Scientists Crack Renaissance Murder Mysteries

February 05, 2008

Two great cold cases of the Renaissance have been solved.

Italian scientists say they can prove that Giovanni Pico della Mirandola and Agnolo Ambrogini, better known as Poliziano, were given a lethal dose of arsenic.

Pico della Mirandola and Poliziano, two of the geniuses at the 15th century court of Lorenzo de' Medici, died within a few weeks of each other in 1494.

Pico the philosopher, celebrated for his prodigious memory, died at only 31, Poliziano the poet at 40.

Rumours about poisoning spread quickly. Another theory was that they died from syphilis, which killed thousands in Europe at the end of the 15th century.

Now, more than 500 years after their mysterious deaths, DNA analysis on the exhumed remains has established beyond doubt that Pico and Poliziano were poisoned.

Clear evidence of poisoning comes from high levels of arsenic, especially in Pico’s tissues and nails, the Italian news agency Adnkronos reports.

The murder was ordered by Piero dei Medici, the son of Lorenzo “The Magnificent”, according to Silvano Vinceti, head of Italy's National Committee for the Valuation of Historical and Cultural and Environmental Assets.

"Combining the results of our analyses with historical documents that have only recently come to light, it seems that Piero de Medici is the person most likely to have ordered the assassination,'' he told the news agency Ansa . ''However, the person who actually carried out Pico's murder was probably Cristoforo da Calamaggiore, his secretary."

The analysis have also revealed how the writers looked like. Pico's skeleton suggests he was a robust man well over six feet tall. He suffered from a hammer toe and inflamed joints and had an extremely large head. His cranial capacity was 1,768 cubic centimetres, compared to an average capacity of 1,450 cubic centimetres.

On the contrary, Poliziano was just five foot tall, had a pronounced nose and some problems with his neck.