More than 1,000 people gathered in Florence on Sunday evening September 6, 2026, to remember Lorena Isceri, the 45-year-old woman killed last week after being abducted from outside her home, in a case being investigated as a femicide.
Residents, local officials and representatives of associations gathered in Via Panciatichi, in the Florence Nova area, where Isceri lived and where investigators believe she was abducted on Thursday, September 3. Many carried flowers or candles, while others left messages outside the entrance to her building. The gathering, called “Insieme per Lorena Isceri” — Together for Lorena Isceri — was organised by Florence mayor Sara Funaro following an appeal from Isceri’s father for political institutions to stand together against violence against women.
Isceri’s mother briefly came outside during the vigil and met Funaro and the parents of Michela Noli, another Florence woman who was killed by her former husband in 2016. The mayors of Bergamo and Perugia, Elena Carnevali and Vittoria Ferdinandi, also attended, along with local administrators from the Florence area.
Funaro said the killing had deeply affected Florence and warned against allowing repeated cases of violence against women to become normalised. She said the gathering was intended to bring the city together around Isceri’s family and to underline the need for prevention.
What happened to Lorena Isceri
Isceri, originally from Squinzano in the southern Italian province of Lecce and living in Florence, was allegedly abducted on Thursday by her former partner Federico Vella.
According to the reconstruction currently being examined by investigators, Isceri was attacked near her home and placed in the boot of a car before being driven north towards Barberino di Mugello, about 30 kilometres from Florence.
Despite being confined in the boot, she was able to make an emergency call to 112, Italy’s single European emergency number. The call lasted around 20 minutes and allowed police to begin tracing her location.
The car eventually reached a viaduct on the A1 motorway in the Barberino del Mugello area. Investigators believe Vella threw Isceri from the bridge and then jumped from it himself. Both died.
Police arrived after tracing the emergency call but were unable to reach Isceri in time. Investigators are still working to establish the exact sequence of events.
One of the main questions is whether Isceri was still alive when she fell from the viaduct or had already died from injuries sustained earlier. Autopsies on both bodies are expected to help establish the cause and timing of their deaths. Toxicological tests are also planned on Vella.
The killing comes amid renewed concern over violence against women in Italy. Isceri is the seventh woman reported killed by a current or former partner since Ferragosto, the August 15 national holiday,
Investigators examine possible premeditation
The Florence prosecutor’s office is also investigating evidence suggesting that the attack may have been planned in advance.
Italian media reported that items including cable ties, scissors and a sheet were found in the car. Investigators are examining these and other elements as they reconstruct Vella’s movements before Isceri was abducted.
Because Vella also died, the case will not result in a criminal trial against him. The investigation is nevertheless continuing to establish as precisely as possible what happened and whether the killing was premeditated.
The autopsies are among the next key steps in that investigation.
Sunday evening’s gathering shifted the focus back to Isceri and her family. Flowers, candles and handwritten messages remained outside her home after the crowd dispersed, marking the place where she had built her life in Florence and where her final journey began.
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