Cantarella was most probably a variation of arsenic used by Pope Alexander VI, Rodrigo Borgia, to poison his victims. The Borgia family were allegedly masters of the use of poison in political assassinations, leading to references to la cantarella as the "liquor of succession". Cantarella was used to make whoever took it fall asleep for 4 hours. It was as if the person was dead, since they had no detectable pulse.