1975: the Circeo massacre

November 25th is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. This anniversary reminds us how much progress remains to be made in terms of equality and respect for women. Given the recurring cases of femicide and abuse in even the most suspicious settings, it is clear how much we need to reflect on the issue of gender relations. A useful tool for reflection is The Circeo Massacre (Tab Edizioni, 2025, 180 pages, also available as an e-book), a collaborative volume that reconstructs a brutal crime committed half a century ago . A true crime story that marked a before and after in the collective consciousness , public discourse, legislation, and imagination of Italy.

It all began on September 25, 1975, a pivotal year in women's struggle for equality. In 1975, family law, the body of laws regulating the family, was renewed. Equality between husband and wife, between men and women living in the same household, was established. Until then, the man had been the head of the household, the one who held the reins of command over his wife and children. However, a sad legacy of the past, honor killings, was not abolished. This law provided significant mitigating circumstances for men who killed their family members (wives, daughters, sisters) for reasons of dishonor: betrayal, relationships not approved by the head of the family. In short, something had changed, but a law alone cannot erase centuries of distorted culture.

Well, in 1975, two young women, Donatella Colasanti and Rosaria Lopez, accepted an invitation to a party in Lavinio hosted by two wealthy Romans, Gianni Guido and Angelo Izzo. The girls were actually taken to San Felice Circeo, to a villa owned by Andrea Ghira, a friend of Guido and Izzo, who joined the group a few hours later. What seemed like an ordinary evening turned into a kidnapping involving endless hours of violence and torture: only Donatella survived, becoming a witness to a crime that exposed all the contradictions of Italian society.

Half a century later, The Circeo Massacre is not only a reconstruction of that night but also an analysis of what preceded and followed it: the political and social context of the mid-1970s , the language of the media and justice, the collective perception of gender violence. In this comprehensive investigation, which interweaves current events, law, culture, and memory, the authors retrace a precedent in the Montesi case, reconstruct the climate in Rome in 1975, the trial, and its spectacularization. They also analyze the treatment of the story by the media, literature, and cinema, show how the event provided a decisive impetus for changing the legal framework on sexual violence, analyze gender stereotypes and toxic masculinity, and reflect on the evolution of the feminist movement in response to them.

A sad reality emerges clearly: fifty years later, the Circeo massacre remains an open wound and a fundamental step that contributed to shifting the debate from morality to the individual, paving the way for a new civil awareness and a change that is still underway.