A 45-year-old woman was killed and thrown off a motorway bridge near Florence, marking the seventh suspected femicide in Italy since mid-August.
Lorena Isceri was abducted on Thursday afternoon, allegedly by her ex-boyfriend, Federico Vella, in the Rifredi area of Florence. She was forced into the boot of his car and driven towards the bridge on the A1 motorway.
Isceri, who worked in the veterinary sector, still had her phone and managed to call an emergency helpline, telling operators she had been abducted.
Vella, 38, stopped the car, snatched the phone, and allegedly threw her off the bridge. He then took his own life by jumping off the same bridge.
After her call to the helpline, police traced her phone signal to the scene but arrived too late to prevent her murder. Authorities are now investigating whether Isceri was killed before being thrown off the bridge.
Isceri’s mother told SkyTg24 that she last spoke to her daughter on Thursday morning and that she sounded fine. When asked about her relationship with Vella, she said Isceri had discussed it with her and was “very afraid”.
Italian interior ministry data had shown a downward trend in femicides during the first six months of 2026. As of 8 August, there had been 40 femicide cases this year, according to figures from the feminist alliance Non Una di Meno.
However, numbers have risen since 15 August, Italy’s Ferragosto national holiday, with seven women, including Isceri, killed by a current or former partner.
Giorgia Meloni’s ruling coalition, which on Friday celebrated becoming the longest-serving government in the history of the Italian republic, had pledged to crack down on gender-based violence after the strong public reaction to the killing of Giulia Cecchetin, a 22-year-old medical student, by her former boyfriend in November 2023.
Two years later, the government approved a law that for the first time introduced a legal definition of femicide in criminal law, punishing it with life in prison. It also increased sentences for crimes such as stalking, sexual violence, and sharing intimate images without consent.
However, a campaign to educate schoolboys about healthy relationships was blocked after the government made it conditional on parental approval.
Luisa Rizzitelli, the Italy coordinator of One Billion Rising, which campaigns to end violence against women, said: “Perhaps Meloni is right to celebrate her government’s longevity, because there is precious little to celebrate in terms of concrete results.
“The approach to the tragic issue of male violence against women has been based on security policies while completely lacking strategic, structural programmes for training and prevention. The stubborn refusal to implement sex and relationship education in schools is a major factor fuelling the epidemic of femicides in Italy.”
In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, and the domestic abuse helpline is 0808 2000 247. In the US, the suicide prevention lifeline is 988, and the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14, and the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs regarding this tragic event and the broader context of femicides in Italy
General Questions About the Incident
1 What exactly happened in Florence
A 45yearold woman was killed Reports indicate she was attacked and died from her injuries The suspect who was known to her was arrested shortly after the incident
2 Who was the victim
Authorities have not released her full name to the public yet but she is described as a 45yearold Italian woman Police are still investigating her personal background to understand the full context of the relationship with her attacker
3 Who is the suspect
The suspect is a man who was in a relationship with or previously knew the victim He was taken into custody by police at the scene or shortly thereafter
4 Why is this being called a femicide
In Italy the term femicide is used when a woman is killed specifically because of her gender usually in the context of domestic violence stalking or abuse by a current or former partner It is distinct from a random murder because it is the culmination of genderbased violence
Questions About the Statistics and Context
5 What does seventh since midAugust mean Is this a spike
Yes it means that Italian news agencies have counted seven separate cases of women being killed by men in the roughly three weeks between midAugust and early September This is considered a significant and alarming spike in a short period even for a country that already tracks these cases closely
6 Is Italy particularly bad for femicides
Italy has a persistent problem with genderbased violence While the overall murder rate in Italy is relatively low the percentage of female homicides committed by intimate partners or family members is very high Statistics show that roughly one woman is killed every two to three days in Italy and most of these are domestic in nature
7 Are these crimes happening more often or are we just hearing about them more
Both While there are fluctuations year to year the frequency of summer femicides tends to rise Additionally Italian media has become much more diligent in recent years about reporting these deaths with the specific label of femic
