother. The mother made an order for the poison herself, and when Bonanno arrived, she was arrested. The trial opened in October 1788. Bonanno was accused of sorcery. Some of the apothecaries who were selling her potions were called to testify. She was executed by hanging on 30 July 1789.