Rome prosecutors open new case 51 years after the Pasolini's murder, amid fresh evidence suggesting he was not killed by one person alone.Rome prosecutors have opened a new investigation into the murder of Pier Paolo Pasolini, one of the most contested killings in modern Italian history, on the 51st anniversary of his death.The Italian poet, novelist and film director was found dead at the Idroscalo in Ostia, on the coast outside Rome, in the early hours of 2 November 1975. He was 53. His body bore signs of a violent assault and his own car had been used to run him over. The case has been assigned to deputy prosecutor Silvia Santucci. It follows a complaint filed in recent weeks at the Rome prosecutors’ offices in Piazzale Clodio by lawyer Stefano Maccioni. Maccioni previously represented Guido Mazzon, a cousin of Pasolini. He now acts for the Lazio Order of Journalists, the director David Grieco and the writer and publisher Giovanni Giovannetti. He said the new petition, submitted in November 2025 and supplemented in May 2026, “is based on new elements gathered by this defence”. He called on anyone who has so far stayed silent about what they know to come forward, and said he hoped prosecutors would finally provide the answers sought “for too many years”. Question of accomplices At the heart of the request is the claim that Pasolini was not attacked by a single person. Giuseppe “Pino” Pelosi, who was 17 at the time, was convicted of the murder after initially confessing that he had acted alone. Maccioni’s team argues that the material gathered over the years makes it necessary to establish who else was present. Newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano reports that the petition draws on footage from RAI news bulletins of the period and on a joint reading of the data collected so far, which, it says, leads to the conclusion that Pelosi was “with certainty” not alone that night. Maccioni has also asked that a new witness be heard. The material cited also includes genetic traces found on items preserved after the killing. In 2010, Carabinieri forensic investigators (RIS) isolated several DNA profiles, but none could be conclusively attributed to an individual. Whether the new elements have investigative value will now be assessed by the judiciary. Previous attempts Earlier efforts to reopen the case have fallen short. An investigation into further inquiries was shelved in 2015. In 2016, a campaign for a parliamentary commission of inquiry gathered around 11,000 signatures and the backing of cultural figures including Dario Fo, Dacia Maraini and Massimo Ranieri. Prosecutors rejected petitions to reopen the case in 2016 and again in 2023, the latter lodged by Maccioni on behalf of Grieco and Giovannetti and focused on the DNA profiles, on the grounds that the evidence was insufficient. Another initiative, backed by the Lazio Order of Journalists, followed in 2025. Pasolini, author of Ragazzi di vita and Una vita violenta, remains a towering figure in Italian culture. Doubts persist over who was involved in his death and why he was killed. Photo Mattatoio - Mauro Maugliani. Cosa sono le Nuvole omaggio a Pasolini.

Rome prosecutors have opened a new investigation into the murder of Pier Paolo Pasolini, one of the most contested killings in modern Italian history, on the 51st anniversary of his death. The Italian poet, novelist and film director was found dead at the Idroscalo in Ostia, on the coast outside Rome, in the early hours of 2 November 1975. He was 53. His body bore signs of a violent assault and his own car had been used to run him over. The case has been assigned to deputy prosecutor Silvia Santucci. It follows a complaint filed in recent weeks at the Rome prosecutors’ offices in Piazzale Clodio by lawyer Stefano Maccioni. Maccioni previously represented Guido Mazzon, a cousin of Pasolini. He now acts for the Lazio Order of Journalists, the director David Grieco and the writer and publisher Giovanni Giovannetti. He said the new petition, submitted in November 2025 and supplemented in May 2026, “is based on new elements gathered by this defence”. He called on anyone who has so far stayed silent about what they know to come forward, and said he hoped prosecutors would finally provide the answers sought “for too many years”. At the heart of the request is the claim that Pasolini was not attacked by a single person. Giuseppe “Pino” Pelosi, who was 17 at the time, was convicted of the murder after initially confessing that he had acted alone. Maccioni’s team argues that the material gathered over the years makes it necessary to establish who else was present. Newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano reports that the petition draws on footage from RAI news bulletins of the period and on a joint reading of the data collected so far, which, it says, leads to the conclusion that Pelosi was “with certainty” not alone that night. Maccioni has also asked that a new witness be heard. The material cited also includes genetic traces found on items preserved after the killing. In 2010, Carabinieri forensic investigators (RIS) isolated several DNA profiles, but none could be conclusively attributed to an individual. Whether the new elements have investigative value will now be assessed by the judiciary. Earlier efforts to reopen the case have fallen short. An investigation into further inquiries was shelved in 2015. In 2016, a campaign for a parliamentary commission of inquiry gathered around 11,000 signatures and the backing of cultural figures including Dario Fo, Dacia Maraini and Massimo Ranieri. Prosecutors rejected petitions to reopen the case in 2016 and again in 2023, the latter lodged by Maccioni on behalf of Grieco and Giovannetti and focused on the DNA profiles, on the grounds that the evidence was insufficient. Another initiative, backed by the Lazio Order of Journalists, followed in 2025. Pasolini, author of Ragazzi di vita and Una vita violenta, remains a towering figure in Italian culture. Doubts persist over who was involved in his death and why he was killed.