Giulia Cecchettin and Maria Pedena are two girls who shared the same sad destiny: femicide. Two similar stories, but with a striking distance of time, almost two centuries apart. A sign that time passes, but being a woman continues to be dangerous.
Giulia Cecchettin was twenty-two in November 2023, when she was brutally killed by her ex-boyfriend, Filippo Turetta. The motive? The girl’s refusal to restart a relationship she had decided to end. She was punched, kicked and stabbed to death just before her graduation in Biomedical Engineering. The University of Padua gave her an honorary degree on 2 February 2024, establishing also some scholarships in her memory.
Maria Pedena was just fourteen when she was killed, the night of July 2, 1827. Her fatal blow, too, was inflicted with a knife by a man, Eleuterio Malagoli. A luthier who was staying in her parents’ house and had become besotted with her.
Like Turetta, who lured Giulia to an isolated place by deception, Malagoli hatched a plan to remain in the house alone with Maria. Then, he tried to rape her, but the girl, who was already engaged, resisted. She struggled, just like Giulia, under whose nails traces of Turetta’s DNA were found. Unfortunately, their resistance has been vain. An exhibition on Maria’s story is currently on view at the Gallerie Estensi in Modena, her hometown.
Giulia Cecchettin and Maria Pedena were punished with death for having dared to claim the right to decide about their lives and their bodies. A tragic parallel, which should make us reflect on how relevant the theme of the meaning of life is.
