Disposable vessels

Bologna, 1583. At the foot of the Fountain of Neptune, the body of Eleonora Guidofredi is discovered bearing wounds carved in the shape of a cross. Wealthy and respected, yet shadowed by her past as a courtesan, Eleonora belonged to a society willing to accept her influence while refusing to forget her origins.

Criminal auditor Ser Lorenzo Branciforte and the Bargello are charged with uncovering the truth. Their investigation leads through aristocratic palaces, religious institutions, workshops, convents and the underground passages of Renaissance Bologna. Witnesses conceal essential details, documents vanish and powerful figures appear protected by their position. When another woman disappears, the case reveals a pattern of violence sustained by prejudice, silence and abuse of power.

Drawing on historical sources, Rossana Conte combines the pace of a murder investigation with a vivid reconstruction of Bologna under papal rule. Disposable Vessels is a historical mystery about violence against women, religious fanaticism, justice and the privileges that allow cruelty to remain hidden.

Translated from the Italian novel Vuoti a perdere by Alberto Fanchiotti and published by SBS Edizioni, this English edition is intended for readers of historical crime fiction, Renaissance mysteries and Italian historical novels in translation.