Post by hi224 on Dec 5, 2018 8:24:17 GMT
Bio
Pier Paolo Pasolini remains one of Italy’s most polarizing social and artistic figures of the mid-20th century. Born in Bologna in March 1922, the director spent his younger years moving around various northern Italian towns and cities with his family. Due to this nomadic lifestyle as well as having conflicting political and religious views from his fascist-leaning parents, Pasolini retreated into the arts as an escape, penning his first poem at age seven. It wasn’t until the 1950s however, that Pier Paolo first published his written works which spanned several literary genres including narratives and essays. Today the artist is most recognised for his contributions to the film industry, notably for his 1975 feature Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom. The aforementioned film, which was released posthumously, featured taboo imagery and subject matters to help deliver political and social messages about Italian society, a common thread in Pasolini’s work.
To learn more about Pasolini and his artistic output you can read his Wikipedia page here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pier_Paolo_Pasolini
The Crime
On the morning of 3 November 1975, the partially burned and severely beaten body of Pier Paolo Pasolini was discovered by a labourer on his way to work near a beach in Ostia, Rome. A few hours’ prior to this finding, local police arrested a young hustler by the name of Giuseppe Pino Pelosi (known by his friends as “The Frog”) for speeding. When the vehicle the 17-year-old prostitute was driving was discovered to be Pasolini’s, he soon confessed to the brutal crime. Asserting that he “acted alone”, Pelosi was sentenced to nine years in prison. According to the young man’s testimony, Pasolini picked him up for sex on the night of 2 November 1975. When the teen denied the older man’s request to “shove a wooden stick up his anus”, the latter became violent. Giuseppe claimed that he then struck Pasolini over the head with a wooden sign, hit him in the testicles, and drove away in the director’s car, accidently running him over. Unlike the police, many friends, family members, and fans of Pier Paolo were hesitant to accept this course of events. The brutality of the crime was often thought of as being too much for a thin boy like Pelosi to carry out alone, especially considering that the director was known to be in “athletic shape”. Furthermore, the state of Pasolini’s corpse was found in a much more mutilated state than suggested by the hustler with his testicles and throat being crushed, liver lacerated, and an ear being nearly ripped away from his head, not to mention being partially burned.
New Developments
On 7 May 2005 Giuseppe Pelosi officially redacted his confession of Pasolini’s murder, stating that it was made after his family received threats by several men with “southern accents.” According to his current story, the once convicted killer and Pasolini were jumped by at least six people who arrived in two cars and a moped to the place of the crime. “They (two men) laid him out with metal bars and then ran him over with a similar car (to Pier Paolo’s)”, Pelosi asserted. To further complicate matters Giuseppe’s initial Juvenile murder conviction was found to include the phrase “in collusion with unknown others” that was later struck out by a higher ruling court. Police work on the case was also discovered to be unsatisfactory with officers never having recorded finger prints, leaving out Pasolini’s car in the rain, and later crashing it into a pole. Leads concerning a mysterious sweater and blood stain found in the aforementioned vehicle were never followed up. Police in 2005 tried to amend these faults by following up on witness claims who supported Pelosi’s story, but investigative judges didn’t find evidence conclusive enough to warrant a continued inquiry. In late 2014, DNA samples taken from the clothing Pasolini was wearing on the day he died were found to have traces from three different people. More recently, in 2017 Giuseppe Pelosi passed away at age 59 due to lung cancer, the man’s lawyer for the 1975 crime asserted that the truth won’t “die with him”.
Theories
Prior to Pelosi’s 2005 redaction, theories concerning additional killers were deemed as conspiratory. Nowadays many followers of the case believe Giuseppe’s claims, which are furthered by Pasolini’s controversial nature, the state of his body, and poor initial police work. It’s worth noting though that Pelosi was a criminal who was repeatedly arrested in the 1980s following his release from prison, and could’ve been lying later in life. Theories surrounding the crime include a political hit by Christian Democrats, an act of hate due to Pasolini's homosexuality, and a revenge killing by radical fascists. The murder could've also been an act of extortion gone wrong as, according to testimony by Pier Paolo's friend Sergio Citti, some roles of Salo were stolen by thieves who wanted to meet the director for a money exchange later during the month he died.
Pier Paolo Pasolini remains one of Italy’s most polarizing social and artistic figures of the mid-20th century. Born in Bologna in March 1922, the director spent his younger years moving around various northern Italian towns and cities with his family. Due to this nomadic lifestyle as well as having conflicting political and religious views from his fascist-leaning parents, Pasolini retreated into the arts as an escape, penning his first poem at age seven. It wasn’t until the 1950s however, that Pier Paolo first published his written works which spanned several literary genres including narratives and essays. Today the artist is most recognised for his contributions to the film industry, notably for his 1975 feature Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom. The aforementioned film, which was released posthumously, featured taboo imagery and subject matters to help deliver political and social messages about Italian society, a common thread in Pasolini’s work.
To learn more about Pasolini and his artistic output you can read his Wikipedia page here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pier_Paolo_Pasolini
The Crime
On the morning of 3 November 1975, the partially burned and severely beaten body of Pier Paolo Pasolini was discovered by a labourer on his way to work near a beach in Ostia, Rome. A few hours’ prior to this finding, local police arrested a young hustler by the name of Giuseppe Pino Pelosi (known by his friends as “The Frog”) for speeding. When the vehicle the 17-year-old prostitute was driving was discovered to be Pasolini’s, he soon confessed to the brutal crime. Asserting that he “acted alone”, Pelosi was sentenced to nine years in prison. According to the young man’s testimony, Pasolini picked him up for sex on the night of 2 November 1975. When the teen denied the older man’s request to “shove a wooden stick up his anus”, the latter became violent. Giuseppe claimed that he then struck Pasolini over the head with a wooden sign, hit him in the testicles, and drove away in the director’s car, accidently running him over. Unlike the police, many friends, family members, and fans of Pier Paolo were hesitant to accept this course of events. The brutality of the crime was often thought of as being too much for a thin boy like Pelosi to carry out alone, especially considering that the director was known to be in “athletic shape”. Furthermore, the state of Pasolini’s corpse was found in a much more mutilated state than suggested by the hustler with his testicles and throat being crushed, liver lacerated, and an ear being nearly ripped away from his head, not to mention being partially burned.
New Developments
On 7 May 2005 Giuseppe Pelosi officially redacted his confession of Pasolini’s murder, stating that it was made after his family received threats by several men with “southern accents.” According to his current story, the once convicted killer and Pasolini were jumped by at least six people who arrived in two cars and a moped to the place of the crime. “They (two men) laid him out with metal bars and then ran him over with a similar car (to Pier Paolo’s)”, Pelosi asserted. To further complicate matters Giuseppe’s initial Juvenile murder conviction was found to include the phrase “in collusion with unknown others” that was later struck out by a higher ruling court. Police work on the case was also discovered to be unsatisfactory with officers never having recorded finger prints, leaving out Pasolini’s car in the rain, and later crashing it into a pole. Leads concerning a mysterious sweater and blood stain found in the aforementioned vehicle were never followed up. Police in 2005 tried to amend these faults by following up on witness claims who supported Pelosi’s story, but investigative judges didn’t find evidence conclusive enough to warrant a continued inquiry. In late 2014, DNA samples taken from the clothing Pasolini was wearing on the day he died were found to have traces from three different people. More recently, in 2017 Giuseppe Pelosi passed away at age 59 due to lung cancer, the man’s lawyer for the 1975 crime asserted that the truth won’t “die with him”.
Theories
Prior to Pelosi’s 2005 redaction, theories concerning additional killers were deemed as conspiratory. Nowadays many followers of the case believe Giuseppe’s claims, which are furthered by Pasolini’s controversial nature, the state of his body, and poor initial police work. It’s worth noting though that Pelosi was a criminal who was repeatedly arrested in the 1980s following his release from prison, and could’ve been lying later in life. Theories surrounding the crime include a political hit by Christian Democrats, an act of hate due to Pasolini's homosexuality, and a revenge killing by radical fascists. The murder could've also been an act of extortion gone wrong as, according to testimony by Pier Paolo's friend Sergio Citti, some roles of Salo were stolen by thieves who wanted to meet the director for a money exchange later during the month he died.