San Felice Circeo
The Circeo Massacre: A Tragic Tragedy
Hello friends, today we will talk about the "Circeo Massacre," a terrible case of kidnapping and murder that shocked Italy in 1975. Two young friends, Donatella Colasanti and Rosaria Lopez, were lured by deceit by three boys from wealthy Roman families, Gianni Guido, Angelo Izzo, and Andrea Ghira, to a villa owned by the latter, located in the municipality of San Felice Circeo, under the pretext of a party.
The three perpetrators of the crime were linked to neo-fascism, and Ghira and Izzo had criminal records. Ghira, son of Aldo Ghira, a construction entrepreneur and Olympic champion in water polo, even proclaimed himself an admirer of the head of the "Clan dei Marsigliesi," Jacques Berenguer. Instead, Izzo, a medical student, had raped two young girls the year before, accompanied by two friends, for which he had been sentenced to two and a half years of imprisonment, but had obtained a conditional suspension of the sentence.
Donatella Colasanti's Account
Donatella Colasanti, one of the victims of the massacre, recounted the dynamics of the tragic incident in her final days to her friend and journalist Bianca Berlinguer. It all started with a meeting at the cinema with a boy named Carlo, who exchanged phone numbers with Donatella. The following day, during an appointment with Carlo, the two joined Angelo and Gianni, and they decided to spend the afternoon in a villa that Carlo owned, owned by his parents in Lavinio. In reality, Gianni did not stick to the fact that the supposed "Carlo" had a party in another villa in Circeo and invited them to go there. So, Donatella and Rosaria joined the three boys, unaware of the tragic fate that awaited them.
The Horror of the Massacre
In that villa, the three boys tortured Donatella and Rosaria all night long. At one point, Gianni pulled out a gun and presented himself as a member of the "Marsigliesi," asking them to have sex with them. Faced with the girls' refusal, Gianni and Angelo became angry and started beating them. The next morning, Angelo found the broken sink and unleashed his fury, savagely beating the two girls. In the end, Rosaria died due to the torture suffered, while Donatella managed to survive and testify against her tormentors.
The End of the Perpetrators
The three perpetrators of the massacre were arrested shortly after and tried in a fair trial. Angelo Izzo was sentenced to life imprisonment, while Gianni Guido and Andrea Ghira were sentenced to 30 years in prison. The perpetrators of the massacre have all died in prison: Gianni Guido committed suicide, Angelo Izzo died of cancer in 1999, and Andrea Ghira in 2002.
The Commotion in Italy
The Circeo Massacre shocked Italy at the time, which immediately mobilized to try to end violence against women. The case contributed to raising public awareness of the importance of a culture of respect for women, which led to the enactment of anti-stalking and anti-violence laws for women. The Circeo Massacre remains one of the saddest pages in Italian history, and we must never forget that violence has no justification. Human life, in all its forms, is sacred and must be respected.
Let us always remember the victims of the Circeo Massacre and fight together against every form of violence and abuse. Let us never let our guard down and always try to sensitize others about the need to build a better and more just world. ## Stop Violence, ## Respect for Life.
