Yet another femicide occurred yesterday in Bergamo , Lombardy. A fifty-year-old man, Vincenzo Dongellini , stabbed his wife, Valentina Sarto , 42, a bartender, to death in their home on the northern outskirts of the city. The crime occurred late in the morning, when the man stabbed the woman multiple times. He then allegedly attempted suicide, first by ingesting bleach and then stabbing himself with the same knife. He is currently under guard, not in serious condition, at the Papa Giovanni XXIII hospital in Bergamo, under arrest for voluntary manslaughter.
He will be questioned in the next few hours. Initial findings suggest Valentina Sarto was stabbed in the back and throat . Further details will emerge from the autopsy, which will be performed in the coming days at the morgue of the Papa Giovanni Hospital, where the woman's body was taken following the examination. Valentina Sarto worked at the Baretto, the historic venue across from the New Balance Arena, a gathering place for Atalanta's Curva Nord fans, while her husband was currently unemployed. The two had been together for ten years and married in May last year. It is still unclear what sparked this morning's argument. It appears the couple was experiencing a crisis and she was considering ending their relationship. Valentina has not filed any complaints against her husband to law enforcement. However, a neighbor reported that she often heard the couple arguing.
The investigation is being coordinated by the Bergamo Public Prosecutor's Office and led by Deputy Prosecutor Antonio Mele. The patrol cars, the Flying Squad, and the forensic team are conducting surveys of the apartment, which was subsequently seized, while Via Pescaria was closed off by police all afternoon. Emergency services, however, were in vain: the man's injuries to his wife were too serious. Bergamo's mayor, Elena Carnevali, also spoke out about the incident, calling it "a profound wound for the city " and a "horrifying crime." "In moments like this," she added, "pain is combined with anger and a sense of helplessness: once again, everything happens within the home , within a couple's relationship, in the place that should be a place of care and safety. Violence against women doesn't start suddenly: it occurs through control, isolation, threats, and a daily pressure that often remains invisible." We must continue to work to change things, even in a city like Bergamo, which has long been committed to providing support in situations of violence. Alongside measures to increase penalties, we must defeat the culture of possession and oppression that makes men believe they can control our lives, and women's lives. When we invest in education, prevention, and strengthening local networks and services that can identify and address risky situations, then we truly protect and support women, and restore their right to think of themselves as free, safe, and alive.
"Every day," the mayor concluded, "must be a time for responsibility and reaction, a time to build different relationships, founded on respect and freedom, a time for new words that create a new culture."
(Unioneonline)
