The Real Story Behind Netflix’s Il Mostro: Florence’s Unsolved Serial Murders

The release of Il Mostro, the new Netflix miniseries directed by Stefano Sollima, has once again drawn the world’s attention to one of Italy’s most haunting mysteries: the case of the “Monster of Florence.” Between 1968 and 1985, a series of brutal double murders shocked the tranquil hills and rural outskirts of Florence, forever changing the way locals experienced their land and their nights.

A Pattern of Terror in the Tuscan Countryside

The victims were always young couples, killed while parked in secluded areas — from Signa to Scandicci, Calenzano, Vicchio and San Casciano. The killer used the same weapon each time: a .22 caliber Beretta loaded with Winchester bullets marked with an “H.” After shooting, he mutilated the female victims with a knife in acts that suggested ritual or sexual compulsion.

The murders often took place on warm summer weekends, under dark, moonless skies. Fear spread quickly: by the mid-1980s, Florentines avoided country lanes after sunset, and parents forbade young lovers from meeting in cars. The Monster of Florence had become not just a killer, but a dark cultural figure — a symbol of fear and fascination that would persist for generations.

From Signa to Scopeti: The Murders

The story began on the night of August 21, 1968, near the small town of Signa, where lovers Barbara Locci and Antonio Lo Bianco were shot dead in their parked car. For years, the crime was treated as a domestic tragedy — Locci’s husband, Stefano Mele, was convicted and served 14 years. Only in 1982 did investigators discover that the bullets from that night matched those used in later killings, linking the case to a single serial killer.

From 1974 to 1985, seven more double murders followed. Each revealed the same terrifying precision: the man killed first, the woman dragged from the car, the same mutilations repeated. The final victims, the French tourists Nadine Mauriot and Jean-Michel Kraveichvili, were attacked while camping near Scopeti in September 1985. Days later, a letter containing part of Mauriot’s breast arrived at the Florence prosecutor’s office — the Monster’s gruesome signature.

Endless Investigations and a Divided Italy

The investigation became one of the longest and most controversial in Italian history. In the early 1990s, police turned their attention to Pietro Pacciani, a farmer from Mercatale in Val di Pesa with a violent past and a conviction for sexual assault. Pacciani was convicted of fourteen murders in 1994, then acquitted on appeal two years later. He died in 1998 before a retrial could take place.

Two of his acquaintances, Mario Vanni and Giancarlo Lotti, were later convicted as accomplices. Lotti’s confession — and his testimony describing the crimes — were central to their convictions, though many observers doubted his reliability. No physical evidence, DNA, or the murder weapon was ever found.

The contradictions gave rise to endless theories. Some investigators believed in a “Sardinian connection,” linking the crimes to earlier family feuds. Others saw signs of a satanic or esoteric ritual, possibly orchestrated by unknown “clients” seeking anatomical trophies. Later inquiries explored potential links with a Perugian doctor, Francesco Narducci, whose mysterious death in Lake Trasimeno in 1985 fueled suspicions of a secret network of elites. None of these theories were ever confirmed.

Trials, Deaths, and Unanswered Questions

The legal saga stretched for decades, producing books, documentaries, and parliamentary inquiries. Pacciani’s supposed accomplices — the so-called compagni di merende, or “snack companions” — died one after another: Lotti in 2002, Vanni in 2009, and their friend Fernando Pucci in 2017. The last surviving suspect, former legionnaire Giampiero Vigilanti, was investigated again in 2017 but cleared in 2020 for lack of evidence. He died in January 2024.

New forensic analyses have occasionally revived hope of a breakthrough. A bullet re-examined in 2018, a trace of DNA found in 2024, and repeated attempts to match genetic material from preserved evidence have all failed to deliver a definitive answer. In July 2025, a court in Genoa rejected the latest motion to reopen the case.

The Shadow That Never Faded

The Monster of Florence case changed Italy’s relationship with crime and media. It was the first serial-murder case in modern Italian history, and its mix of horror, rural folklore, and judicial confusion became a mirror of the nation’s fears.

Writers, filmmakers, and journalists — from Mario Spezi to Douglas Preston, Nino Filastò and countless others — have sought to uncover the truth, often clashing with police and prosecutors. Over time, the “Monster” evolved from a killer into a myth — a story about obsession, error, and the fragility of justice.

Nearly forty years after the last murder, the identity of the killer remains unknown, leaving behind a story that continues to cast its shadow over Florence and its hills — a mystery that still defines the city’s darkest legend.

(n the photo: Pietro Pacciani during the trial for the “Monster of Florence” case, via Wikipedia)

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