Wilma Montesi’s story is the story of an Italy in need of another Renaissance. An Italy scarred by war and Fascism. An Italy anxious to substitute misery with glamour.

Wilma, aspiring actress, was a young woman whose romantic dreams became a  nightmare. On the day before Easter 1953, her body was found on a beach not far from Rome. Later it was said she’d participated in an orgy organized by men experts in making unfulfilled promises. But the coroner said that Wilma, whose modest underclothing had been mended,  was still a virgin. Virgin or not, 64 years later, the case remains unsolved.

From our balcony, I can see the entrance to where Wilma once lived. It reminds me that the past is not always far away.

Related: The Cold Case of Wilma Montesi