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A new mystery has surfaced in the decades-old case of Emanuela Orlandi. At the Central State Archive in Italy, a file titled “Ministry of the Interior – Central Directorate of Public Security – U.C.I.G.O.S. – Disappearance of Emanuela Orlandi” has been found. However, the file contains only four pages: the title page and three photocopied pages listing the contents of a three-volume dossier.
The third volume of the dossier reportedly contains “press clippings,” while the first two volumes reference Alì Agcà, the “Turkish Front,” and “Phoenix.” Crucially, the attachments, which likely included investigation details, are missing.
The file was transferred to the Central State Archive in 2017 following the Renzi Directive of April 22, 2014. This directive required the transfer of documentation from intelligence agencies to allow for the historical reconstruction of significant events in Italian history.
Simona Greco, head of Special Collections at the archive, explained to Senator Andrea De Priamo—chairman of the parliamentary commission investigating Orlandi’s disappearance—that some agencies interpreted the Renzi Directive restrictively. While some submitted only document titles, others, including security agencies, provided complete archival series, including the full context of their files.
The Orlandi case file came to light as part of a broader collection of documents, which in 1996 had been analyzed during an investigation into the Piazza della Loggia bombing. It was subsequently included in the Special Collections of the archive.
The disappearance of the original contents of the dossier remains unclear. Why only the introductory pages and not the investigative attachments were retained is yet another question in a case already shrouded in mystery.
Emanuela Orlandi, a 15-year-old Vatican resident, vanished in 1983. Her case has since been the subject of widespread speculation and numerous conspiracy theories, involving connections to organized crime, international terrorism, and even the Vatican itself.
Sources: La Stampa/La Repubblica/ Il Messaggero