Four young people have been charged with vandalism of a nativity scene in Casagiove, where one of the statues was severely damaged. In the incident, which occurred on the night of January 1st to 2nd, the statue, originally from the parish of San Michele Arcangelo, was decapitated, with one of the support pins driven into its eye. The statue was subsequently abandoned in the nearby Piazza degli Eroi.
The four reported, aged between 19 and 25 and resident in the area, will have to answer for damage, threat, harassment or disturbance to people. The investigations revealed that they may have acted for trivial reasons, defining the gesture as a banal "fun".
The parish priest's complaint
The episode was reported to the parish priest Don Stefano Giaquinto, who went to the Carabinieri to report the damage. The police examined the video surveillance footage of the surrounding areas, including Via Iovara and Piazza degli Eroi, and interviewed some witnesses. Thanks to this information, the military were able to identify the four boys, who had removed the statue from the crib of the parish, then beheading her and abandoning her on a bench, making mocking gestures.
And it's a very bad thing what happened in Casagiove, the boys shouldn't do things like that. The statue was part of the tradition and deserved respect, even if they thought it was funny, it's not at all.