cantarella

Cantarella was a poison allegedly used by the Borgias during the papacy of Pope Alexander VI. It may have been arsenic, came in the shape of "a white powder with a pleasant taste", and was sprinkled on food or in wine. If it did exist, it left no trace in the works of contemporary writers.

==Etymology== The exact origin of the term cantarella is unknown. It may have been derived from kantharos (), a type of ancient Greek cup used for drinking, or the Neo-Latin word ('small cup'), in reference to the cups in which the poison would have been served. The word may also be related to kantharis (Ancient Greek: ), referring to the Spanish fly and other blister beetles that secrete cantharidin, a substance that is poisonous in large doses.