Palazzo Cenci

A veritable house of horrors, Palazzo Cenci was the scene of one of the 16th century’s most infamous murders. The victim was the sadistic Francesco Cenci, who was killed by his daughter Beatrice and wife Lucrecia after submitting them to years of abuse. After a long, drawn-out investigation the two perpetrators were beheaded in 1599 on Ponte Sant’Angelo in front of a vast and largely sympathetic crowd. Shelley based his tragedy The Cenci on the family, and a famous portrait of Beatrice by Guido Reni hangs in the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica – Palazzo Barberini. It shows a sweet-faced young girl with soft eyes and fair hair.