by InTrieste
Italy’s growing fascination with true-crime storytelling arrives in Trieste today as the city hosts the second and final day of the inaugural Trieste True Crime festival, a new cultural event examining the intersection of justice, media, and public perception.
The program, held at the Sala Luttazzi in Magazzino 26 in Porto Vecchio–Porto Vivo, gathers writers, criminologists, law-enforcement figures and media professionals for discussions on how violent crimes are reported, consumed, and interpreted in Italy.
Although Friday’s opening day was dedicated in part to local high-school students, today’s events turn fully to the public, with a sequence of conversations exploring the cultural and ethical dimensions of crime storytelling.
At 4 p.m., writer and magistrate Giancarlo De Cataldo — best known for Romanzo criminale and Suburra — joins scholar Francesco Sidoti and literary critic Elvio Guagnini to examine what the organizers call “the allure of evil,” tracing how crime is portrayed in literature and on screen.
That session will be followed at 5:30 p.m. by a discussion led by former Carabinieri general Luciano Garofano and investigative journalist Alessandro Politi, who plan to address the challenges posed by media speculation, misinformation, and so-called parallel trials. Their focus includes how high-profile cases can shift from courtrooms to social-media feeds, shaping public opinion long before verdicts are reached.
The festival concludes at 7 p.m. with journalist and television host Gianluigi Nuzzi, joined again by Mr. Politi, for a conversation on investigative reporting. The duo is expected to highlight the responsibility journalists face when covering sensitive investigations and navigating what organizers describe as the gap that can exist between legal truth and historical truth.
The two-day initiative, promoted by Accademia Veneta with the City of Trieste and a range of institutional partners, marks the debut of a format organizers hope will serve as a national reference point for ethical crime communication. Alongside the panels, the event also introduces the “Premio CRIME,” an award recognizing contributions to responsible true-crime reporting and analysis; Mr. Nuzzi, Dr. Garofano, Mr. Politi, criminologist Roberta Bruzzone, and podcast host Stefano Nazzi are among this year’s honorees.
Streaming of the sessions is available via the YouTube channel of Il Piccolo, Trieste’s daily newspaper.
The festival’s setting is itself symbolic: Trieste has played a role in contemporary Italian legal history, including a 2009 appellate ruling cited by organizers for advancing the use of neuroscience in criminal proceedings. Today’s discussions, they say, aim to continue that legacy by exploring how society understands — and narrates — crime in an era shaped by podcasts, viral content, and public-driven investigations.
The event is free and open to the public.
