Pietro Pacciani

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Pietro Pacciani (7 January 1925 – 22 February 1998), was a peasant of Mercatale, San Casciano in Val di Pesa, suspected of being the ill-famed monster of Florence (mostro di Firenze). The case was the inspiration for the film Hannibal's setting in Florence.

Pacciani was arrested 17 January 1993 on suspicion of having murdered eight young couples between 1968 and 1985. The trial began in Florence on 1 November 1994 and ended with Pacciani facing 14 life sentences: one for each murder, except the 1968 controversial case. However, on 13 February 1996, Pacciani was acquitted after an appeal. On the 12 December, the Court of Cassation cancelled the acquittal and arranged a new trial.

Mario Vanni, Giovanni Faggi and Giancarlo Lotti are the names of the others three main suspects alleged to be involved with Pacciani during his spree in Florence. They were arrested by the police after information came to the light during Pacciani's first trial that the murders were not committed by a single person, but organized by a band of criminals. These people were ironically nicknamed “compagni di merende” (i.e. roughly “picnic mates”) by the Italian press, because of Vanni's claim that they just went for picnics in the Tuscan countryside. Vanni was condemned to life in prison, while Lotti received 26 years. Pacciani did not live to stand a retrial, but was found dead in his room in 1998. A toxicological examination revealed that Pacciani had taken drugs being contraindicated for the diseases he suffered from, casting new shadows on the scope of the conspiracy. On 24 March 1998, the Appeals Court sentenced Vanni and Lotti and acquitted Faggi.