In late 1965, a teenager from Alcamo was abducted, held for eight days, and told a marriage would erase the crime. She rejected that offer, a raid followed, and a courtroom record fixed the details that came next.
A Break in and an Abduction
Before dawn on December 26, 1965, in Alcamo, Sicily, 17 year old Franca Viola was seized from her home by her former fiancé, Filippo Melodia, and a group of armed men. Her eight year old brother Mariano was taken during the struggle and released hours later. Viola was taken to a farmhouse owned by Melodia’s relatives. She was held there for eight days and raped repeatedly.
The Law and the Refusal
At the time, Article 544 of Italy’s Penal Code treated rape as an offence against public morals. The provision allowed a rapist’s crime to be extinguished if he married his victim. Melodia proposed such a marriage. Viola refused. Her father, Bernardo, feigned agreement during family talks that Sicilian custom called paciata, while coordinating with the Carabinieri. On January 2, 1966, police raided the farmhouse and freed Viola. The kidnappers were arrested.
The Courtroom Record
In 1966, Melodia and co defendants were tried. His defence said Viola had taken part in a fuitina, presented as a voluntary elopement. The court rejected that account. Melodia was convicted of kidnapping and rape and received an eleven year sentence that was later reduced to ten years. Some associates were acquitted and others received lighter sentences. After his release in 1976, Melodia was killed on April 13, 1978, in Modena in a mafia style shooting.
Public Aftermath and Official Acts
After the rescue and before the trial, Viola’s family reported arson at their vineyard and barn and described pressure from townspeople. In December 1968, Viola married accountant Giuseppe Ruisi, a childhood acquaintance. President Giuseppe Saragat sent the couple a wedding gift. Pope Paul VI received them in a private audience soon after the wedding. The couple later had three children and remained in Alcamo.
Legal Changes on the Books
Article 544, the rule that extinguished a rapist’s offence upon marriage, remained in force until 1981, when it was abolished. In 1996, Italian law reclassified sexual violence as a crime against the person rather than against public morality. Films and books later recounted the case, including Damiano Damiani’s 1970 film The Most Beautiful Wife, Beatrice Monroy’s 2012 book Niente ci fu, the 2017 short Viola, Franca, and the 2022 feature The Girl From Tomorrow, which changed names and details.
Background Before the Abduction
Viola was born on January 9, 1948, the eldest child of farmer Bernardo Viola and Vita Ferra. In 1963, when she was 15, she became engaged to Melodia, then 23 and a nephew of Vincenzo Rimi. After Melodia was arrested for theft, her father ended the engagement. Melodia left for Germany and later returned to Alcamo.
In 1965 Sicily, a kidnapped teenager refused the deal every victim was expected to accept.
For eight days she was held and raped, then offered marriage to her attacker to erase his crime and restore her “honour.”
She said no, and that no reached Italy’s highest courts…🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/bo53RlTMtz
— Fascinating True Stories (@FascinatingTrue) October 27, 2025