Beatrice Cenci
Beatrice Cenci was a member of a prominent Roman family in the late 16th century, known for her tragic life story that has captivated audiences through history. Born into a powerful lineage, her early years were marred by the violent behavior of her father, Francesco Cenci, following the death of her mother. Beatrice and her family faced dire circumstances, leading them to plot the murder of Francesco in 1598 due to his abusive treatment. This act resulted in a highly publicized trial, where Beatrice, her mother, and her brother were sentenced to death, provoking widespread sympathy among the Roman populace.
The aftermath of her execution saw Beatrice transformed into a legendary figure, embodying both victimhood and moral complexity. Her story has inspired numerous literary and artistic works, including Percy Bysshe Shelley’s play "The Cenci" and has been a subject of debate regarding her true nature and circumstances. Themes surrounding her life delve into issues of abuse, societal hypocrisy, and the human condition, making her a poignant subject of cultural exploration. Beatrice Cenci's legacy endures as a symbol of tragedy, resilience, and the complexities of morality, continuing to intrigue historians and artists alike.
Subject Terms
Beatrice Cenci
Italian noblewoman
- Born: February 6, 1577
- Birthplace: Rome (now in Italy)
- Died: September 11, 1599
- Place of death: Rome (now in Italy)
Major offense: Murder
Active: September 9, 1598
Locale: L’Aquila, Naples (now in Italy)
Sentence: Death by decapitation
Early Life
Beatrice Cenci (beh-ah-TREE-cheh CHEHN-chee) was born into an old, respected, and powerful Roman family. Her paternal grandfather, Cristoforo Cenci, dramatically increased the Cenci fortune through financial transactions such as embezzling the papal treasury. Her father, Francesco Cenci, was a criminally violent and depraved nobleman. Her mother, Ersilia Santacroce, died on April 18, 1584, when Beatrice was only seven. Beatrice and her sister Antonina were educated at the Monastery of Monte Citorio. They were brought home by Francesco when he married Lucrezia Petroni in 1593. Within two years, Antonina married and died in childbirth; Rocco, one of Beatrice’s nefarious brothers, was killed in a duel; and Francesco took Beatrice and Lucrezia to a castle at La Petrella del Salto in the Abruzzi mountains. By April, 1595, La Petrella had become the women’s prison.
Criminal Career
Subjected to cruel and allegedly unnatural treatment by Francesco, Beatrice and Lucrezia contemplated escape, but they were literally trapped. Beatrice had written to relatives begging to be released from her father’s control through either of two means available to a young woman—to become a wife or a nun—but no help came. Beatrice and Lucrezia, with the help of other family members and retainers, devised a plot to do away with Francesco.
In 1598, Olimpio Calvetti, the warden of the castle and likely Beatrice’s lover, along with Marzio Catalano, murdered Francesco by driving a spike into his head, then threw the corpse over a balcony. The Cenci family claimed it was an accident, pointing to a hole in the balcony through which Francesco allegedly fell, but priests and villagers cleaning the blood-encrusted corpse disputed the tenuous evidence.
Legal Action and Outcome
Calvetti attempted to escape to the hills but was ambushed and beheaded. Catalano, interrogated while incarcerated in the Tordinona Prison, died in custody. For the Cencis, there was no clemency, despite the ethical ambiguity of their situation: Beatrice, Lucrezia, and Beatrice’s brother Giacomo were sentenced to death. Romans sympathized immensely with Beatrice, with thousands weeping during the procession and execution. Beatrice and Lucrezia were publicly beheaded; Giacomo was tortured, then drawn and quartered and his skull crushed; and the youngest Cenci brother, Bernardo, made to observe the executions of the others, was sentenced to life imprisonment, although he was released soon thereafter. Clement VIII, who purportedly benefited greatly from the Cenci executions, confiscated Cenci property. Legend claims that public sympathy for Beatrice ran so high that young girls were said to have placed garlands on her newly severed head.
Impact
The lasting impact of Beatrice Cenci has proven to be the legend that grew after her death—that of a young girl, beautiful in her innocent purity, embodying the figures of victim and villain, martyr and murderer. Some historians assert that Beatrice was not an innocent victim but a woman in her twenties entrusted by Francesco with household management, temporarily imprisoned because she was carrying Calvetti’s child.
Perhaps because of the ethical ambiguity of her situation and its pathetic universality, Cenci also became the subject of legend in literature and art. She has been examined, cross-examined, adored, and reviled in literature, including in works such as Percy Bysshe Shelley’s The Cenci (pb. 1819), Alfred Nobel’s tragedy Nemesis (1896), Alberto Moravia’s Beatrice Cenci (pr. 1955), and Antonin Artaud’s Les Cenci (pr. 1935). A haunting portrait attributed to Baroque painter Guido Reni was long thought to be that of Cenci and gained fame by allegedly sparking Shelley’s interest in the woman; however, modern-day art authorities believe that the image most likely is not that of Cenci. Other themes explored in works about Cenci range from religious hypocrisy and aristocratic corruption to the examination of self and soul and the functioning of the human psyche under duress.
Bibliography
Burkhardt, Jacob. The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy. Reprint. New York: Random House, 1982. Considered by many to be the masterwork on Beatrice’s milieu.
Jack, Belinda. Beatrice’s Spell: The Enduring Legend of Beatrice Cenci. New York: Other Press, 2005. Explores the effect of Beatrice on authors.
Ricci, Corrado. Beatrice Cenci. 2 vols. Translated by Morris Bishop and Henry Longan Stuart. New York: Boni and Liveright, 1925. Foundation for many twentieth century interpretations of Cenci’s story, Ricci’s account draws on Antonio Bertolotti’s Francesco Cenci e la sua famiglia (1879), the first modern account to rely on primary sources.