Why Netflix’s The Monster of Florence leaves out the apparently crucial bit: the man they convicted

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Netflix’s documentary, The Monster of Florence, thoroughly examines the case of the infamous Italian serial killer, but surprisingly omits the man who was eventually found guilty.

The streamer’s new true crime series revisits a series of shocking murders that terrified the nation during the 1970s and 80s.

Often called Italy’s version of the Zodiac killer, “il Mostro” (the Monster) preyed on couples parked in secluded rural areas near Florence. He’s suspected of committing eight double murders between 1968 and 1985, and remains a mysterious figure due to his cunning and the similarities in his crimes.

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As a true crime enthusiast, I’ve been reading about this case, and it’s absolutely chilling. The killer used a .22 caliber Beretta, and what makes it even more disturbing is that the victims were often horribly mutilated. It’s just… awful to think about.

What is Netflix’s The Monster of Florence about?

The miniseries, directed by Stefano Sollima (known for Romanzo Criminale — La serie and Gomorrah), tells the story of the ‘Sardinian trail’ – a real-life, controversial theory surrounding a series of mysterious deaths in Italy.

Italian newspapers initially investigated a possible link between the 1968 double murder – believed to be the Monster’s first – and four Sardinian immigrants: Stefano Mele, his brother Giovanni, and brothers Salvatore and Francesco Vinci. This line of inquiry later proved incorrect.

The book The Monster of Florence is split into four parts, each focusing on a different suspect in the case, and presents the various stories told during the original investigation.

Sollima’s film isn’t trying to definitively solve one of Italy’s most troubling unsolved cases. Instead, it explores how the social environment of the time – filled with prejudice against women and both subtle and overt violence – enabled the perpetrator, or perpetrators, to act without challenge.

I’m hooked on this new show! In the very first episode, the deputy DA, Silvia Della Monica (Liliana Bottone plays her), lays it out pretty clearly: these killings aren’t random. She says it’s all about violence against women, and that’s the key to figuring out what’s going on.

In this light, one of The Monster of Florence‘s most controversial narrative decisions makes sense.

Sollima and Leonardo Fasoli deliberately omitted the 1994 arrest and conviction of Pietro Pacciani. By doing so, they moved the story’s emphasis away from identifying the killer and toward the issue of violence against women.

Today.it criticized the show for its poor handling of gender-based violence, arguing it didn’t consider the historical context. However, Silvia Della Monica, who actually knew the perpetrator, recently explained that he acted with “a deep and pathological hatred towards women,” according to ADNKronos.

It was a pattern of violence against women, though we didn’t use that term – ‘feminicide’ – over 40 years ago.

The true story behind Netflix’s The Monster of Florence

The miniseries debuted at the Venice Film Festival and begins with a major discovery made by Della Monica’s investigation team.

Okay, so back in 1982, this really messed up thing happened – Paolo Mainardi and Antonella Migliorini were murdered. Someone called in a tip, and it led the police to look at a cold case from way back in 1968. Apparently, they were revisiting the murders of Barbara Locci and her lover, Antonio Lo Bianco – Barbara was actually married to a guy named Stefano Mele. It’s like they thought these two cases might be connected, which is pretty wild.

The couple died while they were intimate in their car, with Locci’s son, Natalino, asleep in the back.

Della Monica figured out that the two double murders were likely committed with the same .22 caliber Beretta pistol, which has never been recovered.

Hoping to trick the murderer into revealing themselves, she falsely told the press that Mainardi had described the killer to the police before his death.

Okay, so this is messed up, but I was reading about the case and apparently, Stefano Mele, the guy played by Marco Bullitta, was found guilty of killing two people. But here’s the really weird part: after he was locked up, more murders started happening that were blamed on ‘The Monster.’ Because of that, the police figured Mele couldn’t be The Monster, since he was already behind bars. It’s a crazy case!

Honestly, the whole case really comes down to whether the detectives were right about Frank Mele. They just had this feeling he wasn’t acting alone, especially because his stories about the ’68 murders kept changing. And it’s super strange – the gun he supposedly used to kill his wife and the other woman was never found. That’s what makes me think there’s more to the story!

In episode three, Della Monica asks Mele, “Usually, things are either true or false, right?”

The show explores multiple leads, including Stefano Mele and the connections to Locci’s lover, Francesco Vinci (played by Giacomo Fadda), and his brother Salvatore (Valentino Mannias). Salvatore had previously lived with Mele and Locci, had a relationship with Mele, and his first wife, Barbarina, died by suicide in Sardinia years earlier, with questions surrounding the circumstances of her death.

After eliminating Stefano Mele as a suspect, investigators initially focused on Francesco. Examining magistrate Mario Rotella then investigated Mele’s brother, Giovanni Tintis, and his brother-in-law, Piero Cancellieri, believing they might have been involved in the deaths of Locci and Lo Bianco. However, none of these individuals were ever charged or found guilty.

In 1983, while Francesco was imprisoned, the Monster committed another crime. Then, in 1984, with all three suspects already in custody, Rotella shifted the focus of the investigation to Salvatore.

The series concludes in 1985 with the Monster’s last known crimes: the murders of Jean Michel Kraveichvili, age 25, and Nadine Mauriot, age 36.

Honestly, when Della Monica – the only female investigator on the case – received that horrifying letter with a piece of skin the killer had taken from Mauriot, it really pushed Rotella to finally go after Salvatore Vinci. It felt like that was the evidence they needed to make an arrest.

Rotella planned to prosecute Vinci for the murder of his first wife, hoping it would lead to answers in the ‘Monster’ murders. When Vinci was found not guilty in the Barbarina case, investigators hit a dead end – it seemed none of their suspects were involved. Then, a new anonymous tip led them to focus on a man named Pietro Pacciani.

Is Pietro Pacciani in Netflix’s The Monster of Florence?

Although Pietro Pacciani isn’t a central figure in the documentary The Monster of Florence, he’s involved in the final, suspenseful moment.

Although a second season hasn’t been officially announced, the way episode four ended hints that the show might continue beyond its initial run as a limited series.

Once the leads from the ‘pista sarda’ investigation ran out, the case of ‘The Monster of Florence’ concluded with a resident of Mercatale, a town 26 kilometers south of Florence, contacting the police and suggesting they investigate his neighbor.

According to numerous reports, this man spent 15 years in prison for killing his girlfriend,” the letter states, adding that the neighbor controls his wife and daughters very restrictively.

“A farmer with big shows and a bigger intellect,” the man calls the neighbours.

Please investigate this man, Pacciani Pietro, and his daughters immediately,” the informant urged. Drone footage currently shows him outside, verbally and physically abusing his wife.

In 1994, Pietro Pacciani was arrested and convicted of seven of the eight double murders, receiving fourteen life sentences. Three men – Mario Vanni, Giancarlo Lotti, and Giovanni Faggi – were tried as his accomplices and were dubbed “Snack Buddies” by the media. Convictions for Vanni and Lotti were upheld in 2000.

As a true crime fan, it was wild to follow the Pacciani case. He was actually found not guilty on appeal in ’96, but then the Supreme Court ordered another trial. Sadly, he passed away in 1998 before they could ever get that second trial started, so we never got full closure on everything.

All four episodes of The Monster of Florence are streaming on Netflix.

The latest issue of Living Legends is now available! You can find Ariana & Witches at newsstands or online for only £8.99.

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2025-10-29 00:21