In the 15th to 18th century, many people mostly women were killed due to witchcraft and according to many historians, around 50,000 to 60,000 people died due to accusations of witchcraft. This was the case in Brentonico in 1716, when Maria Bertoletti Toldini was beheaded due to witchcraft accusations however her case has been reopened in court as a judge is set to hear the case again.
Maria Bertoletti Toldini was a 60 year old window who was childless and found guilty of crime viewed as witchcraft which led to public execution where she was beheaded and burned in a place which is currently a green public park in Brentonico. Quinto Canali led the charge to clear Toldini’s name after watching a theatrical story on the accounts of Toldini’s death and according to Canali “if we see in our history that there was something that was wrong against humanity, we have to know it and say that this history was wrong.” Canali also added that “it is important now just as it was important 100 years ago and it will be important 100 years from now. There was a murder that was not justified, that should not have happened. They killed a person with motivations that didn’t exist. She was innocent.”
Maria Bertoletti Toldini’s case was one of the last in terms of executing a person due to witchcraft around the Brentonico area and during her time, she was defended by a lawyer who’s points where grounded on reality rather than archaic thinking, which showed how public perception began to evolve in terms of the believe of magic according to historian, Carlo Andrea Postinger.
So far, responses on the case have been mixed as some see it as a valid case however some also see it as serving no purpose and according to an associate professor at the University of Southern Denmark - “Of course she was a victim, but there were numerous victims. What about all the homosexuals who were burned at the stake? You have numerous people who were harmed in crimes in the past that would never be considered a crime today,” she also added that. “I think that is just an example of not acknowledging the past and history on history’s terms.”
According to Canali, “If you let something go that happened 300 years ago, maybe you will let something go that happens now. The past is yesterday, but it is also 300 years ago.”
[Source: TheGuardian]
Maria Bertoletti Toldini’s case was one of the last in terms of executing a person due to witchcraft around the Brentonico area and during her time, she was defended by a lawyer who’s points where grounded on reality rather than archaic thinking, which showed how public perception began to evolve in terms of the believe of magic according to historian, Carlo Andrea Postinger.
So far, responses on the case have been mixed as some see it as a valid case however some also see it as serving no purpose and according to an associate professor at the University of Southern Denmark - “Of course she was a victim, but there were numerous victims. What about all the homosexuals who were burned at the stake? You have numerous people who were harmed in crimes in the past that would never be considered a crime today,” she also added that. “I think that is just an example of not acknowledging the past and history on history’s terms.”
According to Canali, “If you let something go that happened 300 years ago, maybe you will let something go that happens now. The past is yesterday, but it is also 300 years ago.”
[Source: TheGuardian]