Mediterranean Nightmares: The Dark Side of Italy

Between 1987 and 1994, the Italian city of Bologna and its environs were the hunting grounds for a gang of psychopaths, of which all except one were active members of Italy's police force, who maimed and murdered innocent people ruthlessly, oftentimes for no reason. Besides pistols and explosives, the ring - which comprised 3 brothers - carried out horrific crimes with powerful assault rifles, and seemed to so enjoy the mayhem they left in their wake, that on occasion they'd leave the scene of a robbery without the spoils. They robbed supermarkets, armored trucks, gas stations, toll booths, post offices, even banks. By the end of their reign of terror, over 20 people had lost their lives, including six law enforcement officers. 100+ more had been wounded. The destruction the so-called White Fiat Uno gang brought was so extraordinary, and their wanton disregard for human life so boundless, that to this day some still believe them to have been part of a subversive underground design. Join me in today's episode for one helluva a ride... [Mature Audiences Only] The Fiat Uno gang:  Roberto Savi, Fabio Savi, Alberto Savi, Marino Occhipinti, Luca Vallicelli, Pietro Gugliotta  Music: 80s retrowave by Evgeny Bardyuzha from Pixabay Image by Sam Williams from Pixabay - Image author: https://pixabay.com/users/sammy-sander-10634669/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4146707

SOUND WARNING: If you're using headphones, turn the volume as low as you can comfortably go, because there are some loud sounds. Cogne, a picturesque town amidst the Alps in northwest Italy. The Lorenzi family chalet is a perfect home in a perfect paradise. An accomplished husband, a devoted wife and mother, two happy, healthy little boys. But, one January morning, it turned into everyone's worst nightmare. Samuele Lorenzi, their 3-year-old boy, was found beaten within an inch of his life in his mother's bed. His mother, Anna Maria Franzoni, graceful wife, and perfect homemaker was tried and sentenced for the brutal murder - could a mother who'd never shown any sign of violence savagely massacre her son - with what the investigators surmised to be possibly a pick-axe - and have no memory of it?  In this episode we look at the story of little Samuele, and the trial of his outwardly doting mother, who the courts accused of bludgeoning him with an unknown household object. The Cogne case is remembered 20 years later for its tragic senselessness, as well as for being one of the first Italian investigations to rely on criminal profiling and blood spatter analysis.  Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

In February 1988 the city of Rome was the scene of one of the most disturbing homicides in the history of the nation. This episode features the graphic confession of The Dog Man (Pietro De Negri), a dog groomer who lured the man who’d been tormenting him into his shop, locked him in a cage and for 7 drug-fueled hours exacted his horrific revenge. In his statement, the 31-year-old explains what drove him to kill 27-year-old Giancarlo Ricci, a neighborhood bully also known as The Boxer, and details the grotesque evening he had in store for his long-time oppressor. If you enjoy my content, please subscribe and leave a review :) Find me on... Twitter: https://twitter.com/MediterraneanNP Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mediterranean_nightmares/

Poveglia, off the coast of Venice, in Italy, has been called 'the most haunted island in the world'. In this episode, we look at how much truth there is behind the legends that surround this long-abandoned isle. Did it really host an asylum where patients were lobotomized by a sadistic doctor? Was it really used to burn the bodies of those who succumbed to the black death? Join me to find out!  My apologies for subpar audio, I will do better! XD Sources:  "Poveglia. Tra storia, verità e leggenda". Susy Biaggiotti & Alessandro Bronchi  * Article & Newscast about Colorado tourists (in Italian)*: https://www.today.it/citta/poveglia-fantasmi-turisti-soccorsi.html  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qoq7rbEj_xY Spooky Music:  Provided By Mediacharger  www.youtube.com/user/MediaCharger  / https://bit.ly/32QJvhx Created By : ErikMMusic  Song Title: High Atop The Tower Youtube: https://bit.ly/3hSEfOo / Download: https://goo.gl/LKqTJw

Near Sicignano degli Alburni, a charming Italian town, is a little-known abandoned monastery they call the 'Monastery of the Devil's Monks', because of what happened there in the 1700s, with the arrival of a man who is said to have sold his soul to the devil and, according to the locals, still haunts the grounds to this day.  Have YOU ever heard of the Devil's Monk? DISCLAIMER: Exploring abandoned places can lead to being fined or arrested, as well as to serious injury or even death. Stay safe, it's not worth it. Music Provided By Mediacharger www.youtube.com/user/MediaCharger  / https://bit.ly/32QJvhx Music Created By : ErikMMusic  Song Title: High Atop The Tower - Youtube: https://bit.ly/3hSEfOo / Download: https://goo.gl/LKqTJw

Roberto Calvi - former chairman of Banco Ambrosiano, Italy's largest Catholic bank - was dubbed "God's banker" because of his ties to the Vatican Bank. On 18 June 1982, he was found hanging from scaffolding beneath Blackfriars bridge in London; bricks had been stuffed in his pockets and he had something like $15,000 in cash on him. Calvi was on the run, in the months before his death he had been accused by the Italian judiciary of stealing millions being laundered on behalf of the mafia, but nobody knew he had been working with an American bishop, Paul Marcinkus, for years to syphon over $1 billion into offshore accounts. Who killed God's Banker? Tune in for one of London's most gruesome murder mysteries! Image by kalhh from Pixabay

Domenico Semeraro - aka 'Mimmo' - was only 4'3" tall (130cm), but he had certainly never let that stop him. By day Mimmo was a successful man, by night he had a habit of wandering around Termini Station looking for vulnerable young men, whom he would then take back to his nearby taxidermy lab, where he would provide them with drugs and expensive gifts in exchange for their bodies. In Rome's sex circles he was known as the 'dwarf of Termini station', and at the age of 44 it would all come crashing down on him in a grisly ménage à trois of his own making, a love triangle of transgression, blackmail and death. Names: Domenico Semeraro, Armando Lovaglio, 'Samantha', Maria Giuseppa Semeraro (Grandma Beast), Lucio Fulci (director) Image by Nick Magwood from Pixabay Peet Montzingo Shorts: https://youtube.com/shorts/M7fLUgpx1Pg?feature=share

In 2005, a phone call to a TV studio brought an unthinkable reality to everyone's attention: after his killing in 1990, Enrico De Pedis, one of Rome's most influential crime bosses had been buried in a very privileged area in a church on quasi-Vatican soil. Was this, as the phone call suggested, connected to the favors De Pedis had done for the Vatican, and his involvement in the disappearance of Emanuela Orlandi (The "Vatican girl")? Join me today to learn more about the life and death of Enrico "Renatino" De Pedis, and how much truth there is behind his alleged connection to some of the darkest secrets of the Holy See. Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay

Father Gabriele Amorth was probably Italy's most well-known, and possibly controversial, EXORCIST. Join me in my first ever interview as we explore this mysterious figure, and I ask my husband-to-be about his childhood experience with Father Amorth and the Catholic rite of exorcism. Tune in to learn all about the process of casting out demons, and the most shocking revelations from exorcists all around the world. Image by Angel Paredes Aldrete from Pixabay

Magliana is a neighborhood in the southwest of Rome that was once home to the infamous, and highly romanticized, criminal organization by the same name. In this episode, we look at the crime that brought it to life, the kidnapping of a Duke (Massimiliano Grazioli) on November 7th 1977. Names: Maurizio Abbatino (Kinky), Franco Giuseppucci ("The baker") Image by Thomas Breher from Pixabay 

On Sunday, November 11th 2007, a man by the name of Gabriele Sandri, a promising youth with his whole life ahead of him, was killed by an overzealous police officer. He was only 26 years old when an absurd sequence of events led to a meaningless tragedy that never should have happened.

PART 2

In this atypical episode we discuss what the FBI, the CBI and a number of other experts have said about one the most infamous ransom notes in America. Sources: "Listen Carefully! Truth and Evidence in the JonBenet Ramsey Case" by True Crime Detectives Guild https://www.amazon.com/Listen-Carefully-Evidence-JonBenet-Ramsey-ebook/dp/B01NCKGIHV "JonBenet: Inside the Murder Investigation" by Steve Thomas, Don Davis https://www.amazon.com/JonBenet-Inside-Ramsey-Murder-Investigation-ebook/dp/B003JMFATW/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2OI3YG5BFZA5C&keywords=ramsey+steve+thomas&qid=1680464433&s=digital-text&sprefix=ramsey+steve+thomas%2Cdigital-text%2C169&sr=1-1

Tommaso Buscetta - also known as "Don Masino" or "The boss of two worlds" - spent 40 years as a high-ranking member of Cosa Nostra, the Sicilian Mafia. He was the most important Don to ever turn against the syndicate, and is credited with providing much of the information that led to the so-called Maxi-Trial, which in 1986, saw over 400 mafiosi tried as part of a single organized crime ring. Join me in this episode to learn all about the mobster who took Cosa Nostra down at the height of its savagery.  People discussed: (From the Government) Judge Giovanni Falcone, Alfonso Giordano (ruling judge at the Maxi-trial)  Cosa Nostra names: Salvatore "Totò" Riina, Luciano Liggio, Giuseppe "Pippo" Calò, Salvatore Contorno, Stefano Bontate, Salvatore Inzerillo, Michele Greco aka "The Pope", Salvatore Greco, Michele Cavataio aka "Cobra", Gaetano Badalamenti Contacts: mediterranean.podcast@gmail.com Credits: Image by Reimund Bertrams from Pixabay Music: Power Music Factory  |  Channel URL : Youtube.com/powermusicfactory Explosion sound effect by Animated Xtream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQUut8S9SRc

Between March 22, 1796 and August 17, 1864, the Papal Executioner known as Mastro Titta, executed 514 people. His prisoners and their unfortunate fates were all logged in his meticulous records, from which his memoirs were later compiled by an unknown author. In this episode:  - the story of 3 of his victims. - what's left of Mastro Titta today?  Not for the faint of heart - Listener discretion is advised! ***Disclaimer*** : The "Mastro Titta" text was translated by me and edited for entertainment purposes. Image by Yuri from Pixabay