Italy
“Loneliness personified”: The elderly woman has been sitting dead in her house for two years – and nobody noticed
“Your loneliness hurts our conscience,” wrote Italy’s family minister about the sad circumstances surrounding the discovery of Beretta’s body (symbol image)
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In Italy, two years after her death, the body of a 70-year-old woman was found in her home in northern Italy. The sympathy and dismay at the long period of time is great.
The decomposed body of Marinella Beretta was discovered by Como Fire Brigade on Friday after complaints arose that a tree in her garden had fallen due to overgrown vegetation, Como City Hall press secretary Francesca Manfredi told the broadcaster on Wednesday CNN confirmed.
Beretta lived alone near Lake Como in Lombardy. Her body was found on a chair in the living room. Manfredi told CNN that Beretta’s cause of death is unknown. Due to the extent of the decomposition, the only thing that could be determined during the post-mortem examination was that she had died sometime towards the end of 2019.
Italy: Dead woman only discovered after two years – wind storms triggered police action
The investigations were triggered after days of strong wind storms in Lombardy. Neighbors had reported a dangerous situation related to some unsafe trees around the house. However, the owner of the house explained that he had not been in contact with the 70-year-old, who had sold him the property and continued to live there as agreed, for some time. With the permission of the Como public prosecutor’s office, the police officers entered Beretta’s house after the first unsuccessful contact attempts and discovered the tragedy there.
So far, no relatives have been located either, Manfredi said, adding that police are investigating whether she still had family members. Beretta’s body is now in the morgue and a burial date has not yet been set. The mayor of Como, Mario Landriscina, has invited the city’s residents to attend Beretta’s funeral. He told the Italian press on Tuesday that the local government would take care of the burial.
“I’ll try to be there and I invite the city to be there,” Landriscina said, adding, “This is the moment to stick together and even if this woman didn’t have relatives, then we could yes become their relatives.”
“Your loneliness hurts our conscience”
He added to CNN that Beretta did not seek any support from local social services or offers of help during her lifetime. Elena Bonetti, Italy’s family minister, mourned Beretta’s lonely death via Facebook. “What happened to Marinella Beretta in Como, her loneliness, hurts our conscience,” she wrote. She added, “Caring for one another is the experience of families, institutions, our entire citizenry. No one should be alone.”
In an op-ed for the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, journalist Massimo Gramellini even described Beretta’s fate as “loneliness personified.” Sadly, it took the dangers of an impending storm to neighbors and their buildings to understand Beretta’s fate.
Sources: CNN, “Corriere della Sera”, Facebook/Elena Bonetti