In the annals of criminal history, few stories are as macabre and intriguing as that of Diogo Alves, an early Portuguese serial killer whose head has been preserved in a jar for nearly two centuries. This chilling artifact, housed at the University of Lisbon, offers a unique glimpse into the past, where science and the macabre intersected in the pursuit of understanding the human mind.
Diogo Alves, born in 1810 in Galicia, Spain, moved to Lisbon in his youth. By the 1830s, he had become infamous for his brutal crimes, primarily targeting travelers on the Aqueduto das Águas Livres, a vital waterway in Lisbon. Alves would rob his victims and then push them off the aqueduct, making their deaths appear as suicides. His reign of terror lasted from 1836 to 1839, during which he is believed to have killed as many as 70 people. Despite his cunning, Alves was eventually captured and executed in 1841.
What sets Alves apart from other criminals of his time is not just his heinous acts but the fate of his head after his execution. In the 19th century, phrenology—a now-debunked field of study that claimed to determine personality traits based on skull shape—was gaining popularity. Scientists of the era were eager to study the brains of criminals to find physical evidence of their deviant behavior. Alves' head was severed and preserved in formaldehyde, becoming a subject of scientific inquiry.
For 181 years, Alves' head has remained remarkably well-preserved, a testament to the preservation techniques of the time. It sits in a jar at the University of Lisbon's Faculty of Medicine, a silent witness to the evolution of forensic science. While phrenology has long been discredited, the preserved head serves as a historical artifact, reminding us of the lengths to which early scientists went to understand criminal behavior.
Today, the head of Diogo Alves is more than just a relic of a bygone era; it is a symbol of the intersection between crime, science, and history. It raises ethical questions about the treatment of human remains and the pursuit of knowledge. While the methods of the past may seem barbaric by modern standards, they paved the way for the more humane and scientifically rigorous approaches used today.
For visitors to the University of Lisbon, the preserved head is a fascinating, albeit eerie, piece of history. It offers a tangible connection to the past and a reminder of the dark chapters in human history that continue to captivate our imagination. As science advances, the story of Diogo Alves and his preserved head remains a poignant reminder of the complexities of human nature and the enduring quest to understand it.
