The 19th April 1830, the official newspaper of Palermo writes about an operation that was soon going to be done to a woman in state of pregnancy but with many complications.
The soon to be mother was from a village of Palermo called Boccadifalco. Ninfa Pecorella, so was her name, was pregnant for the ninth time and presented a long delay of birth in reference  to the due date.
The article states precisely : ” A month had passed after the due date and she still presented no symptoms of imminent labour : in the meantime the sad woman kept on suffering with great pain, her symptoms suggested a soon death; and she also presented a tumor in the umbilical region.”
She needed an operation, and so the doctor and specialist Luigi Salemi was called. He was a renowned surgeon. Once realized the gravity of the situation he operated a c-section on her, straight away.  All the operation is described in detail. Once he did the incision ” he found the foreign body. He first extracted the arm and then the other parts of the lacerated fetus. The unborn child was missing a foot that was later found in the vaginal tract. During the operation the doctor learnt that the uterus lacerated due to an infection. This lead to the fetus turning over in the lower stomach.  The turn over position of the fetus produced a swelling in the area, and after a month in that location it was in state of putrefaction. ”
The operation, that took place in February, considering that the means of the time were what they were, was a success. Infact, two months after the difficult operation was over , the woman had recoverd greatly .
The article continues like this: “In the moment the woman was being open, she was close to death, but she visibly recovered once the operation was done. From then on, following rigorously the cure prescribed by Salemi, both her uterus and the walls of the lower stomach, improved quickly. Today she is out of any danger, perfectly cured.”
This operation was the subject of a report written by the doctor Salvatore Furnari, who also gave a public conference about it at the Medical Accademy, explaining the whole fact. The accademy applauded once the speach was over. Shortly after his speach was pubblished.”
The description offered to explain the operation is cruel and brutal. The article is a clear example of how stories were published on the newspapers in the times of Francesco I of Borbone in the kingdom of the two Sicilies. During this time the presence of an absolute monarchy created a oppressed environment.
The attention in describing every little detail of the operation allows one to have a precise information about the fact that occured. This was an operation of great difficulty.