Angelo Vassallo, sixteen years later that question remains: WHY?

Sixteen years after the murder of Angelo Vassallo, the question remains unchanged. That simple yet profoundly weighty word remains, chosen as the title of a documentary film that traces the life of the "Fisherman Mayor" and returns to the question of his death: "WHY?"

The film, born from an idea by brothers Dario and Massimo Vassallo, respectively president and vice president of the Angelo Vassallo Sindaco Pescatore Foundation, with filming and editing by Giuseppe Falagario, will have its world premiere on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, at 3:30 pm, in the Giacomo Matteotti Hall of the Chamber of Deputies, in Palazzo Theodoli-Bianchelli, in Piazza del Parlamento in Rome.

This is far from a random choice for the Foundation. Bringing Angelo Vassallo's story to an institutional setting means, in the intentions of his family, bringing to the forefront not only the memory of a murdered administrator, but also the significance of his political experience and the unwavering demand for full clarification of the murder.

From the death to the life of Mayor Pescatore

This is precisely the starting point of the documentary: to tell the story of Angelo Vassallo, even before his death. The fisherman, the man, the mayor, his relationship with the sea and his homeland, his ties to Pollica and Acciaroli, all the way up to his administrative work and what the Foundation calls "good politics."

"We chose cinema because we wanted to tell the story of Angelo in a different way," explains Dario Vassallo. "We didn't want to create yet another story that started with his death. We wanted to start with his life."
This perspective aims to transcend Vassallo's role as the victim of a crime still at the center of judicial and public scrutiny. Before the assassination, there was a personal and political history built on his daily relationship with the local area.

"Angelo was a fisherman, a man, a mayor. He was a person who chose to engage in politics with passion, courage, and dedication to his community," adds Dario Vassallo.

“Why?” a sixteen-year-old question

The film's title, however, also encompasses the other half of the story: that of Angelo Vassallo's death and the search for the truth.

"WHY? is a question that's been with us for sixteen years," Dario Vassallo emphasizes. "A question we've never stopped asking and will continue to ask."

And immediately comes the question that the Foundation still considers central: "Why did they kill Angelo? Why was a man killed who had dedicated his life to the territory, to his community, and to a specific idea of ​​governance? We don't want this question to be forgotten."
The documentary thus moves on two levels destined to intertwine: on the one hand, the story of the man and the administrator, on the other, the memory of the murder and the demand for truth and justice.

The fisherman, the mayor, the man

For Massimo Vassallo, the risk to avoid is that of consigning to collective memory only the image of Angelo linked to his death.

"Angelo can't be remembered solely for the way he died," says the Foundation's vice president. "Angelo must be known for the way he lived."
The story therefore includes the work of a fisherman, the relationship with the sea, the sense of hard work and responsibility, but also the administrative work and the vision of the territory.

"He was a fisherman and knew the value of hard work. He was an administrator and knew the value of responsibility. He was a man deeply attached to his land and had a clear vision of the territory and the role of institutions," adds Massimo Vassallo.

A story that the Foundation intends to share with new generations, as evidence of a new understanding of public engagement.

"We want to share with young people a true story, that of a man who chose to commit himself to his community. We want to show them that politics can also be about passion, service, responsibility, and love for the local area."

The request: “The State should act as a State”

The presentation of the documentary at the Chamber of Deputies thus also becomes an opportunity to relaunch the demand for the truth about the assassination of the mayor of Pollica.

"We continue to demand truth and justice," Dario and Massimo Vassallo say. "And we say something very simple: in this trial, the state must be the state."
The Foundation clarifies that it is not asking for special treatment, but for a full investigation of the facts: "We are not asking for favors, shortcuts, or privileges. We are asking that the institutions fully perform their duties and that the truth about Angelo's murder be revealed."

It's a request that, according to the family, must accompany every initiative in memory of Mayor Pescatore. Because, they maintain, remembrance cannot be limited to celebrations.

"It's not enough to remember Angelo. A wreath isn't enough, a ceremony isn't enough, just saying his name once a year isn't enough. Memory must walk hand in hand with truth and justice," says Dario Vassallo.

The first in the Chamber: from memory to institutions

This is also why the Foundation chose Rome and the Chamber of Deputies for the documentary's world premiere.
"Bringing 'WHY?' into an institutional setting means bringing Angelo back to the place he always believed in: that of institutions serving citizens," explain Dario and Massimo Vassallo.

Angelo Vassallo was a mayor, but for the Foundation, he was first and foremost a citizen who had chosen to assume public responsibility. And it is precisely this dimension that the documentary aims to convey, without allowing his story to be reduced solely to the night he was killed.

In the end, there remains that word that gives the work its title and that has accompanied the Vassallo family for sixteen years: “WHY?”.

A question that the documentary now brings to Parliament and that the Foundation announces it will continue to ask until, it says, an answer is provided.