Background
The Monster of Florence is the name given to the person or people responsible for eight double murders in the countryside around Florence, Tuscany, between August 1968 and September 1985. Sixteen people died. Most were young couples parked in secluded spots during the summer months.
The first attack, in Signa in 1968, was initially blamed on the husband of one of the victims, Stefano Mele. In 1982 it was linked to the series after cartridge cases from the same weapon were found in his case file.
What happened
The same .22 calibre Beretta pistol was used in every attack, and cartridge cases stamped with an 'H' on the base, from Winchester ammunition, were left at the scenes. The weapon has never been recovered. The attacks usually took place on moonless summer nights at weekends.
This pattern spread deep fear across the region and kept the investigation moving in different directions for decades.
One of the longest and most complicated questions in the inquiry was whether the attacks were the work of one person or several. The use of the same weapon pointed to a common source, but courts reaching different conclusions at different times fuelled a debate that never ended. In the Italian press the case remained one of the most written-about criminal files for decades.
One of the longest and most complicated questions in the inquiry was whether the attacks were the work of one person or several. The use of the same weapon pointed to a common source, but courts reaching different conclusions at different times fuelled a debate that never ended. In the Italian press the case remained one of the most written-about criminal files for decades.
Investigation and trial
In the early 1990s, farmer Pietro Pacciani became the main suspect. He was convicted at first instance in 1994 of seven of the eight double murders, but in 1996 the appeal court acquitted him for lack of evidence. The Court of Cassation ordered a retrial, but Pacciani died in 1998 before it began.
Mario Vanni and Giancarlo Lotti, later nicknamed the 'compagni di merende' (snack companions), were then tried. Relying on Lotti's confession and witness statements, Vanni was sentenced to life for five double murders and Lotti received a prison term for four; the verdicts became final in 2000. Others were acquitted.
No DNA or fingerprints tied to those convicted were found at the scenes. In 2002 the remains of a doctor, never convicted of anything, were exhumed, and the related prosecutions ended in acquittals. Many observers therefore continue to debate whether the verdicts settled the case.
Where it stands today
Although the case is officially treated as resolved, it remains disputed among the public and researchers. In 2020 a DNA sample was taken from one man; the case against him was dismissed in 2021 and no match has been publicly confirmed. The sixteen people who died are still remembered across Tuscany.