Matteuccia de Francesco

Confessed to having flown on the back of a demon; burned to death, Papal States, 1428

Matteuccia was a nun and alleged Italian witch, known as the "Witch of Ripabianca" after the village where she lived

Accused of being a prostitute, having committed desecration with other women, and of the selling of love potions since 1426, she was put on trial in Todi in 1428

She confessed to having sold medicine and of having flown to a tree in the shape of a fly on the back of a demon after having smeared herself with an ointment made of the blood of new-born children

Matteuccia was judged guilty of sorcery and sentenced to be burned at the stake

Her case was one of the earliest witch trials in Europe, and perhaps the first case where a witch is mentioned flying in the air

One of a series working with AI to give face to women executed as witches; these form part of a broader collection of Horror Portraits at www.horrorportraits.xyz

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Can be used as #PFP and #wallpaper

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