Beatrice Cenci was - to take a sample of sound-bites over the centuries - a 'goddess of beauty', a 'fallen angel', a 'most pure damsel'. She was also a convicted murderer. This is a charismatic combination, not least here in Italy, and her name has lived on, especially in Rome, where she was born and where she was executed in 1599.

LRB 2 July 1998 | PDF Download