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In the early hours of 26 December 1965, Melodia and a group of 12 armed companions broke into the Viola home and kidnapped Franca by dragging her into a car, in the process beating up Viola's mother and also taking Franca's eight-year-old brother
Mariano, who refused to let go of his sister. Mariano
129:, and Viola's father insisted she break off the engagement, which she did. Melodia then moved to Germany. By 1965 Viola was engaged to another man, and Melodia had returned to Alcamo and was trying unsuccessfully to re-enter Viola's life, stalking her and threatening both her father and boyfriend.
227:
Franca Viola married
Giuseppe Ruisi in December 1968, when she was almost 21 years old. They had liked each other since childhood. Ruisi, an accountant, insisted he would have married the girl he had long loved despite threats and rumours, but had to request a firearms license after obtaining the
137:. Melodia told her that now she would be forced to marry him so as not to become a "dishonoured" woman, but Viola replied that she had no intention of marriage and, moreover, that she would have him sued for kidnapping and rape. On 31 December, Melodia contacted Viola's father Bernardo for the
236:
publicly expressed their appreciation of Franca Viola's courage and their solidarity with the couple. President
Saragat sent the couple a wedding gift and the pope received them in a private audience soon after the wedding. Viola and Ruisi would go on to have three children, two sons and one
157:
operation. Viola was freed and her kidnappers arrested on 2 January 1966, seven days before her eighteenth birthday. She said her father asked her if she really wanted to marry
Melodia and, when she said she did not, he told her he would do everything possible to help her.
93:
frequently. She is considered to be the first
Italian woman who had been raped to publicly refuse marriage. She and her family successfully prosecuted the rapist. The trial had a wide resonance in Italy, as Viola's behavior clashed with traditional social conventions in
209:'), fleeing voluntarily to get married secretly rather than being kidnapped, but the trial (which happened in 1966) found Melodia guilty. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison, later reduced to 10 years, with a two-year period of compulsory residence in
125:, Sicily, the oldest daughter of Bernardo Viola, a farmer, and his wife, Vita Ferra. In 1963, at the age of 15, she became engaged to Filippo Melodia, then aged 23, a nephew of mafia member Vincenzo Rimi. Melodia was subsequently arrested for
166:
Melodia offered Viola a so-called "rehabilitating marriage," but she refused, thus acting against what was the common practice in
Sicilian society at the time. According to traditional social norms, this choice would make her a
213:. Five of his friends were acquitted, and the others received relatively mild sentences. Melodia was released from prison in 1976, and was killed on 13 April 1978 in a mafia-style execution before he could return to Sicily.
171:, or 'woman without honour' (literally: a 'shameless woman'), as she had lost her virginity but remained unwed. These concepts were not exclusive to Sicily or rural areas; to some extent, they were also implicit in the
133:
was released a few hours later, but Franca was held for eight days in the home of
Melodia's sister and her husband, a farmhouse on the outskirts of the town, where she was repeatedly
199:
itself was directly involved, as it became obvious that part of the existing legal code was at odds with public opinion. Melodia's lawyers claimed Viola had consented to a so-called
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of the time, namely
Article 544, which equated rape to a crime against "public morality" rather than a personal offence, and formalized the idea of a "rehabilitating marriage" (
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After Viola's refusal to marry her rapist, her family members were reportedly menaced, ostracised, and persecuted by most townspeople. Their
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The article of law whereby a rapist could vacate his crime by marrying his victim was not abolished until 1981.
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were torched. These events, and the eventual trial, resonated powerfully with the
Italian media and public. The
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284:) directed by Marta Savina tells the story of Viola though the names and some details have been changed.
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Sexual violence became a crime against the person (instead of against "public morality") only in 1996.
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Storia del miracolo italiano: culture, identitĂ , trasformazioni fra anni cinquanta e sessanta
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for 'appeasement', i.e., striking a deal between the families of the man and woman who "
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woman who became famous in the 1960s in Italy for refusing a "rehabilitating marriage" (
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267:('There was nothing'). In 2017, a fifteen-minute film based on Viola's story, titled
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marriage license, to protect himself and his bride-to-be. Both the
Italian President
106:. Franca Viola became a symbol of the cultural progress and emancipation of women in
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233:
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533:"The case of Franca Viola: Debating Gender, Nation and Modernity in 1960s Italy"
494:"The case of Franca Viola: Debating Gender, Nation and Modernity in 1960s Italy"
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343:. Essay on ten women that changed the Italian culture in the 20th century (
89:) to her rapist after being kidnapped, held hostage for over one week, and
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271:, was included as a finalist in the Manhattan Short Film Festival.
736:"Rape and the Querela in Italy: False Protection of Victim Agency"
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791:"La Donna che disse No: Franca Viola, L'attualitĂ di una ribelle"
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Diritto penale. Parte speciale. 2.1, I delitti contro la persona
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if she refused to marry the man to whom she had lost her
769:(in Italian) (4. ed.). Zanichelli. p. 206.
259:, based on Viola's case. In 2012 the Sicilian writer
62:
30:
23:
615:"La fuitina e il disonore: storia di Franca Viola"
430:. Prato: The Florentine Press. pp. 94–95.
687:. W. Norton & Company. pp. 143–144.
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684:The Honor Code: How Moral Revolutions Happen
237:daughter. The family still lives in Alcamo.
427:Italian Sketches: The Faces of Modern Italy
121:Franca Viola was born in the rural town of
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765:Fiandaca, Giovanni; Musco, Enzo (2013).
660:. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 183–.
617:(in Italian). 3 May 2012. Archived from
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740:Golden Gate University School of Law
321:Rifiuto il matrimonio dopo lo stupro
463:Pablo Dell'Osa (25 December 2018).
635:1965, lo "strappo" di Franca Viola
577:Ettore Ferrari (10 January 2018).
531:Cullen, Niamh (25 February 2016).
492:Cullen, Niamh (25 February 2016).
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657:The Archipelago: Italy Since 1945
369:. Donzelli Editore. p. 252.
153:police in preparing a successful
98:, whereby a woman would lose her
16:Italian victims' rights advocate
734:Van Cleave, Rachel A. (2007).
681:Appiah, Kwame Anthony (2011).
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846:BFI London Film Festival 2022
817:"Manhattan Short - Finalists"
537:Contemporary European History
498:Contemporary European History
755:(law no. 442 5 August 1981)
579:"La Storia di Franca Viola"
77:(born 9 January 1948) is a
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913:21st-century Italian women
908:20th-century Italian women
797:(in Italian). 18 May 2012
654:John Foot (17 May 2018).
549:10.1017/s0960777315000491
938:Kidnapped Italian people
867:"The Girl From Tomorrow"
842:"The Girl From Tomorrow"
928:Women's rights in Italy
715:Niente di straordinario
424:Pirro, Deirdre (2009).
350:29 October 2010 at the
252:The Most Beautiful Wife
66:Bernardo Viola (father)
821:www.manhattanshort.com
363:Craniz, Guido (2005).
277:The Girl From Tomorrow
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903:20th century in Italy
753:legislature.camera.it
640:13 April 2014 at the
299:Marry-your-rapist law
282:La ragazza del futuro
177:matrimonio riparatore
87:matrimonio riparatore
871:Sydney Film Festival
720:17 July 2020 at the
327:22 July 2011 at the
117:Kidnapping and rape
68:Vita Serro (mother)
923:People from Alcamo
245:In 1970, director
223:Marriage of choice
173:Italian Penal Code
667:978-1-4088-4351-2
234:Pope Paul VI
169:donna svergognata
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348:Archived
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288:See also
189:vineyard
143:Sicilian
108:post-war
79:Sicilian
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851:28 June
588:1 March
477:1 March
202:fuitina
155:dragnet
139:paciata
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241:Legacy
211:Modena
147:eloped
123:Alcamo
100:honour
52:Sicily
48:Alcamo
553:S2CID
514:S2CID
183:Trial
135:raped
127:theft
111:Italy
91:raped
56:Italy
878:2023
853:2023
828:2017
803:2016
771:ISBN
702:2018
689:ISBN
662:ISBN
590:2020
564:2016
506:ISSN
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