A new Netflix drama, The Monster of Florence, premiering on 22 October, is set to reignite debate about one of Italy’s most perplexing and gruesome unsolved crime sprees. Directed by Stefano Sollima, the four-part series focuses on the so-called pista sarda (the Sardinian line of inquiry), concentrating on the earliest murders and leaving later developments for a possible sequel.
The case spans decades, with seven couples murdered between 1968 and 1985, though some claim an eighth couple and at least 16 other deaths may be linked. The killer, known as the Monster of Florence, typically targeted young lovers in parked cars, shooting the man first and then mutilating the woman’s body, often removing sexual organs. The same .22 Beretta pistol was used in every attack, and the crime scenes were confined to the countryside north-east and south-west of Florence.
The first known murder occurred in 1968, when Barbara Locci and her lover Antonio Lo Bianco were shot while her son slept in the back seat. Her husband, Stefano Mele, was imprisoned for that crime but later cleared of being the Monster. The case then went cold until a burst of killings between 1981 and 1985, during which the Monster struck seven more times. In the 1990s, Pietro Pacciani was convicted and then acquitted; his co-accused Mario Vanni and Giancarlo Lotti received life and 28-year sentences respectively.
The case is notorious for its twists, including evidence that appears and disappears, leading some amateur sleuths, known as monsterologists, to suspect law enforcement involvement. Author Gianluca Monastra describes it as a story where “everything can seem true, as can its contrary.” The series, told from the perspectives of different suspects—including Mele, his brother Giovanni, and the Vinci brothers—aims to capture the unsettling complexity of the investigation.
