The White Devil

The White Devil is loosely based on the historical murder of Vittoria Accoramboni, a woman born in 1557 in Gubbio, a small town in the Papal States, to a noble yet impoverished family. Her parents, Claudio Accoramboni and Tarquinia Paluzzi, sought to improve their social and economic standing by arranging advantageous marriages for their children. Vittoria, who was known for her beauty and charm, quickly became the focal point of these ambitions. In 1573, she was married to Francesco Peretti, a nephew of Cardinal Montalto, who would later become Pope Sixtus V. Peretti was a member of a wealthy and powerful family and provided Vittoria with financial security and access to the upper echelons of Roman society. However, the union was not one of love but of convenience, and Vittoria soon became dissatisfied with her husband's modest position in the court.

Vittoria therefore sought to increase her influence by forming relationships with more powerful men. Her beauty and wit attracted many suitors, including Paolo Giordano I Orsini, the Duke of Bracciano. The Duke was one of the most influential noblemen in Italy and enjoyed a vast fortune and connections to the ruling elite. Despite the fact that he was already married to Isabella de’ Medici, Orsini became infatuated with Vittoria and began a passionate and illicit affair. As Vittoria pursued this affair, her marriage to  Francesco Peretti soon posed a significant problem as divorce was nearly impossible in Catholic Italy at the time. In 1581, Francesco Peretti was found brutally stabbed in what was described as an assassination. The murder took place in broad daylight in the streets of Rome, and this bold crime shocked the city.

Suspicion immediately fell on the Duke of Bracciano, whose affair with Vittoria was widely known. Although no formal charges were brought against him, it was believed that he had orchestrated the killing in order to free Vittoria from her marriage. The murder was carried out by hired assassins who were reportedly acting under the orders of the Duke. While Vittoria publicly mourned her husband’s death, she quickly married Paolo Giordano Orsini and became the Duchess of Bracciano in 1583, and this development only reinforced the belief that she had been complicit in the murder plot. Additionally, Orsini’s previous wife, Isabella de’ Medici, had already died under suspicious circumstances in 1576, and rumors alleged that Orsini had murdered her as well. The marriage between Vittoria and Orsini was therefore viewed by many as a scandalous union between two morally corrupt individuals.

Vittoria’s marriage to Bracciano elevated her to a position of power and influence, but it also made her the target of intense scrutiny and political enemies. The union was condemned by Pope Gregory XIII, who was outraged by the couple’s blatant disregard for morality and the sanctity of marriage. The couple was excommunicated, and their marriage was declared invalid by the Church. Despite this setback, Vittoria and Orsini continued to live as husband and wife, retreating to the Duke’s estates in northern Italy to escape the growing hostility in Rome.

In November 1585, Paolo Giordano Orsini died suddenly, leaving Vittoria a wealthy widow. His death was widely believed to have been caused by poison, although there was no concrete evidence to support this theory. Orsini’s death left Vittoria in a precarious position, as his family immediately contested her inheritance and sought to deprive her of the wealth and titles that she had gained through her marriage. With the powerful Orsini family against her and no significant allies at court, Vittoria sought protection from Lodovico Orsini, a cousin of her late husband. However, Lodovico harbored a deep resentment towards Vittoria, whom he blamed for Paolo Giordano’s death and for the damage to the family’s reputation.

In December 1585, just a month after the death of her second husband, Vittoria Accoramboni was brutally murdered in Padua. On the night of December 22, Lodovico Orsini and a group of armed men stormed Vittoria’s residence. They overpowered her guards and broke into her chambers, where Vittoria was staying with her brother, Flaminio, and other members of her household. The assassins mercilessly slaughtered Vittoria’s brother and servants before turning their attention to her. Vittoria herself was stabbed multiple times, and her body was left mutilated in what appeared to be a crime of personal vengeance. According to contemporary accounts, Vittoria faced her attackers with remarkable composure, reportedly saying, “I forgive you,” before succumbing to her wounds. Lodovico Orsini had seemingly sought to restore the Orsini family’s honor, which he believed Vittoria had tarnished through her marriage to Paolo Giordano and her involvement in the death of Francesco Peretti. By killing her, he hoped to erase the stain that she had left on the family name.

The murder of Vittoria Accoramboni sent shockwaves through Italy. Lodovico Orsini, the orchestrator of her murder, was arrested shortly after the crime but was soon pardoned. Vittoria’s life and death became the subject of widespread speculation and debate. She was both condemned as a manipulative and immoral woman who had orchestrated her husband’s murder and pitied as a victim of the ruthless power struggles that characterized Italian noble families during this period.