About Giancarlo Siani
Lived 1959 – 1985 (aged 26). Giancarlo Siani was an Italian journalist.
Giancarlo Siani (; Naples, September 19, 1959, - Naples, September 23, 1985) was an Italian crime reporter from Naples, who was killed by the Camorra, the Neapolitan mafia. He started to write in the magazine Osservatorio sulla camorra, and later as a stringer for Il Mattino, the principal newspaper of Naples. He was assigned to the local area editor of Castellammare di Stabia. He wrote articles about the links between organized crime, politicians and construction contracts.
Death
Siani was executed in his soft top Citroën Méhari on September 23, 1985, in Naples by the Camorra, while approaching his apartment. He was killed by an assassination squad of at least 2 men who approached from behind and shot him 10 times in the head with 7.65mm small arms fire with at least 2 Beretta pistols. The killers escaped on a motorcycle. At the time he was conducting an investigation of one of their leaders, Valentino Gionta. Gionta was the boss of the Gionta clan, a Camorra clan that was based in Torre Annunziata and controlled cigarette smuggling.
On June 10, 1985, 3 months before his murder, Siani had revealed that Valentino Gionta's arrest had been decided by Lorenzo Nuvoletta, head of the Nuvoletta clan, (an ally Camorra clan) to arrive in peace with Alfieri-Bardellino. Siani was preparing a dossier on the Torre Annunziata massacre in August 1984, which left eight people killed and 24 wounded among the Gionta clan, allied with the Nuvolettas at the time. After the massacre tensions between the two clans had increased.
In 2000, Angelo Nuvoletta, Valentino Gionta and Luigi Baccante were sentenced in absentia to life in prison for ordering the murder, as well as the material killers Gaetano Iacolare, Ferdinando Cataldo, Armando Del Core and Ciro Cappuccio.
In 2009, the movie Fortapàsc based on his life story was released, directed by Marco Risi. The title (pronounced "Fort-apash" in dialect) is a reference to John Ford's classic western, Fort Apache, and the lawlessness of Camorra-ruled Naples.
Don’t just read it —
keep it.
Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.
- E-book
- Audio
- Video
Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free
Important facts
People in Giancarlo Siani's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Giancarlo Siani's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Giancarlo Siani?
Italian journalist (1959-1985)
When was Giancarlo Siani born?
Giancarlo Siani was born on 19 September 1959 in Naples.
When did Giancarlo Siani die?
Giancarlo Siani died on 23 September 1985 in Naples.
What was Giancarlo Siani's occupation?
Giancarlo Siani was a journalist.
What nationality was Giancarlo Siani?
Giancarlo Siani was Italian.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Giancarlo Siani. https://biography.guide/giancarlo-siani/
MLA: "Giancarlo Siani." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/giancarlo-siani/.
Chicago: "Giancarlo Siani." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/giancarlo-siani/.
Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.
Page generated 2026-09-27 05:13 UTC