Medical documents and autopsy reports imply that tertial malarial fevers caused the death of the Grand Duke Francesco I de’ Medici (1531-1587) and his wife Bianca Cappello (1548-1587). However, shortly after their deaths, rumours spread that the Grand Duke and his wife were poisoned with arsenic by Francesco I’s brother, Cardinal Ferdinando I (1549-1609). Four centuries of speculations about the couple’s mode of death have been continued unabated. Bone samples were examined for the presence of Plasmodium falciparum histidine rich-protein-2 (P.f.HRP-2) and P. falciparum lactate dehydrogenase (pLDH) using two different qualitative double-antibody immunoassays. Our findings provide the first modern laboratory evidence of the presence of both P. falciparum ancient proteins in the skeletal remains of Francesco I de’ Medici. Extraction of P. falciparum aDNA from Francesco I skeletal remains is ongoing. We confirm the clinical diagnosis of the court physicians using modern methods. Francesco was affected by falciparum malaria at the time of his death. After four centuries, we absolve Grand Duke Ferdinando I from the charge of fratricide.
Cardinal Ferdinando I de’ Medici was not his brother’s killer: Grand Duke Francesco I of Tuscany died from malaria
GIUFFRA, VALENTINA;FORNACIARI, GINO
2010-01-01
Abstract
Medical documents and autopsy reports imply that tertial malarial fevers caused the death of the Grand Duke Francesco I de’ Medici (1531-1587) and his wife Bianca Cappello (1548-1587). However, shortly after their deaths, rumours spread that the Grand Duke and his wife were poisoned with arsenic by Francesco I’s brother, Cardinal Ferdinando I (1549-1609). Four centuries of speculations about the couple’s mode of death have been continued unabated. Bone samples were examined for the presence of Plasmodium falciparum histidine rich-protein-2 (P.f.HRP-2) and P. falciparum lactate dehydrogenase (pLDH) using two different qualitative double-antibody immunoassays. Our findings provide the first modern laboratory evidence of the presence of both P. falciparum ancient proteins in the skeletal remains of Francesco I de’ Medici. Extraction of P. falciparum aDNA from Francesco I skeletal remains is ongoing. We confirm the clinical diagnosis of the court physicians using modern methods. Francesco was affected by falciparum malaria at the time of his death. After four centuries, we absolve Grand Duke Ferdinando I from the charge of fratricide.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
