The Mysterious Death of Bona Sforza

Jan Matejko, Poisoning of Queen Bona, 1859, National Museum in Kraków

In 1859, Jan Matejko finished a painting showing his interpretation of the events that brought Bona Sforza to her deathbed. On the throne sits Bona Sforza herself, recognisable by several symbols: her family's—the Sforza's—and Poland's and Lithuania's coats of arms, all carved into the throne's wood. The figures surrounding her remain mysterious, as their identities are not as clearly defined as Bona’s.

On the left, a figure leaning from behind the throne could be Bona's lady-in-waiting, or perhaps Gian Lorenzo Pappacoda himself, who organised the poisoning and was interested in Bona's fortune. On the right side, a figure passing a glass to Bona might be her doctor Antonio di Matera, who was later accused of giving the poison. The glass itself—does it hold water or poison?

The painting communicates a suspicious atmosphere, suggesting that something will go wrong. Jan Matejko captured the mystery and doubts that remained unanswered 300 years later. Even now, knowing the sequence of events that happened before and after Queen Bona's death, the exact truth of what occurred in that room remains unknown. The painting shows a scene where those closest to the queen may have been the very ones who killed her.

Decision to Leave Poland and Move to Bari

The key figure in Bona's death story is Gian Lorenzo Pappacoda. He came from one of the most important Neapolitan families of its time, which had gained its prestigious position through money, corrupt affairs, and betrayals. The story of Gian Lorenzo betraying Bona Sforza is probably the most famous one.

Francesco Pappacoda, Gian Lorenzo's father, worked for Bona and took care of the Bari castle. Gian Lorenzo came to Poland at the end of the 1540s as just a young boy. After gaining Bona's trust, he was later assigned as governor of the Duchy of Bari. His first assigned task by Bona was to meet the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, and legitimise Queen Bona's rights to the duchy. After the successful mission, Bona trusted him with further work on Bari's castle that he could take over from his father.

It's not clear when Bona's attachment to Gianlorenzo started, but at a certain moment she began to call him "my Gianlorenzo." It's known that he heavily influenced Bona to return to Bari and the Apennine Peninsula, which she hadn't stepped foot in for decades. The main argument that convinced her was that in Naples, Bona was perceived as highly respected and honoured—a feeling that she hadn't received in Poland—and that she had high chances of becoming queen of Naples.

Bona was looking forward to this and to her promising future so much that she started preparing to leave Poland, though she kept repeating that this was a temporary leave and that sooner or later she would return to Poland. Without any worries, she left her goods to her son, Sigismund II Augustus, who was already serving as king of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. Sigismund II hadn't agreed with this idea. He perceived it negatively and tried various options to convince his mother to remain in Poland.

Bona's stated intention for leaving was to improve her health and to fully enjoy her accumulated properties and goods. To secure her position, she planned to make an offer to Philip II, the King of Spain—proposing to grant him some of her lands while keeping the main part of her treasure. Since Gianlorenzo was Bona's secretary, he was sent to Spain to negotiate with the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. After some time spent resolving all the obstacles and finalizing the queen's travel plans, Bona left Kraków in 1555.

Sigismund II was not happy with his mother's decision to leave Poland. To try to keep her there, he set a condition: Bona would have to leave him all the lands she had accumulated in Polish-Lithuanian territory, including those she had received as a wedding gift from his father, Sigismund I the Old. Bona agreed. She was determined to make the long-awaited trip to Bari.

On the day of the queen's departure, Bona's daughters greeted her in tears—she was leaving without any return date. Meanwhile, her only son, Sigismund II, didn't show up to say his final farewells. After more than three months of traveling and visiting other lands, Bona and her court finally reached Bari, where Gianlorenzo greeted her. Bona took residence in Bari's castle, which was partially under construction under Gianlorenzo's supervision.

Not much time had passed when Sigismund II made her an offer: he would return all the lands he had demanded, on one condition—that she come back to Poland. But at that time, returning was not in Bona's interests. She put this and any other important decisions on hold so she could enjoy her stay in Bari.

Enjoying her stay was not difficult for Bona. Gianlorenzo kept her entertained with many different attractions, such as new palaces and gardens that she could take care of. As time passed, making a decision became more difficult. At a certain point, Bona found herself facing a choice she had been trying to avoid: leave Bari and return to Poland to the same routine, or move to Naples, where there was a chance to become queen. For either option, she had supporters in her family and court. Her cousin Maria d'Aragona noticed that Bona was becoming a slave to those who had once put her on top—indirectly pointing to Gian Lorenzo Pappacoda.

In Bari, caught between doubts about Poland and Naples, Bona found herself in an almost Hamletian situation. On one hand, she was involved in managing her estates and properties. On the other, to keep her good image with the citizens of Bari, she participated in countless festivities and tried to keep up with court life. Though she didn't have a monotonous life at all, she preferred to have her food served in her own room, where she dined undisturbed. Bona kept herself busy thinking about her future, but she didn't do even the bare minimum to improve her present situation.

Sudden and Mysterious Illness

For some time, Gianlorenzo had been urging Bona to review her testament. He offered to help with this work. During the review, he made a suggestion: include the King of Spain, Philip II, in the testament. Bona found the idea convincing. Philip II would respect the agreement with the emperor, Charles V, allowing Bona to enjoy her accumulated lands and treasures while she lived. When she died, Philip II would become the natural heir to those lands. As for how much Pappacoda himself would receive after her death—that would depend on the Spanish crown.

A few months after the testament review, Bona appeared to be thriving. She was healthy, energetic, planning new projects. Then, without warning, she fell gravely ill. Not even the doctors could understand what had happened.

A man living in the castle of Bari, Cesare Farini, later revealed what he believed to be the truth: the mysterious illness was a poisoning, organised by Gian Lorenzo Pappacoda himself. According to Farini, Pappacoda had involved Bona's own doctor, Giovanni Antonio di Matera, and the kitchen chef, Paolo Matrillo.

Nine days passed. The court and city shared a grim expectation: Bona might not survive.

Weakened by the illness and sensing her end might be near, Bona made a decision. She wanted to make her final testament in front of a small group of witnesses. When the time came to dictate her wishes, Pappacoda was naturally among those who gathered at her bedside. The testament contained everything he had suggested earlier—Philip II would receive all the Italian states. But now Philip II and Pappacoda would divide most of the inheritance between them, leaving Sigismund II with whatever remained. Bona assigned annual pensions to her daughters and left pensions to others in the court and certain institutions according to their service. When all was calculated, besides King Philip II, the greatest beneficiary was Gian Lorenzo Pappacoda. He would receive multiple lands, treasures, and entire farms.

But by the next morning, something unexpected happened. Bona's condition improved and her mind cleared. With her senses restored, she immediately summoned the secretary of the castle chancellor, Scipione Catapano, and gave him urgent instructions: recall all the acts sent the previous day regarding the first testament. It had become clear to her—Gian Lorenzo Pappacoda had fooled her—and she ordered preparations for a new testament.

The Second Testament

For the second testament, Bona invited only those she trusted most: Annibale Carmigiano, who had been present at the first testament, Lucrezia Critopoli, and Nicola de Foscis. In their presence, the second will was written, and this time everything changed. What had earlier been assigned to the King of Spain now went to her son, Sigismund II Augustus. She increased the annual pensions to her daughters—Isabella, Sofia, Caterina, and Anna. To Pappacoda, Bona remained generous, leaving him an annual pension and the city of Capruso. The testament also specified where she wanted her body buried and who should organise the burial. Once completed, the testament was read and signed by Bona, the three witnesses, and the notary.

That same day, Queen Bona's health took a turn for the worse. She died before the next day's dawn—November 19, 1557. Despite all the poisoning suspicions and accusations, the official cause of death was illness.

Those who knew about the second testament's existence protested against Gian Lorenzo Pappacoda and the first testament's executors, who took the initiative to organise the funeral. To avoid trouble and arguments, they decided to embalm her body and bury it in the Basilica of Saint Nicholas.

Hereditary Headaches

If Bona was now resting in peace, those mentioned in her testaments were not. After the funeral ceremony, Pappacoda rushed back to the castle with alarming news: during the funeral, he had learned that a second testament existed, signed by Bona, and it would very likely be legalised. He ordered his men to find and bring the secretary of the chancellor, Scipione Catapano, but no matter how thoroughly they searched, Catapano was nowhere to be found. Fearing for his life, he had disappeared during the funeral and escaped from Bari.

Pappacoda's paranoia created a fearful atmosphere in Bari. Anyone who knew anything about either testament preferred to remain silent for their own safety. The only one who dared to speak up was Sigismondo Fanelli, who had accompanied Bona from the court of Kraków. He publicly declared that the first testament had been forced upon the queen when she was out of her senses and not fully conscious, that Pappacoda had exploited the situation to enrich himself, and that he had ordered the rooms sealed to prevent witnesses from later challenging him. Despite Fanelli's accusations, Pappacoda had more supporters than opponents regarding the legality of the first testament.

While things went relatively smoothly for Pappacoda in Bari, the situation changed dramatically once Bona's son, Sigismund II Augustus, learned of his mother's death. He immediately dispatched two ambassadors: one to the viceroy to announce his intention to claim the Italian states, and another to the King of Spain to confirm the succession. When the first ambassador arrived in Naples, he received instructions from Philip II to wait while the inheritance question was resolved. Meanwhile, the ambassador was already organising to take possession of all the goods Bona Sforza had left behind. Upon reaching Bari's castle, he began collecting gold, silver, and furniture. While an assigned officer inventoried these items, Pappacoda secretly arranged a review of all documents, ensuring that any cases related to him were delivered into his hands before the Polish crown could discover them. He acted just in time—shortly after, the remaining documents were inventoried for delivery to the King of Poland.

During her lifetime, Bona had lent money to several families and to Philip II, the King of Spain, who owed her 430,000 ducats. Now that she was gone, Philip II began to worry about whether Sigismund II would demand repayment of the debt.

When the second ambassador arrived in Spain, his mission was to confirm Sigismund II's succession to the Italian states. Philip II posed a pointed question: in what form did the King of Poland intend to take ownership of the Italian states? According to Bona's testament, Philip II argued, he was the rightful owner. The only way Sigismund II could claim them was through a beneficial concession, since Bona had not granted succession rights.

Sigismund II refused any concessions. He knew about the second testament and based his claims on it. He believed that finding the document would strengthen his position regarding Bona's true wishes. After some time, a merchant working for Sigismund II managed to locate the escaped secretary, Scipione Catapano, but could not persuade him to surrender the second testament. Perhaps fearing the King of Spain, Catapano declared that the second testament didn't exist—it was merely an invention of the King of Poland. Soon after, the secretary vanished again, this time without a trace. Sigismund II sent several more ambassadors to Naples to monitor the situation and report any news about the testament.

As if the situation weren't complicated enough, Pope Paul IV entered the political game. He entrusted Cardinal Carafa, whose brother was a duke, with securing the Bari lands. The cardinal was also tasked with maintaining diplomatic relations with Sigismund II and assuring him that the Pope had no intention of denying his rights to Bari. When Philip II learned of this, he attempted to delay any decisions and offered the Pope the principality of Rossano instead. But the Pope refused—he wanted Bari, not Rossano. Philip II's delaying tactics worked: the longer the negotiations dragged on, the less likely it became that the Pope would obtain Bari. In the end, he received neither.

Meanwhile, Pappacoda wasn't waiting idly for the situation to resolve itself. He filed a complaint denouncing what he called false discussions about the ownership of the Duchy of Bari based on questionable details in Queen Bona's testament.

Years passed without resolution. Then Philip II discovered that the King of Poland possessed the second testament of Bona. He ordered his representative to obtain a copy so he could challenge its authenticity. He also sent an ambassador to the King of Austria to secure his support regarding Bona's will.

In 1562, the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, attempted to settle the long-running dispute. He announced a decision favourable to the King of Spain regarding the Italian states Philip sought to claim. To the King of Poland, Charles V granted the right to collect all debts Bona had lent, including the 430,000 ducats from Philip II and 43,000 annual ducats from the Italian lands that had belonged to Bona. Philip II disputed the emperor's decision, arguing that compensation should come from the loan's principal, not from the income generated by the Italian states. Charles V's decision satisfied neither party—nine years later, they were still arguing about it.

Post Factum

In 1572, one of the main protagonists passed away—Sigismund II. With his death, the unresolved debt issue with the Spanish crown passed to his two surviving sisters, Caterina and Anna. Their other sisters, Isabella and Sofia, had already passed away. Anna, the oldest sister and now Queen of Poland, insisted on sharing equally with Caterina, who was Queen of Sweden, any debt they managed to collect.

Caterina saw an opportunity in these new circumstances to revisit the unresolved inheritance. She sent Carlo Brancaccio, who was familiar with the matter from almost 15 years earlier, to look into things in Bari. Once there, he reported difficulties in collecting the unpaid debt, citing the questionable authenticity of the testament as the main obstacle. Adding to the complications, Gian Lorenzo Pappacoda had passed away in 1571, at age 35—just a year before Caterina raised the inheritance question. Since most of the witnesses were no longer alive, it seemed impossible to continue the fight. Meanwhile, Anna, Queen of Poland, worked to keep her mother's memory alive. She commissioned a tomb for Bona Sforza, which was completed in 1590 at the Basilica di San Nicola in Bari.

Afterword

The mystery that Jan Matejko captured in his 1859 painting was never definitively solved. Despite testimonies pointing to Gian Lorenzo Pappacoda's involvement, including Cesare Farini's eyewitness account, no formal charges were ever brought against him. The legal battle over Bona's estate dragged on for decades until most witnesses had passed away. Pappacoda himself died in 1571, being 35, taking his secrets to the grave. The missing secretary, Scipione Catapano, was never found, and the second testament vanished into history.

Bona Sforza remains an important historical Polish-Lithuanian political figure of divided opinions. On one hand, the memory of her is heavily influenced by the "black legend," saying that she had no scruples about using poison as a political move and manipulating others. People at the time saw the irony: Bona may have been killed by poison, the very thing she was accused of using. Bona remains negatively perceived in history, especially by those whose ancestors were directly affected by her politics in a negative way and by those who saw her Italian advisors, particularly Pappacoda, as corrupting influences on the Polish court.

On the other hand, she is perceived as a leader who brought innovations to both countries that allowed nobles to multiply their income from land. She was a great politician and diplomat with ideas that helped bring both countries toward greater development.

Jan Matejko's painting is depicting the moment in deliberately ambiguous light. The suspicious figures and the uncertain glass of water embody the historical mystery itself: was Bona truly poisoned? Did Pappacoda act alone or with Spanish backing? Did the second testament legally exist? Like the witnesses in that room, the viewer cannot see clearly what is truly happening. The painting was created when the "black legend" dominated public opinion about Bona, depicting her getting the end that she had deserved, while simultaneously capturing the unresolved questions that remain unanswered even centuries later.

References

Cioffari G. 2000, Bona Sforza. Donna del Rinascimento tra Italia e Polonia, Levante Editori S.r.l.

Von Guttner D. 2020, The Queen who defied the Holy Roman Emperor (link: https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/the-queen-who-defied-the-holy-roman-emperor)

Von Guttner - Sporzynkski D. 2022, Contextualising the marriage of Bona Sforza to Sigismund I of Poland: Maximilian I’s diplomacy in Italy and Central Europe (link: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/367068700_Contextualising_the_marriage_of_Bona_Sforza_to_Sigismund_I_of_Poland_Maximilian_I's_diplomacy_in_Italy_and_Central_Europe)