Syphilis in Maria Salviati (1499–1543), Wife of Giovanni de’ Medici of the Black Bands

Abstract

exhumed the well-preserved skeleton of Maria Salviati (1499-1543), wife of Giovanni de' Medici, named "Giovanni of the Black Bands," in Florence in 2012. Many lytic lesions had affected the skull of Maria on the frontal bone and on the parietal bones. These lesions are pathognomonic for syphilis. An ancient diagnosis of syphilis for Maria Salviati does not emerge from the historical sources, although the symptoms manifested in her last years of life are compatible with a colorectal localization, including severe hemorrhages, caused by syphilitic infection. The case of Maria Salviati can be compared with those of other famous Italian noblewomen of the Renaissance, such as Isabella of Aragon (1470Aragon ( -1524 and Maria of Aragon (1503-1568. Paleopathology made it possible to directly observe a "secret illness" to which noblewomen were susceptible as a result of the sexual conduct of their husbands.

Renaissance mercurial therapy in the mummies of Saint Domenico Maggiore in Naples: a palaeopathological and palaeotoxicological approach

“…The Marquise of Pescara Ferdinand Francis of Avalos (NASD 11a) showed high values of mercury (218 ppm). We have little nosographic information on the Marquis of Pescara, but syphilis was extremely widespread in the armies of the early 16th century and among the military captains, who typically had extramarital affairs not only with stable lovers but also with prostitutes (Tognotti 2009;2014;Fornaciari et al 2020). Ferdinand Francis of Avalos died in 1525, right in the middle of the syphilitic pandemic in Europe.…”