Twelve kidnappings were committed in the Marghine area, seven of which were in Macomer. The first was the farmer Basilio Barria , kidnapped in the countryside near Macomer on January 22, 1966. He was released after six days after paying a ransom of 5 million lire. The last was Giuseppe Vinci , a local businessman, kidnapped at the Borore crossroads on the evening of December 9, 1994. The kidnapping season was revisited on Friday evening during a demonstration organized by the Maart Heart City association, which drew hundreds of people at the intermodal passenger center.
An important topic, " From Loot to Ransom, " was addressed, linked to the "The Upside-Down Century" project, which examined the development and evolution of the criminal phenomenon between the 1940s and the late 1990s. It emerged that Macomer is the Italian town with the highest number of kidnapped people between the second half of the 1960s and the mid-1990s. Seven kidnappings occurred in Macomer, followed by one in Borore, two in Bortigali, and one in Sindia . Former hostages, such as Luca Locci (abducted when he was just seven years old in 1978), Dino Toniutti, abducted when he was 26 (father of two) in 1978, and Giuseppe Vinci, also a father of two, abducted at 31 in December 1994, participated in the event, providing important and moving testimonies.
A moving and disturbing account emerged, concluding with an appeal to young people: "Never again travel the roads that brought one of Sardinia's most prosperous towns to the brink of an unprecedented economic crisis, fueled by the flight of entrepreneurs and businesses." The demonstration was attended by the mayor, Riccardo Uda, and the commander of the Carabinieri company, Captain Giovanni Maria Seu, as well as lawyer Rosaria Manconi and historian Gian Luca Taccori. The president of Maart and project director, Marco Benevole, and two local journalists led the meeting, dedicated to journalist Paolo Maurizio Sechi , who passed away about three years ago.
