The MONSTER of FLORENCE

Between 1968 and 1985, eight couples were slain in the shadowy lovers' lanes scattered across the otherwise idyllic countryside surrounding Florence, though as many as 16 murders have since been linked to the nameless killer.

- Olivia Harrowell

Each victim was shot with a .22-calibre Beretta pistol and, in several cases, the women were subjected to horrific postmortem mutilation.

The double murders were attributed to a predator the Italian press dubbed “Il Mostro di Firenze” (The Monster of Florence) – a name that terrified the province for nearly two decades and became synonymous with the country’s first known serial killer.

The crimes are so notorious in Italy that they’ve been the subject of multiple TV shows and films documenting the killings, including a recent Netflix series bearing the murderer’s deadly nickname.

The killings began in August 1968, when Barbara Locci, 32, and her secret lover, Antonio Lo Bianco, 29, were ambushed and shot dead after they had pulled over at a popular lovers’ lane. Barbara’s young son, asleep in the back seat, was miraculously spared. Her husband, Stefano Mele, was later convicted and served six years in prison – until another couple were murdered with what appeared to be the same gun, exonerating him from the crimes.