Bari commemorates 23rd anniversary of Gaetano Marchitelli's murder

A commemoration ceremony was held in Bari to mark the 23rd anniversary of the murder of Gaetano Marchitelli, a 15-year-old victim of mafia violence killed on October 2, 2003.

The event included educational meetings for students at the Giovanni Paolo II - De Marinis Institute in Carbonara, organized by Libera Puglia in collaboration with the San Nicola ETS Volunteer Service Center and the Municipality IV School Council. A formal ceremony followed in Piazza Umberto I, where a wreath was laid at the plaque dedicated to Marchitelli.

Local officials, including Justice and Civil Rights Assessor Michelangelo Cavone and Police Commissioner Annino Gargano, joined Marchitelli’s family and students to honor his memory. During the ceremony, Cavone emphasized that remembering Marchitelli serves as a way to teach young people that mafia influence extends beyond organized crime into cultural dimensions of extortion and silence that must be actively resisted.