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Derek Parker unravels a tale of duplicity, treachery and betrayal set in the most romantic period of Italian history, when children were married off for gain and society condoned the murder of adulterous wives. It has intrigued everyone who has heard of it for over 300 years. In 1697, a teenage girl named Pompilia tried to escape from her abusive husband, Count Guido Franceschini, with the help of a man called Guiseppe Caponsacchi. Arrested for adultery and put on trial, Pompilia was found guilty and sent to a nunnery. She was later allowed to return to her parents' home in Rome, where she gave birth to a son. During the night of the 3 January 1698, her elderly parents, Pietro Camparini and his wife Violante, were stabbed to death, their heads almost hacked from their bodies. Pompilia was also attacked, dying the next day from 20 stab wounds inflicted by the same five men. The men were arrested that evening. Seven weeks later, they were all convicted of one of the most notable and controversial crimes of the century and led to their executions by the Brotherhood of Death. After her death, the Franceschini continued to claim her dowry, while others tried to clear Pompilia's name.
But was Pompilia saint or sinner? Had her parents set up a match for their child-bride, knowing that she was illegitimate? Who was the father of her son? Was her murder justified (17th-century Italy condoned the killing of adulterous wives)?
