Beatrice Cenci, Italian noblewoman (born 1577)

Beatrice Cenci

Roman noblewoman (1577–1599)

Beatrice Cenci was an Italian noblewoman imprisoned and repeatedly raped by her own father. She killed him, and was tried for murder. Despite outpourings of public sympathy, Cenci was beheaded in 1599 after a murder trial in Rome that gave rise to an enduring legend.