Introduction

Speculation has surrounded the cause of death - stated to be due to malaria, but many believe it was due to acute Arsenic Poisoning - of Grand Duke of Tuscany Francesco I de' Medici and his mistress cum wife Bianca Cappello since their deaths in 1587. The Grand Duke was beginning to accrue power and heirs at the time of his death which would have effectively shut-out the ascension of his brother Cardinal Ferdinando. A few weeks after after Ferdinando arrived at Bianca and Frederico's estate, the couple fell ill and died within hours of each other 11 days later.

During Medici Era Italy, Arsenic Poisoning was the instrument of choice to dispatch of rivals and consolidate power and the Medici family was known to employ it on occasion. An 1857 study of the Francesco's exhumed body revealed a very well preserved specimen which is consistent with Arsenic Poisoning because [arsenic] rains the body of fluids prior to death, through diarrhea and vomiting, to leave them nearly "mummified" (Mari, et al, 2006).

Events at the Time of The Couples' Death

Numerous events and scientific facts lend credence to the poisoning theory. First, Francesco's symptoms included nausea and vomiting, violent convulsions, and dryness and gastric burning among others, all of which are consistent with Arsenic Poisoning and not consistent with [malaria] (Bianca's symptoms were not made available though her doctors reported them to be similar to her husbands) (Mari, et al, 2006).

Ferdinando's actions too were quite suspicious. He did not let many people into see his brother, he sent a report to the Holy See stating that his brother's condition was brought on by his poor eating habits and Bianca's resulted from grief, and after their death he immediately had autopsies conducted to have documentation on the "non-toxic" cause of death of the couple, all of which make oe wonder about the extent of his involvement in his brother's illness (Mari, et al, 2006). Not too mention, Ferdinando was the one who profited the greatest from Francesco's death.

Recent Study's Findings

A recent study undertaken by the Mari, et al tested three tissue samples, hair samples, and two control samples taken from Francesco's birth site, where they also discovered the remains of an unidentified female believed to be Bianca. The control samples showed no elevated levels of [arsenic] present in the tomb thus guaranteeing that the [arsenic] present in the other samples was obtained prior to death. The hair samples, taken from Francesco's beard, did not show an elevated levels of [arsenic] which rules out the possibility of chronic arsenic exposure. However, the authors believe, this does not negate the possibility of acute Arsenic Poisoning because "the survival time (the time elapsed from the onset of symptoms to eventual death - 11 days) could have been too short for a significant incorporation of arsenic into beard hair" (Mari, et al, 2006).

The tissue samples, though, tend to support Arsenic Poisoning as the cause of death. [Mari, et al.] found that [arsenic] levels are significantly higher and are in the range of of others who have died of acute [arsenic] exposure, either accidental or intentional (Mari, et al, 2006).

Conclusions

The above evidence led Mari, et al. to conclude that the Great Duke and Duchess were murdered by the use of [arsenic] and did not die from [malaria] (Mari, et al, 2006). It must also be noted that, unlike with other possible assassinations most notably [Napoleon's], no great outcry has resulted from this study's findings and no refutations have been published to date.

References

Maria Sanminiatelli, "Scientists May Have Found Medici Murderer", The Associated Press Online, January 4, 2007. Accessed on April 23, 2007.

ScienceDaily.com. "Arsenic may have killed Medici Couple". January $, 2007. Accessed on April 23, 2007.

Francesco Mari, Aldo Polettini, Donnatella LIppi, Elisabetta Bertol. "The Mysterious Death of Francesco I de' Medici and Bianca Cappello: An Arsenic Murder?". British Medical Journal 333, (2006), p. 1299-1301.