Naples – In Courtroom 318 of the Court of Appeal, Francesco Pio Valda breaks his silence. Sentenced to life in prison by the first instance judge for the murder of Francesco Pio Maimone, the 18-year-old pizza chef killed on the night of March 20, 2023, at the Mergellina chalets, the young man from Barra made spontaneous statements aimed at rousing consciences, or perhaps seeking clemency.
"I'm not proud of what I did," he muttered, asking forgiveness from a family torn apart by a foolish act, sparked by a stepped-on shoe.
These words, read after the filing of a four-page handwritten statement, come more than two and a half years after that tragic night. Valda speaks of sleepless nights, fear, and remorse, addressing not only the victim's parents, but also his peers, almost as if he wanted to shed the "baby boss" image the media has cast on him.
But for Antonio Maimone, the victim's father, this attempt at humanization comes too late. Hearing those apologies, he felt the need to give a voice to those who no longer have one, imagining an impossible rematch between two boys who share the same name but have chosen diametrically opposed paths.
The imaginary reply: "I chose the job, you the gun."
Here is the full text of the letter that Antonio Maimone wrote, imagining his son's words:
"Hi Francesco Pio Valda, I'm Francesco Pio Maimone. I'm eighteen years old and I'll always be eighteen. I loved life, I loved my family, I loved my friends. My secret dream was to become a pizza chef.
I too lived in a suburban neighborhood like yours, in the public housing of Pianura. Like you, I loved beautiful things: new designer shoes, a scooter, entertainment. My family is poor. To satisfy my desires and some whims, I had two options: give in to the lure of the underworld or go to work.
I chose to work: at the age of eleven, I washed garbage cans to earn 20 euros. Then I tried other jobs: bricklayer, greengrocer, plumber, blacksmith; I even learned to fix washing machines. Finally, I worked as a delivery driver, while my sister and I earned a pizza chef's certificate, which I used to open a pizzeria with my sisters thanks to the "Io Resto al Sud" project.
My life hasn't been easy either, but I chose commitment and honesty. Our choices were different, unfortunately. Your choices were the cause of my death: I, who loved life so much.
I'd like to conclude with this thought: I've always hated guns because I've always known that respect can't be bought with a gun. My final words: respect and love for life.
Two crossed destinies
The long-distance comparison between the two Francesco Pios couldn't be more stark. On one side, Valda, who speaks of remorse from prison and urges young people not to follow her example; on the other, the living memory of Maimone, who, with his concrete example—cleaning garbage cans at age 11 and dreaming of owning his own pizzeria—demonstrates that an alternative to violence exists and is a daily choice.
Antonio Maimone rejects Valda's apology, calling it "not credible" because "you can't change overnight." His is not revenge, but a firm vindication of dignity for a son who was "an innocent victim of crime and moral decay." As the appeal process nears sentencing, scheduled for December, a father's warning remains, reminding an entire city, through his son's imagined words, that respect is built with sweat, not bullets.
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