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The body of Francesco Cenci was found at the foot of the castle. Soon rumors and gossip accused Beatrice and the other family members to be the murderers. Then they were arrested and officially prosecuted for murder after Giacomo, Beatrice’s brother and the 2 castle inhabitants confessed to the conspiracy and the crime.

At the end of the most followed court case of the time, Beatrice and Lucrezia were condemned to be decapitated, her brother Giacomo to be dismembered and the younger Bernardo to spend the rest of his life in the galley.

The execution of Beatrice was attended by thousands of people in the square of Saint Angel Castle; the scene was said to have been extremely chaotic: people asked for the grace of the defendants, soldiers everywhere tried to restrain the pushing crowds and many people fell and drowned in the river…It seems that even the artist Caravaggio was there and became very shocked by what he saw.

After Lucrezia and Giacomo, a proud and beautiful Beatrice got on the gallows and dropped to her knees, ready to receive her punishment. The executioner cut her head off, and showed it to the astonished crowd.

This tragic story became a legend during the centuries and made Beatrice a popular Romanticism figure: she became a heroine for many poets, writers and musicians, for example Shelley and Stendhal wrote about her.

Rent apartments in Rome and don’t miss the chance to see Beatrice’s ghost that, according to the legend, appears in the night in front of Saint Angel Castle, showing off her decapitated head.