Lorena Isceri's funeral began at 5pm in Squinzano, in the province of Lecce, in the Maria Regina church where the woman had been baptized as a child. The white coffin was placed in front of the altar, while balloons and red bows were attached along the streets of the town. The naves and the churchyard were full, where a giant screen was set up to allow the crowd remaining outside the church to take part in the celebration. In the church, in addition to the family and friends of the 45-year-old, there were representatives of many institutions, including the president of the Province of Lecce and around forty Salento mayors wearing the tricolor sash.
At the end of the funeral, inside the church, Lorena Isceri's father kissed the photo of his daughter that was resting on the coffin, lifted it and showed it to the hundreds of citizens, friends, relatives and representatives of the institutions who were emotionally participating in the celebration. The gesture was accompanied by applause, which continued outside the church. The white coffin then left the church amidst applause, while in the square friends let white and red balloons fly. Accompanying the coffin to the hearse were, among others, his father Franco, his mother Antonietta and his brother Danilo. The 45-year-old's mother then placed an old stuffed animal of her daughter on the coffin.
During the homily, the parish priest Don Vanni Bisconti reiterated: "There is an abysmal difference between love and possession, between love and control, between love and jealousy, between love and demands, between love and the right to decide on the life of another. And we must say it clearly, especially to young people: if a person says no to you, that no must be respected. If a person decides not to continue a relationship he is not taking away from you something that belongs to you. Because the other does not belong to us." And again: "The person we love is not our property, it is not an object that we can possess. It is not someone who must remain with us simply because we want it, because I have decided so." During the funeral, the parish priest then underlined: "We cannot simply dismiss what happened as the act of a madman. Certainly those who kill always assume a great responsibility. But all of us, as a society, as adults, as educators, as parents, as schools, as pieces of communication, of the church, must have the courage to ask ourselves what idea of love we are instilling in our boys and girls". Then he added: "We cannot pretend that around our kids, who then become young men and then become men, messages are not circulating that mix love and possession, joy and jealousy, passion, control, interest, dependence and affection and become one. And when certain messages become mentalities they can induce devastating suffering."
In another passage of the homily, Don Vanni Bisconti said: "The first thing we can do, and we are doing it, is to be there. We are here, we are many. Not only because we knew Lorena, because we loved her, because we are her friends, relatives, acquaintances. We are also here because we would like, if it were possible, to take a piece of the pain of this family. We would like to take away at least part of that suffering from mum, dad, her brother. We would like to be able to tell you 'you are not alone'. This you don't have to carry the pain all alone."
Yesterday, 8 September, meanwhile, the autopsy was completed: it emerged that the woman was still alive when she was thrown into the viaduct along the Autostrada del Sole in Barberino di Mugello and therefore died from the fall from tens of meters in height. The autopsy will also establish whether Vella, who after killing Lorena jumped from the same overpass, had taken drugs or other substances. The results of the toxicological tests will be filed within 90 days.
In Squinzano today there is a day of citizen mourning, while next Friday, on the initiative of the municipal administration and the spontaneous committee For Lorena, a torchlight procession will be held which will start from the Isceri family home to reach the red bench, the symbol of the fight against gender violence, located in Piazza Vittoria. Yesterday, however, there was a collective prayer organized by Lorena's friends in the places where the woman had spent her last holidays in August. Welcoming the appeal of the 45-year-old's father, who asked for the commitment of all political forces against violence against women and also educational interventions in schools, Mayor Mario Pede asked the schools in the town to promote moments of reflection and awareness on the topic. Furthermore, in memory of Lorraine until the end of September the facades of some monuments in the city will be illuminated in red. Even in Florence, where the woman lived and worked for some time, Lorena was remembered with a minute of silence at the opening of the work of the Tuscany Regional Council.
