Circeo Massacre: A horrific crime that shook Italy

The useful part

Italy this week marks the anniversary of the Circeo Massacre, a horrendous crime that unfolded in a seaside resort south of Rome between 29 and 30 September 1975. The two friends, Rosaria Lopez, 19, and Donatella Colasanti, 17, were lured to a villa in San Felice Circeo by three acquaintances: What was promised to be a party turned into a 36-hour nightmare of brutal torture and sexual violence.

How it works

• Colasanti later recounted that while driving, the trio laughed and joked, saying: "Shut up, we have two bodies on board" and "How well do they sleep?".
• Her cries were heard by a night watchman, who alerted the police.
• Lopez was savagely beaten and dragged upstairs where she was drowned in a bathtub.
• Colasanti survived by feigning death after being strangled with a belt and beaten with an iron bar.
• Believing both women were dead, the perpetrators bundled their bodies into the boot of a car, intending to dispose of them, and drove back to Rome.

What to take from it

Trial The subsequent trial became a landmark case, drawing immense public attention and mobilising Italy's nascen... Shocking discovery The car was parked on a street on Viale Pola in Rome's Trieste district while the men went to dinner in a restaurant. Inside the trunk of the car, despite her severe injuries, Colasanti began to scream for help.

Details worth keeping

'Massacro del Circeo' still haunts Italy after more than 50 years.