Forty years have passed since the night the Camorra killed Giancarlo Siani, a journalist for Il Mattino newspaper, at just 26 years of age. Yet today, “his memory remains more alive than ever,” according to his brother, Paolo Siani.
He speaks of public affection, numerous initiatives, and a changed awareness. The anniversary of the journalist’s murder falls on September 23rd. Paolo Siani says he is certain of one thing: “Our idea, as Luigi Ciotti taught us, is that memory and commitment are tied together; separated, they make no sense.”
That commitment and memory have defined a path that, in the coming days, will become a physical journey. The Olivetti M80 typewriter, which Giancarlo Siani used to write over 650 articles and investigations between 1979 and 1985, will be transported across Italy on a seven-stop train tour with eleven scheduled events.
The tour departs from San Giorgio a Cremano on September 24th, the day after the anniversary, and concludes on October 21st at the Rome Film Fest. Other stops include Latina, Fondi, Ravenna, Milan, and Turin. The list of commemorative events is extensive: a reading on September 17th at Villa Bruno in San Giorgio a Cremano, where the journalist’s Citroen Mehari is on display; a floral tribute at the Rampe Siani in Naples by the City Council on September 23rd; and conferences such as ‘Reporting on the Camorra 40 years after Siani’s death’ in Torre Annunziata, organized by the Campania Journalists’ Association.
Il Mattino will host ‘1985-2025: 40 years after the murder, lest we forget’ at the Mercadante Theatre under the patronage of RAI. The European Parliament will also mark the anniversary in Brussels with a conference titled ‘Truth and Memory: Journalists killed for telling the world’s stories,’ hosted by President Roberta Metsola.
“It is for all this,” Paolo Siani states, “that the sowing of these last 40 years is bearing fruit, and our goal is to entrust these seeds to the young so they may remember him, take all the good, and not deviate from their life’s path.”
The president of the Campania Journalists’ Association, Ottavio Lucarelli, calls “Giancarlo Siani’s message more relevant than ever. It is relevant not only for the world of information and all generations of journalists, but it is a broad message aimed at all of civil society.”
His investigative journalism remains “a warning” today, emphasized Gianmario Siani, president of the Giancarlo Siani Foundation. They are “a fundamental example that serves us greatly,” adds Geppino Fiorenza, emeritus representative of Libera Campania, who also noted the “great pain that remains, partly because on that night of September 23, 1985, he was not sufficiently defended as he should have been. This, for us, is a great suffering.”
Giancarlo Siani was at the beginning of his life when he was killed by two hitmen outside his home in Naples’ Vomero district. He was a young man full of dreams. This is why his brother, forty years later, addresses young aspiring journalists directly: “Do your job well, with a straight back. A journalist must report the facts. And if they are true, even if inconvenient, they must be told.”
© Copyright ANSA – All Rights Reserved