Maria Bertoletti Toldini

Maria Bertoletti Toldini
Born1656 (1656)
Trentino
Died14 March 1716(1716-03-14) (aged 59–60)
Brentonico
Cause of death
Execution
Known forBeing one of the final victims of the witch trials in Northern Italy
Criminal penalty
Sentenced to death
Criminal status
Rehabilitated by modern review

Maria Bertoletti Toldini (c. 1656 – 14 March 1716) was an Italian farmer who was executed in Brentonico for witchcraft.

Biography

Before the trial

Toldini was known by the nickname 'Toldina.'

By the time of her arrest in August 1715, she was married to her second husband. She had no children with either; her first husband had died. Widowed women were often disadvantaged socially and vulnerable to accusations of witchcraft.

Accusations

The identity of who first accused Toldini of witchcraft is lost from the historical record, though she was tried not long after three children had gone missing from Brentonico.

According to surviving trial documents, Toldini was accused of having practised witchcraft since the age of 13. She was charged with murdering the missing local children, aged two, three, and five. Locals were particularly outraged by the authorities' claim that she had killed the eldest of the three by throwing them into a pot of boiling cheese.

Other accusations included heresy, adultery, blasphemy, sodomy, and killing the crops of local farms and vineyards through supernatural means. She allegedly derived her powers from a demon associate that accompanied her to witches' Sabbaths. Unusually for the time, Toldini did not attempt to deflect blame by accusing any other women of being witches or accomplices.

Trial

Toldini maintained her innocence and was represented at trial by lawyer Giovanni Battista del Pozzo, who argued that the court had shown no evidence of her guilt. In a defence that was ultimately unsuccessful, he contended that natural causes were to blame for some of the events ascribed to his client's supposed sorcery.

Toldini was found guilty on 10 March. She was publicly executed by beheading on 14 March 1716, with her body burnt at the stake. Her death marked one of the final executions for witchcraft conducted in the Trento area, and she was the last Italian woman to be burned at the stake for witchcraft.

Rehabilitation

In October 2015, nearly 300 years after Toldini's execution, Brentonico's city council petitioned the Trento Court of Appeals to revisit her conviction.

The efforts were led by Quinto Canali, regional culture minister, who felt compelled to clear Toldini's name after watching a play based on her life. Canali criticised the comedic production for making light of Toldini's death, which he described as "a murder that was not justified". By advancing Canali's cause, mayor Christian Perenzoni explained that the council hoped to address the "folkloric excess" of Italy's witch trials by restoring Toldini's "ethical, moral, and civic dignity".

Toldini's case was subsequently reviewed in March 2016, which vindicated her and concluded that she had been targeted by the local sacristan's family over an inheritance dispute.

References

  1. ↑ Danilo Curti, Giuseppe Gorfer, Rodolfo Taiani, Giuliano Tecilla, Protagonisti. I personaggi che hanno fatto il Trentino. Dal Rinascimento al Duemila, Trento, Società iniziative editoriali, 1997.
  2. 1 2 Theitic (2019-12-04). The Witches' Almanac, Standard Edition: Issue 39, Spring 2020 to Spring 2021: Stones – The Foundation of Earth. The Witches’ Almanac. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-881098-52-2.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Briggs, Mark (2025-10-31). "What witch hunts teach us about modern femicide in Italy - LSE Women, Peace and Security". LSE Women, Peace and Security -. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Kirchgaessner, Stephanie (2015-10-16). "Woman convicted of witchcraft to get retrial 300 years on". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
  5. 1 2 3 Wilkinson, Sophie (2015-10-16). "Witch To Be Given Re-Trial, 300 Years After Her Execution". Grazia. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Day, Michael (2015-10-08). "Mayor seeks pardon for an Italian 'witch' executed 300 years ago". The Independent. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 ANSA, Agenzia (2015-10-07). "Town wants 18th-century 'witch' retried". Agenzia ANSA (in Italian and English). Retrieved 2026-10-10.
  8. 1 2 Lea, Henry Charles (2017-01-31). Materials Toward a History of Witchcraft, Volume 3. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 1442. ISBN 978-1-5128-2059-1.
  9. ↑ Lea, Henry Charles (2016-11-11). Minor Historical Writings and Other Essays. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 28. ISBN 978-1-5128-0361-7.
  10. 1 2 Bevernage, Berber; Raphael, Lutz (2023-07-24). Professional Historians in Public: Old and New Roles Revisited. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. p. 5. ISBN 978-3-11-118604-7.
  11. ↑ 2020-2021: Le nostre antenate [2020-2021: Our ancestors] (PDF) (in Italian). Provincial Commission for Equal Opportunities between Women and Men. September 2020. p. 20.