A couple from Avellino were attacked and robbed in the heart of Florence. The victims were entrepreneur Massimo Giordano and his wife, singer Mary Marisol Petruzziello. The incident occurred on Via Nazionale, just meters from the Santa Maria Novella station, where the couple was walking to the 3:30 PM Italo train after a CT scan at the hospital.
According to their testimony, as Mary headed toward the tracks with her backpack on her back, she sensed someone tampering behind her. Within seconds, the two, perhaps three, criminals had opened her backpack and stolen her wallet, which they then passed to an accomplice.
"I clearly heard them opening my backpack," Marisol said. "I turned around and saw them: they were attached to my bag. My wallet was gone."
Massimo chases the pickpocket
Despite the tension, Mary didn't stay still. She shouted, "You stole my wallet!" She grabbed the thief by his jacket, but he pushed her, hurting her knee.
Massimo, sensing the classic pickpocketing pattern, gave chase to the young man. "I chased him and stopped him," he explains. "He was struggling, trying to escape. Only one Albanian boy helped us get him to the ground. The others watched or told us to leave him alone, that we were suffocating him."
Meanwhile, a young woman reported that she had already called the Carabinieri. The Mobile Unit officers arrived within minutes, detaining and arresting one of the alleged perpetrators, a young Tunisian national, while his accomplice managed to escape into the crowd.
Stolen money for therapies
The stolen wallet contained over €1.300 in cash, an amount that Marisol said had been set aside specifically for her husband's medical care.
"It's money I was saving for Massimo's treatments," she explains. "We have to go back to Florence in a fortnight for radiotherapy. They didn't just steal my cash, they took away my peace of mind."
After the arrest, the pickpocket was held at the station for a few minutes, while the wallet was recovered on the sidewalk, but without the money. "Then suddenly one of them arrives and invites me to follow him," Mary concludes. "He takes me to where they stole my wallet. It was on the ground, empty."
Two hours of reporting, the train leaves
For the couple, the nightmare doesn't end with their arrest. After the Carabinieri arrive, Massimo and Mary remain at the station for over two hours to file a report. That's long enough for the 3:30 train to leave without them.
"We showed the Italo and Trenitalia staff the complaint and medical documentation, and just asked for a little common sense," they say. "There were free seats on the next train. They told us that wasn't possible. We had to buy two more tickets, almost €200. At that moment, you feel abandoned."
The complaint on social media and the demand for justice
In a long post on Facebook, Mary vented her bitterness: "I demand justice and certainty of punishment. Who will compensate us?"
And again: "After a difficult year, we're still uphill but on the right track. Episodes like this hurt, but they won't stop us."
The arrested man will face charges of robbery and assault. The Carabinieri are continuing their investigation to identify the accomplice who disappeared into the crowd.
Massimo and Mary are left with the scars of an afternoon to forget, spent in the heart of one of Florence's busiest streets. "Money comes and goes," the entrepreneur concludes. "Health is the most important thing. But what hurts is injustice. And the feeling of not being protected."
Changes and revisions to this article
- Article updated on 13/02/2026 at 12:36 PM - Improved image quality
Source EDITORIAL TEAM
Comments (1)
It's sad to hear of incidents like this, especially in a city like Florence. I hope the authorities can do more to ensure the safety of residents and tourists. We shouldn't have to live in fear.