
The story of the death of Countess Cornelia Bandi is simple. She went to bed at about 5 o’clock in the morning of March 15, 1731, but six hours later her remains were found next to her bed and competely burnt from the legs up. The room and adjoining rooms were covered in greasy soot and showed evidence of exposure to considerable heat. Apparently she had got up from bed and died almost instantly, and the oil lamp which she had been holding set her night dress and then her body alight.