Monster of Florence

The Monster of Florence (Italian: il Mostro di Firenze) is the name coined by the Italian media for a serial killer active within the province of Florence between 1968 and 1985. The Monster murdered sixteen victims, usually young couples secluded in search of intimacy, in wooded areas during new moons. Although none of the murders were committed in Florence, the name of the serial killer, initially referred to as "The Maniac of Couples" (Italian: il maniaco delle coppiette), was chosen due the murders being committed in the countryside around Florence. After an investigation was launched in the early 1990s by the Florence Prosecutor's Office, several connected persons were convicted for involvement in the lovers' lane murders, yet the exact sequence of events, the identity of the main perpetrator, and the motives remain unclear.

Multiple weapons were used in the murders, including a .22 caliber handgun and a knife, and in half of the cases, a large portion of the skin surrounding sexual organs was excised from the bodies of the female victims. The Monster represented the first known case of serial murders against couples in Italy, often being called the first modern serial killer case in Italy, and received a vast media coverage both at the time of the crimes and during the various trials against the alleged perpetrators, to the point of influencing the habits and daily life of the entire population living in the province of Florence in the 1980s who began to avoid secluding themselves in isolated places. The fact that the victims were young couples also stimulated the debate in the media on the opportunity to grant children the opportunity to find intimacy at home more freely, thus avoiding isolated and dangerous places.

Law enforcement conducted several investigations into the cases over many years. In 1996, Italy's Supreme Court of Cassation in final instance annulled the acquittal on appeal of Pietro Pacciani and sent the case back to another section of the Florence Court of Assizes of Appeal for a new second-instance trial that was not held due to the death of Pacciani in 1998. In 2000, the Supreme Court of Cassation convicted in final instance Mario Vanni and Giancarlo Lotti for five and four of the eight double murders, respectively. They had been charged with being part of an alleged group of murderers that became known in the popular press as the "Snack Buddies" (Italian: compagni di merende) following the courtroom protestation of Vanni that the group were merely friends who on frequent occasion consumed snacks together in local bars and restaurants. Lotti had confessed to the murders and called in Pacciani and Vanni as accomplices; Lotti and Fernando Pucci's testimonies were decisive for the convictions, while Giovanni Faggi was acquitted.

Beyond what was established by the final sentence of 2000, physical evidence such as DNA and fingerprints attributable to the Monster's accomplices have never been found at the numerous crime scenes, the serial killer's firearm (a presumed Beretta handgun with which he signed his crimes) has never been traced, and the anatomical parts removed from some of his female victims have not been found; in 1985, the Florence Prosecutor's Office received a letter including the breast flap of a victim. Since the 1990s and 2000s, the prosecutors of Florence and Perugia (after the suspicious death of Francesco Narducci in the lake Trasimeno) have engaged in numerous investigations aimed at identifying the material perpetrators of the double muders and then the possible instigators. The investigations have also focused on a possible motive of an esoteric nature, which would have pushed one or more people to commission the crimes, without arriving at any objective confirmation. Despite the many investigations and hypotheses made over the years, including in the 2010s and 2020s, the case remains unsolved.