Premium Episode #5 - Franca Viola
Added 2022-05-14 07:40:04 +0000 UTCIn 1963, on the Italian island of Sicily, a wealthy young bachelor named Filippo Melodia began a courtship with a teenager named Franca Viola, much to the displeasure of Franca's father.
Team:
Anonymous Host - narration
Holly Boyd - research, writing
Mike Migas - production, music
Andrew D.B. Joslyn - music
Milly Raso - creative direction
Comments
Amazing story, beautifully & respectfully written. I can only echo what others have already said: what a courageous woman - a true hero. Thank you for sharing this story.
Lauren M
2022-05-25 16:39:30 +0000 UTCGreat story thanks for sharing
mbx
2022-05-23 19:15:32 +0000 UTCHey bob, why don’t you look up the term “toxic masculinity” before you get all defense.
Crysalyn Lopez
2022-05-23 05:22:25 +0000 UTCYou know, it is possible to make the statement you wanted to make without attacking all men.
Bob Trenwith
2022-05-21 09:47:53 +0000 UTCWhat an incredible story and what a strong woman well girl at the time.
David J Osborne
2022-05-21 08:13:53 +0000 UTCWhat an amazing choice of story. What an inspiration this young woman and her family are.
Stacey Carson
2022-05-19 07:40:55 +0000 UTCWhat an incredible and brave woman
Asia Szczepanik
2022-05-18 23:43:47 +0000 UTCHey! Great episode, well told story, especially the historic context was very informative. Franca is a true hero! If I may nitpick: There was no Champions League in 1978. The competition you are referring to was simply called „European Cup“. Also it was not entirely clear to my why Filippo was assassinated. Cheers David
David Rogosaroff
2022-05-17 19:04:19 +0000 UTCLike =like the production but hate the crime. Frances was so brave, as was her family. Those laws were freaking unbelievable!! And those cowardly villagers and the Church / clergy who performed those forced marriages, all were rotten scumbags.
HelpFind Ajax&Stamp
2022-05-17 07:58:19 +0000 UTCFranca is a hero! Giuseppe rules too! Amazing episode! This is the first episode that actually made me cry
Maurice Velasquez
2022-05-16 23:46:27 +0000 UTCThank you for sharing this story!!! I love the breadth of true crime that you cover - never the same old same old cases.
Tara Z
2022-05-16 16:53:24 +0000 UTCOh my gosh, what a beautiful ending to such a horrifying story. This episode made me ugly cry! 😭
Mandy G
2022-05-15 20:18:04 +0000 UTCThis is why I love you casefiles! Thanks for covering such a wide variety of true crime and including cases with such a historical impact. As a woman in the US I needed this type of empowering story today.
Carolyn Barry
2022-05-15 17:35:28 +0000 UTCI agree with everyone else. I can't believe it took 15 years to repeal this law. One question: how do you track a person down to an empty house?
Mark Ofmalovia
2022-05-15 07:41:42 +0000 UTCI was prepared for the worst but so glad there was a happy end to this story (given the circumstances) and not only a just one.
John M
2022-05-15 05:33:09 +0000 UTCThank you for this one! This is a very important story that needs to be told!
Laura B
2022-05-15 02:23:34 +0000 UTCAwesome that toxic masculinity didn’t prevail in this story!
Kerry Weinstein
2022-05-15 02:05:10 +0000 UTCWow. I knew that rewarding rapists by forcing their victims to marry them is prescribed in the Bible but I honestly had no idea European women were subject to such barbaric laws in the late 20th century.
Andrea Johnson
2022-05-14 20:49:29 +0000 UTC💜💜💜
emily
2022-05-14 19:40:58 +0000 UTCThank you for sharing this. This one was hard to hear but uplifting at the same time. I think I scared a few people when I cheered for Viola walking down the aisle to Giuseppe because she was not gonna let Filippo Melodia dictate the rest of her life.
Demi
2022-05-14 19:00:23 +0000 UTC“Honour is lost by those who do certain things, not those who suffer them.” Powerful words and what a courageous young lady. It’s sickening to think how sure he was he would get away with his crimes by forcing her to marry him but given it was literally the law I can see why he was so confident.
Monica
2022-05-14 13:59:24 +0000 UTCLove this story!! At every moment, I expected it to go a different way- unjust, unfair and tragic; what a pleasant surprise at how cool this story turned out. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Jess Ashlee
2022-05-14 13:41:35 +0000 UTCGood to see that Franca and Giuseppe are still going strong today after 53 years of marriage.
Bob Trenwith
2022-05-14 12:58:36 +0000 UTCFranca is an absolute badass and my ultimate hero. Beautifully-written episode
Emily Moore
2022-05-14 12:39:00 +0000 UTCWhat a courageous woman Franca is, and the Viola family too. So well written and gripping, thank you Holly 👏
Helen
2022-05-14 09:29:00 +0000 UTCWow - this is powerful!
James Franey
2022-05-14 09:23:18 +0000 UTCAs I was in the early stages of the episode I found myself as usual shaking my head at the tragic injustices women have faced and began to wish stories could be found of where the tide began and we saw those standing up against such injustices - and boy oh boy did the casefile team deliver just that! Powerful stories to conclude on.
izette
2022-05-14 09:08:02 +0000 UTCThank you for covering this case so thoroughly and respectfully. An excellent listen.
TheodoraTheExplorer
2022-05-14 08:59:53 +0000 UTC
