Franca Viola
Franca Viola was the first woman to win against Italian tradition by refusing to marry her rapist.
Born on January 7, 1947, Franca Viola was seventeen years old. She grew up with her farming family in the small Sicilian town of Alcamo. She dated Filippo Melodia, a young man with Mafia connections, for several months in 1963 before rejecting marriage.
Franca Viola
Franka Viola's pemwat in late 1963
Determined to get the girl, Melody waited for Viola's father to leave the house before breaking in with 15 friends and kidnapping her. He held her prisoner on a remote farm for about a week while he raped her. Viola's father prepared a successful dragnet operation, cooperating with the Carabinieri police, pretending to reach an agreement with the kidnappers. After more than a week, Franca Viola was released and her captors were arrested.
Melodia gave Franca a compensatory marriage in accordance with the traditional system of the time. Traditionally, such a heinous crime would be excused if the couple later married in a "marriage of reparation," in which the man forgave his violence and restored the woman's "honor." This is not just an informal tradition, but a clear exception to the Italian Criminal Code.
Instead, Viola took Melodia to court for kidnapping, “secular violence” and intimidation. This marked the beginning of family troubles. Many of the townspeople drove them away. Franca's father received death threats. Their family was persecuted until their vineyard and house were burned down.
Viala calls the police after being rescued from her captors
Viola spoke with her parents to the local police about her abduction
The trial was a sensation in Alcamo and beyond. Crowds gathered to debate the trial, which was later published by the New York Times with more patronizing headlines: "No Authors Call Franca in Sicily."
Despite being the central figure in these events, the public speech overshadows Viola's thoughts and aims the matter. Newspaper reports described her as "gentle," "slim," and "beautiful."
The men participate in a public debate about the trial
Viola defends herself during the trial
Melodia was eventually convicted and sentenced to 11 years in prison (later on appeal to ten), while seven of his accomplices were sentenced to four years in prison.
Then Filippo Melodia and his accomplices await an underworld trial behind bars.
A threat to the victorious legal viola was sent in May 1967. In a panel discussion on Italian television, the locals unanimously agreed that Viola had shown great courage, but none of them had the courage to marry her.
Among the photos...
Viola and her parents look out a window
In December 1968, 20-year-old Franca Viola married her childhood friend, 25-year-old Giuseppe Russi, in an early-morning ceremony to avoid supporters. The President of the Italian Republic sent them a gift on their wedding day and Pope Paul VI received them in a private audience.
Filippo Melodia was released from prison in 1976. Two years later, he died in a mafia-style murder.
Among the photos.. Franca Viola today
Franca Viola had two sons and one granddaughter and still lives in Alcamo with her husband. Asked to comment on her stand against antiquated values and morals, she said, “It is not a courageous stand. Today I just did what I felt like doing like any other girl would do. I listened to my heart. "
Franca Viola (1963) An Italian woman famous in the 60s for refusing a "rehabilitation marriage" with the victim after she was kidnapped and raped. She was the first Italian woman to publicly reject this tradition. She sued him along with her family and successfully appealed to the law. She won...
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