Half a century after the violent and enigmatic disappearance of Pier Paolo Pasolini, Italian justice reopens the investigation

Italian justice has reopened the investigation into the murder, in 1975, of the writer, filmmaker and journalist Pier Paolo Pasolini, the lawyer behind the request told AFP on Monday. Stefano Maccioni, who has been calling for new investigations for years, told AFP that he hoped that this reopening “could put an end to this story”.

“I appeal to those who know something and who have not had the courage to speak out, so that they do so now,” added the lawyer who, in the past, represented Pasolini's cousin. Today he represents the Order of Journalists of Lazio, a filmmaker and a writer.

Pier Paolo Pasolini, a 53-year-old left-wing artist and intellectual, was found dead on a beach near Rome on November 2, 1975. He had been beaten, then an Alfa Romeo GT, his own or another, had rolled over his body.

The same day, Giuseppe “Pino” Pelosi, a 17-year-old prostitute, was arrested driving the victim’s car. He says he is the only one guilty, claiming to have defended himself from an attempted rape by the director.

After being incarcerated for nearly ten years, Pino Pelosi recanted his confession in 2005, blaming the murder on three unidentified men speaking with a Sicilian accent. According to Stefano Maccioni, DNA tests showed the presence of other people at the crime scene. The lawyer urged prosecutors to “put the pieces together.”

Since Pasolini's death, theories have multiplied about the reasons for his assassination, ranging from blackmail to a contract sponsored by the far right or the mafia.

The director's last film, Salo or the 120 Days of Sodom, a critique of fascist Italy released after his death, caused a scandal due to its explicit depiction of violence and sexual abuse.

Pasolini lived without fear of controversy, attacking bourgeois values, Catholic censorship and the threat of neo-fascism, while exposing the harshness of existence through an often dark and uncompromising outlook.