women of history

Beatrice Cenci by Harriet Hosmer

In 1857, American sculptor Harriet Hosmer presented this beautiful work in marble in which she represented Beatrice Cenci, a Roman noblewoman accused to murder her father, the Count Francesco Cenci. She was beheaded in 1599 after a lurid murder trial that had place in Rome, and that gave rise to an enduring legend about her.

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