Casalfiumanese (Bologna), September 3, 2026 – It is the day of Sigfrido Ranucci in Casalfiumanese. At 8 PM, in the park of Villa Manusardi, the journalist will stage ‘Diary of a trapeze artist – Chronicles of resilience of a reporter’, the final event of the Casale Cineforum. An evening that comes at the end of weeks of political controversy and that, in recent hours, has further gained significance due to the earthquake affecting Report.
The Carlino article and the controversy with Brothers of Italy
In the morning, Ranucci shared his take on the matter on social media. “Brothers of Italy want to prevent my show which talks about freedom of the press,” he wrote on Facebook, sharing an article from Carlino which recalled the protests by the Meloni supporters ahead of tonight’s event.
“After suspending me from Report, they want to silence my voice, isolate me.” The journalist then claimed that some right-wing journalists had contacted the mayors of Genzano, Roccamassima, and Monreale to request the withdrawal of honorary citizenships that had been granted to him, but were refused by the mayors themselves. The reference is to the clash with Brothers of Italy, which in recent weeks requested the withdrawal of public sponsorships for the Casalfiumanese event, submitting inquiries to the Municipality and the Region through the Meloni group leaders Stefania Rovatti and Marta Evangelisti. At the center of the protests were also developments in the investigation into the attack against Ranucci and the confession of Valter Lavitola, who admitted to commissioning the act claiming he did so to protect the journalist. A reconstruction that has not closed the judicial case.
Presutti’s step back
A few hours before the show, meanwhile, a new development arrived regarding the future of Report. Giulia Presutti gave up co-hosting the program: the journalist, appointed by Rai along with Daniele Piervincenzi to take over Ranucci’s legacy, communicated her decision last night to the Head of In-Depth Reporting Paolo Corsini. “Such a beloved show, which has given so much to the audience and our company, cannot get bogged down in such small disputes and exchanges,” she wrote, explaining that she stepped back in the hope of helping the program that trained her. The Rai In-Depth Reporting Cdr reiterated its opposition to any postponement of Report’s broadcast, calling it a damage to Rai and Rai3. Corsini confirmed the intention to respect the scheduled timing and took 24 hours for his own evaluations.
Security measures
In Casalfiumanese, therefore, Ranucci arrives on a day that adds another chapter to the story. Security measures have been arranged on site, with the intervention of the carabinieri. The Municipality has also imposed restrictions on glass, cans, smoke bombs, drones, pyrotechnics, and other potentially dangerous objects. The goal remains to ensure the regular conduct of the evening, with no signs of particular critical issues at the moment.
The stages of the story
Sigfrido Ranucci was removed on Friday, August 28 from hosting Report, a program he had worked on since 2006 first as a writer, as a correspondent, and then, from 2017, he had taken over hosting, succeeding Milena Gabanelli. A decision by Rai, for which no official reasons were given but linked to the Lavitola case, the businessman-fixer arrested accused of being the mastermind behind the October 2025 attack against the journalist himself: a rudimentary bomb was detonated outside Ranucci’s home in Campo Ascolano, a hamlet of the municipality of Pomezia, near Rome. Two of the host’s cars were destroyed, but there were no injuries.
At the end of June, four people were arrested accused of having carried out the attack, a few days later Lavitola was investigated for being the mastermind. Ranucci spoke about his friendship with Lavitola and it is in this context – that is, the investigation in which the journalist is a victim and the relations with the businessman-fixer – that the subsequent controversies exploded, leading to the removal decided on Friday. Meanwhile, Ranucci has formally challenged the measure through his lawyers.
