Pesaro, August 17, 2026 – The voice keeps breaking. Mrs. Edda is 89 years old, a strong Friulian temperament that has accompanied her since she moved to Pesaro more than sixty years ago. But since that cursed Friday morning, in her house on Viale Gorizia, only terror remains. Her body bears the marks of the assault she suffered; in her soul, the trauma of a nightmare lived within the confines of her home at the hands of two baby Bolognese robbers aged 13 and 10.
Mrs. Edda, how are you?
“I can’t calm down, I have a continuous nightmare before my eyes. A strong pain in my ribs and chest, if I cough or breathe deeply I feel like fainting. And then look here…”
She rolls up the sleeve of her shirt with trembling hands, showing bruises on her arms and marks on her hand.
“They hurt me. Me, who is 89 years old, who became a widow three years ago and who is almost blind due to maculopathy. How can someone beat an elderly woman like this?”
Can you tell us what happened?
“I went out into the garden. It was a moment, I left the gate and the door ajar. When I came back in, I found them in front of me: well dressed, nice. They looked like two good boys.”
What did they say to you?
“They looked at me and one of them, with a very Italian accent and a calm voice, asked me: ‘Where is the sea?’. I was incredulous, I answered: ‘But there is no sea here, you are inside a private house. The sea is over there’, pointing to it. I hadn’t finished the sentence when they flew at me.”
They attacked you for the necklace…
“Yes, they violently tore it from my neck. I tried to push them away, to defend myself, but they beat me, pushed me hard. I fell, they gave me terrible blows. In the end, they managed to take it from me and ran away towards the seafront.”
Did you ask for help afterwards?
“Since I can hardly see anymore, using the cell phone is a challenge for me, I couldn’t dial the numbers. I was alone and terrified. I dragged myself with my last strength towards the entrance. Fortunately, a man passed by in a car: I stopped him and asked for help. He was an angel, he called the Police and my daughter.”
Did you end up in the hospital?
“Yes, the ambulance took me to the emergency room for X-rays and all the checks, while the Police searched for those two. Then we went to the Police Headquarters to file a report. I want to publicly thank the driver who stopped, the police officers and all the staff at the Police Headquarters. They treated me with infinite humanity and kindness. They made me feel protected.”
Now the two boys have been caught and the necklace has been returned to you, but what remains of this bad story?
“The bruises will heal, but not the fear. I keep crying when I think about it. I can’t find peace thinking that two boys barely children hurt me so badly. They stole my peace of mind.”
