Stefano Nazzi: “The crime news says a lot about us. Vallanzasca and Turatello seemed rebels, in reality they did everything for money in a criminal logic”

Milan – Milan Caliber 9. As in Ferdinando Di Leo's masterpiece. That at the time (the 70s) the city had a murder rate not even in Medellín: 150 a year. Complex period. That Stefano Nazzi investigated for Mondadori in "Canti di guerra" . A dark narration. Very dark. As usual for the journalist of the podcast "Indagini". A story marked by the figures of Francis Turatello, Vallanzasca, Angelo Epaminonda. On June 5th at the Piccolo Teatro Strehler in the form of a reading, in the first edition of the Milano Film Fest. A city with a gun. To which the new festival dedicates a focus with a retrospective on police films and a masterclass by the Manetti Bros. Stracult.

Nazzi, what was Milan like at the time?

“Darker, grayer. A very different city from today, where criminal gangs operated in broad daylight, violently. They were present, invasive figures, who fled from the police but did nothing to hide, with shootings in the middle of the street and gambling dens everywhere.”

Was there a certain fascination around the underworld?

“It’s a speech that applies to Vallanzasca: handsome, arrogant, intolerant of any authority, he appeared courageous, rebellious. Despite the fact that his dynamics were purely criminal. The motivation was always and in any case money. People were shocked by his escapes and he gave continuous interviews. An absolute narcissist, he loved to be admired”.

He wasn't the only one.

"Turatello wore a fur coat, he showed off his power. He was the first to create a criminal empire, he had a more entrepreneurial vision, so to speak."

He was a witness to Vallanzasca's wedding in prison.

“Incredible episode. They waged war for a long time, shooting at each other with machine guns in via Mac Mahon. Then they ended up inside together and began a peace negotiation as if they were two superpowers. To seal the agreement, Turatello proposed to Vallanzasca that they get married, that he would be a witness and they would have the front page of Novella2000. In reality he needed new allies, because outside he was under attack by Epaminonda. And so they chose a bride from among the many women who wrote to Renato. Imagine that they wanted the Pope to officiate”.

I imagine John Paul II was busy…

“Yes, the prison priest took care of it. In any case, the incident did not save Turatello, who shortly after was killed in a cruel way in the courtyard of a prison in Sardinia”.

But doesn't all this darkness end up disturbing her?

"These are stories worth telling, which say a lot about us and which push us to understand the victims. I am also saved by the belief that the vast majority of people are not criminals and would never harm anyone."

Did his talent for storytelling surprise you?

“No, I suspected it a little. Then I worked for a long time in magazines on the journalistic machine. But when the opportunity arose, it came quite naturally to me.”

Everyone asks about Garlasco .

“I answer like this: at this moment it is impossible to have a certainty, so to go out on a limb with a strong opinion is crazy. The information changes from hour to hour, the scientific tests will determine everything: the footprint and the DNA under the nails. What can be said is that the investigation and the trial process that considered Stasi innocent on two occasions, have never resolved the doubts about the affair. The real proof has always been missing”.

But after 18 years, is it acceptable to be at this point again?

“No, it’s not. There was obviously a mistake, either now or in the past, it’s not a good feeling. Every now and then the prosecutors fall in love with a theory, it’s what’s called “tunnel vision.” You identify a culprit and off you go, underestimating other leads.”

The story of Martina Carbonaro , 14 years old, killed in the last few hours in Afragola, is making a great impression.

“It's something that almost leaves you incredulous. I feel anger and great sadness. Also because every now and then I delude myself that the new generations are freeing themselves a little from certain toxic relational dynamics, linked to possession and obsession. It's not like that. And this murder, like that of Giulia Cecchettin, pushes us to open our eyes”.

A case that shook you?

“The kidnapping and murder of Tommaso Onofri, near Parma. I can’t answer the question of why they killed him, especially just minutes after the kidnapping. Violence always leaves you with a void of meaning. But in this case we are talking about a three-year-old child, the most defenseless being in the world, something that shakes you to the core”.