From Ustica to Garlasco. “I casi irrisolti sono un asset per tv, cinema e podcast,” says producer Pietro Valsecchi

“‘Cold cases’ are a sort of productive asset for cinema, TV, books and podcasts. They are stories that can pack a real punch. But the risk is that they become mere entertainment.” Pietro Valsecchi, one of Italy’s leading television and film producers, speaks to Il Foglio following the latest – yet another, but perhaps the most significant – development in the Ustica massacre case. The willingness shown by Paris to provide previously unpublished documentation “opens up a new line of inquiry and new perspectives”, said Rome’s public prosecutor Francesco Lo Voi yesterday, asking that the investigation into the event on 27 June 1980 – when the Itavia DC-9 crashed into the Tyrrhenian Sea, causing the deaths of 81 people – not be closed. An ongoing investigation gives rise to new doubts, new theories, and therefore new ways of recounting them to a public increasingly fascinated by crime stories, from the small screen to podcasts (true crime is one of the most popular genres). In a country as ‘cold’ as ours (see the 29 September edition of *Contro Mastro Ciliegia*), there is nothing better. 

“I believe that telling the stories of unsolved cases is very important,” says Valsecchi. “There are stories that continue to haunt us for years, because the truth is missing, because the families are waiting for answers, and because we feel that they concern us too. Cinema can draw us into the lives of those involved and help us understand what it means to live with those questions. Of course,” he continues, “we must show respect and have a thorough understanding of what we are telling. Just because a story is famous doesn’t mean it’s already a good film. You have to find a perspective, work out through whose eyes to tell it. And you have to be honest about what we know and what still needs to be clarified. People’s lives aren’t something to be treated lightly.”

The creative process is everything when dealing with stories of bloodshed, especially if they are sensitive and still taking shape. “When a story strikes a chord with me, I try to delve deeper into it, to understand who the people are and what lies behind it. From there, I start to think about a story. If it interests and moves me, I hope it will interest and move the audience too. Today, given the difficulties Italian cinema is facing at the box office, a producer must ask themselves even more keenly what they want to do and why anyone should go and see it. I ask myself this question before I even begin. What strikes me about this story? What might resonate with the audience? Is there an emotion, a conflict, something that will stay with them?” And it is amidst these doubts that, says the producer, “unresolved cases can have great power, but mystery alone is not enough. You have to make the viewer feel just how much that story has changed someone’s life. And work out whether it needs a film, a series, a documentary or a podcast.”

There is a thriving ecosystem of successful media products centred around unsolved cases in Italian news. A news story that has never been closed (such as the Ustica case) allows screenwriters, authors and content creators to continue producing material on the subject. Yet however unresolved the story may remain, “the public expects the narrative to lead somewhere. Even an open ending is fine, provided it sheds further light on the matter. And this also applies to cases considered resolved.” From Garlasco to Ustica, there are countless series, books and podcasts dedicated to these cases. But television, too, is full of in-depth programmes on these cases. “There is a risk that crime reporting will turn into mere entertainment. When every suspicion becomes a revelation, grief ends up becoming a spectacle,” says Valsecchi, who believes that to avoid reaching such a level of cynicism, “we must research, distinguish facts from hypotheses and respect people. As a producer, I always ask myself what my story adds. It’s not enough to choose a case simply because everyone is talking about it.”

Looking at the figures, podcasting is the sector in which the success of true crime is most evident. In 2025, for the third year running, Elisa True Crime was crowned the most listened-to podcast in Italy on Spotify, a record it also shared on the rival platform Apple Podcasts. The allure of true crime convinced Francesca Fagnani to create a ‘Crime’ spin-off of her Rai programme ‘Belve’, in which her interview with the killer Roberto Savi helped reignite the controversy surrounding the ‘Uno bianca’ case. There is also a long list of audiovisual productions focusing on the most notorious, protracted and mysterious cases in our crime news: from the Avetrana murder (Disney Plus) to the Claps case (Rai), via the documentary on the murder of Yara Gambirasio (Netflix) and the miniseries by Stefano Sollima on the ‘Monster of Florence’ (also on Netflix), which is about to launch its second series. What drives a person to become fascinated by crime stories? “We want to understand, and we recognise ourselves in the fears and lives of those involved. The mystery is alluring, but it’s the people who really draw us in. And today, given how difficult it is to attract audiences to cinemas, we have to start with the content itself. A famous case might pique curiosity, but to convince someone to go to the cinema, you need a story that makes them feel something.” On screen, there’s a life violently cut short, with the circumstances still to be fully clarified. In our mouths, however, there’s popcorn.