THE DEVIL'S BRIDE
On the 6th of September 1608, Betta Caloiro, a convicted heretic, passed away in her prison cell at the Inquisitor’s Palace, where she was serving an 8-year sentence, during which she allegedly had an intimate relationship with the devil.
Credit for content research: Prof. Carmel Cassar, FRHistS, FCCS
Witch or Healer?
Betta Caloiro learned healing from Priest Don Francesco when she was six years old. It is said that she had been bewitched by a woman of Bormla, and as a result, her nose became crooked. Thereafter, she became better known as “Mineichiret” (Mnejħret) of Bormla. After visiting several physicians, she was finally cured by a Sicilian physician from Licata, using a mixture which included lead. Betta was won over by the healing powers of lead and began using it to cure others. She firmly believed that these remedies worked through the intervention of Christ, and the saints Cosmas and Damian, physicians of Christ, thanks to the Pater Noster and Ave Maria (Our Father and Hail Mary prayers), as well as the burning of blessed incense and myrrh.
Betta, possessing a discreet education, wielded influence and attracted many women seeking healing, remedies, and counsel on diverse matters. During these consultations, she often spoke of ‘Farfarello’, a mischievous little devil whom she described as wearing colourful clothes.
Betta claimed to have encountered Farfarello in her youth while delivering bowls of food to an elderly relative. Intriguingly, Farfarello’s origins can be traced back to Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, specifically in the 21st Canto of the ‘Inferno’.
The Wrath of the Inquisitor
Betta lived to a ripe old age, having survived turmoil, pestilence, sieges and food shortages. She did not escape, however, the wrath of Inquisitor Leonetto della Corbara, one of the most notorious Inquisitors Malta ever had.
Because she lacked official medical credentials, her unorthodox healing methods were deemed witchcraft and sorcery. Betta’s references to Farfarello only worsened her situation, leading to her being branded a heretic and sentenced to eight years in prison.
While imprisoned in the Palace’s cell, the guards would frequently hear her call out to Farfarello. “You don’t visit me here now, do you? Farfarello, my lover!”, hence earning the nickname “the Devil’s Bride”. Inquisitors were usually merciful, particularly when dealing with elderly, frail, or ill convicts. The death of an imprisoned eighty-year-old woman, albeit of natural circumstances, landed Inquisitor Della Corbara in hot water with the Church authorities in the Vatican! Betta breathed her last in her prison cell at the palace on 6 September 1608. Her demise did little to improve the ageing Inquisitor’s reputation, prompting his transfer to a new role within the Supreme Congregation of the Holy Office in Rome in October of the same year.
One of the prison cells at the Inquisitor’s Palace in Birgu. Women had their dedicated section in the prisons.
The curious story of Betta Caloiro inspired a Roaming Concert within the palace.