Bruneri-Canella case
Encyclopedia
The Bruneri-Canella case, called in Italian the case of the Smemorato di Collegno (the Collegno
Amnesia
c), is a notorious judicial and media affair concerning the alleged reappearance in 1926 of a man who had gone missing in World War I
. The question of his identity was thoroughly discussed in newspapers and in courtrooms, and endured for almost 40 years. Due to nationwide interest in the case, the term smemorato di Collegno became a a common saying since the 1930s, meaning a person who forgets something.
The man was originally identified as Professor Giulio Canella, an Italian philosophy scholar and teacher who had gone missing in action in World War I. His wife, Giulia Concetta Canella, had refused to give up hope of seeing him again. When she saw a newspaper photograph of a man who claimed to have no memory of his past or name, she thought she recognized him. She went to the mental hospital where he had been confined. After a few visits, she became convinced that he was her husband.
However, a few days after he was released to her, an anonymous letter was sent to the Questor
of Turin
, claiming that the man was actually an anarchist and petty criminal with an extensive police record named Mario Bruneri. After an inquiry and several trials and appeals, the court found that he was indeed Bruneri.
During that time, the couple had lived together and had three children. After the final verdict was rendered, they moved to Brazil to get away from the scandal. Bruneri died there in 1941. Giulia Concetta Canella tried without success to have the decision overturned. She died in 1977.
, where he became the principal of a high school specializing in education. In 1909, he founded with Agostino Gemelli
the Rivista di filosofia neoscolastica, and in 1916 was among the founders of the newspaper Corriere del mattino, a Roman Catholic opinion newspaper.
He married his cousin Giulia, the daughter of a wealthy landowner who had a successful business in Brazil
. The couple had two daughters, the second in 1916.
Mario Bruneri was a typist from Turin, born in 1886. He was homeless, an anarchist
, and a petty criminal, wanted since 1922 for fraud and violence.
front, near Nikopole, as a captain of an infantry company committed to capturing Monastir
Hill. The company was caught in a crossfire by Bulgaria
n soldiers armed with machine guns and was decimated. Among the missing was Canella. Some of his comrades-in-arms reported that he was severely wounded in the head, but was still alive and was taken prisoner by the enemy.
After the ambush, the company fell back and regrouped, counterattacked, and ultimately took the hill despite heavy losses. Medics searched the battlefield, recovering Italian wounded and corpses, but Canella was not found. Some Bulgarian prisoners were questioned, but denied having captured a captain.
Canella was listed as missing in action by the Ministero della Guerra
, and a letter was sent to his wife. She never accepted the news, and kept hoping for his return.
, confined there since March 10, 1926. The man had been found by the caretaker of the Jewish graveyard stealing a copper
vase. When apprehended by the Carabinieri
, he had been strolling around Turin, crying and threatening suicide. The 45-year-old man had a full beard, and claimed to have no recollection of his past or his name.
The Questor
of Turin ordered him put in the mental hospital, in the hope that he would recover his memory. The man was well behaved and calm, and exhibited to the staff signs of some education. They diagnosed a "mental block" that prevented him from remembering his history and identity. The man was classified as Inconnu ("unknown", much like a John Doe
), and given the number 44170.
Giulia Concetta Canella saw the photograph of him in the newspaper, and thought to have found her beloved lost husband. She asked to visit, and on February 27, 1927, she was granted a meeting with the man.
The man was taken for a stroll in the cloister
of the hospital, and crossed Giulia Canella's path without showing any emotion or sign he recognized her. Canella stated that the man was her husband beyond doubt. On a second attempt the day later, the man told his psychiatrists that he vaguely recognized the woman, and that some recollections were resurfacing in his mind. In the third meeting, the woman broke into tears, and the man hugged her, apparently recognizing his wife. On the same afternoon, a fourth encounter convinced the doctors that the man was indeed Canella, who told them about some vague recollections about his children. More encounters were scheduled to aid in memory recovery, but the man was now considered identified.
In March 1927, the patient was officially recognized as Professor Canella and sent back to Verona with his wife. The story of a man lost in the war and returning to his family after ten years received a lot of news coverage, sparking hope in many other people who had also lost relatives in the conflict. The usually moderate Turin's newspaper La Stampa
printed the emphatic headline "A cry, a shiver, a hug, the light".
Despite newspapers covering the story, no interviews were granted. No one knew what he had done in the nine years he went missing.
Bruneri was not new to jails: he had served time for accounting fraud and stealing. His criminal record was extensive. He was wanted in other cities, including Pavia
and Milan
, along with a woman from Brescia
, Camilla Ghidini. She had a long criminal record too, with crimes against property and prostitution.
The records about Bruneri included a detailed physical and psychological profiling, perfectly matching the character and aspect of the amnesiac. On Sunday, March 6, 1927, the quaestor, firmly convinced he had been tricked, arranged for the arrest of Bruneri, who was brought back to Turin the same day.
Two days later, Bruneri's relatives were called in for an identification: his wife, Rosa Negro, recognized him immediately, along with their 14-year-old son, Giuseppino. Hi sisters Maria and Matilda and his brother Felice confirmed his identity. Bruneri had been missing for six years, when he fled the family to live with Camilla Ghidini. Bruneri refused to admit knowing the family, and faked a fainting. Another woman named Milly who had a love affair with him recognized him as Bruneri as well.
Bruneri's mother, Eugenia Mantaud, while still alive, was not involved in the identification, being weak of heart. The identification was contested by Giulia Canella's attorneys on the ground that the mother had not allowed to see the man, claiming she would have foiled the whole Bruneri family plot orchestrated in conjunction with the quaestor and police, not on the grounds of illness. Eugenia died two days later on July 4, 1929 of heart failure, causing some embarrassment to Canella's attorneys.
Giulia Canella fought the allegations and began a long campaign of appeals to the Turin Court, asking for the man to be set free on the premise that he was not Bruneri. The famous attorney and jurist Francesco Carnelutti offered to defend Bruneri, along with the lawyer and fascist
gerarca
(National Fascist Party
member) Roberto Farinacci
. Carnelutti, with the aid of political pressure, managed to have the man released on December 23, 1927. The Turin Court stated that no certain proof of the man being Bruneri had been presented, despite the identification from the criminal records.
Bruneri's mother, after learning of the developments, stated that she was sure beyond doubt that the case was another scam by her son, that being his style. Rosa Negro and Felice Bruneri (Mario Bruneri's wife and brother) challenged the court decision in order to obtain an executive order from the court to bring Bruneri back to his duty to his wife and his mother.
and Earl Giuseppe della Torre. The former had worked with Canella at the Rivista di Filosofia Neoscolastica, the latter was a co-founder of the Corriere del Mattino and director of the ultra-Catholic newspaper L'Osservatore Romano
. Gemelli and Dalla Torre both stated that the man was not in any way Canella. They were important representatives of the Roman Catholic hierarchy, and independently chose to testify. They were accused by Canella's attorneys -despite Carnelutti being a close friend of the Church himself- of being part of a secret plot to hurt the family.
The Italian Army
never removed Canella's name from its list of missing in action
, stating that nothing had suggested that the man was Canella.
An appeal from Giulia Canella was rejected by the Turin's Appeal Court on August 7, 1929. The family took the matter to the Corte di Cassazione, which on March 11, 1930 agreed to consider the case and ultimately allowed a new trial to be held in a new courtroom. Cassazione pointed out a procedural error by the Turin judges - they had denied Canella the chance to bring further evidence in his favor, in particular a new psychological survey and more examination of the fingerprints. That was required since the evidence presented by the public prosecutor came from a civil trial, not a criminal one, and could be lacking in "formal rigor".
The man kept living with Giulia Concetta Canella. They had three children. Elisa was born on November 21, 1928, Camillo on December 31, 1929 and Maria on September 12, 1931. According to Italian law, they were not sons of the still missing Giulio Canella; they were registered in Brazil thanks to the influence of Giulia's father.
In Florence, the Canellas' appeal was rejected again, and the man was sent to the Carceri Nuove jail to serve the remaining two years of Bruneri's sentences. He was later transferred to the Pallanza jailhouse.
Giulia Canella asked for help from her friend Giuseppe Parisi, an army's captain, and Germano Alberti, a priest. They suggested going to the Corte di Cassazione again.
The case gave a big boost to newspaper sales, and many news providers over time sided with or against the Canella family. Two informal groups, the canellians and brunerians, emerged.
Canellians cited as evidence the culture and education shown by the man while in the mental hospital. Bruneri was a rough and uneducated man, so the unknown man had to be Canella, the wealthy and educated professor. The man had been recognized by 25 members and friends of Canella family, and 145 other people.
Brunerians responded that Bruneri was well educated himself, having studied in institutes like the ones where Professor Canella received his formal education. Moreover, they had on their side the scientific evidence of fingerprints and many witnesses, among them Gemelli e Della Torre. It was found that Bruneri, when young, had been fond of philosophy, and had studied the subject himself.
In 1931, the notorious neuropsychiatric expert Alfredo Coppola, an expert in war traumas, published Il caso Bruneri-Canella all'esame neuropsichiatrico (studio psicobiografico e medico-legale). He confirmed that the man was none other than Bruneri, and that the amnesia
was plainly faked. Extremely advanced methods of cognitive analysis were used in the study. The work was so advanced for its time that it is still considered a milestone in neuropsychiatry. Coppola's work gained him the chair of Palermo University Department of Clinical Neurosciences.
Other eminent contemporary scholars, among them Mario Carrara (son in law of Cesare Lombroso
and his successor as director of the Forensic Medicine department) and Ernesto Lugaro agreed with Coppola. Among the dissenting scholars were Giovanni Mingazzini, Calligaris, Perrando and Pellegrini.
to ask for three more days of debate. Rocco refused, saying "I'm not giving you an hour more. Let's close this clown show now.".
The court declared the couple's three children illegitimate, and their union "against public morals". A newspaper inquiry found that the man showed no sign of a gun wound to the head, as Canella would have had.
None of the five trials acknowledged the man to be Canella. The identification of Mario Bruneri was confirmed by all the trials except the first.
Some newspapers stated that Giulia Canella herself was now convinced that he was not her husband, but had to keep pretending otherwise to avoid a major scandal. Slander and malicious allegations about the issue became common.
The Brazilian government legally recognized the couple's sons and gave them the name Canella. The man registered as Julio Canella, and his title of "Professor" was legally validated. They moved to Rio de Janeiro
, where the man occasionally worked on local newspapers, studied philosophy and gave some lectures.
Bruneri/Canella wrote to Pope Pius XI about some of his philosophical thoughts. The Vatican secretary answered, addressing the letter to "Ill.mo signor dottor Giulio Canella", despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
Bruneri died in Rio de Janeiro on December 12, 1941. Giulia Canella tried again to have the verdict overturned, until she died in 1977.
noblewoman living in Milan wrote to the court a letter under the name "Mrs. Taylor". The woman asked for a meeting to give her account of a story. In 1923, she gave shelter to a homeless man found wandering in the streets, dressed in an old military uniform. She gave him a meal, new clothes and some food. She nicknamed him "The Tramp" (Il Randagio). Later they met again; moved by his politness, she became his friend.
The homeless man told her that he had fought in the Great War, and he was sure he had a family. Unfortunately, he was suffering from consequences of a trauma, was psychologically unstable and could not remember his identity, where his family lived and many other details. He came to know a local girl, a salesgirl of dairy
products, and he introduced her to the noblewoman. The two became friends and often talked about "The Tramp": from their combined experiences, the women became suspicious about the man's real identity, and ultimately begun thinking that the Tramp was actually two very similar-looking men. That would explain his mood changes, the inconsistency of his stories, and his forgetfulness of details and memories from day to day. The suspicion was apparently confirmed when the noblewoman gave a jacket to the man, which was ultimately found among Bruneri's possessions. Bruneri was indeed living in Milan at the time with Camilla Ghidini, wanted by police.
Mrs. Taylor alleged that the good-hearted Canella was the original Tramp. She speculated that Bruneri must have joined him in his life on the street, and the two became close friends, thanks to their physical resemblance. Bruneri later came to know many facts about Canella's life (but details were missing due to the man's mental condition), and when he feared that the police was on his track, he devised a plan to steal Canella's identity and hide in a mental hospital. When Canella's wife came to see him, he seized the chance to escape his criminal past.
The letters were published 19 years after Bruneri's death. However, few of his other writings had survived, so they could not be scientifically compared for handwriting
. Nevertheless, the letters are nowadays still considered one of the most reliable clues about the man's true identity.
The brother was sorry for not having shown the letters before, but was fearful of shaming the family name and his mother. Despite the great span of time that had elapsed, the letters elicited strong reactions from the canellians, who tried to get a new trial to clear Giulio Canella's name.
Don Germano Alberti, a friend of Giulia Canella, nominated Giulio Cannella for beatification
. The request was ultimately refused. After much lobbying from Canella heirs and friends, on June 10, 1970, the Roman Catholic Church
officially released a press statement by Cardinal
and Secretary of the Vatican State Giovanni Benelli, asserting that in the Church's eyes, the man was Giulio Canella, and his sons were to be considered legitimate. The statement clashed with the court findings and the new evidence uncovered, but was presented as certain despite being supported by nothing other than testimonies.
regime was beginning to face the many social problems of a divided country. The intellectual elite was divided. Many Catholic higher-ups sided with the brunerians, despite the official position of the Church in the following years. Politicians and journalists, especially from the liberal wing, sided with the canellians.
The story was used by certain politicians as a means of distracting the public from the commission writing the Lateran Treaty, the agreement between the Church and the Italian state that gave the former more authority, a trick by Benito Mussolini
to gain the support from the Catholic electorate, while risking protests from the then strong Liberal party. Leonardo Sciascia
wrote about the political use of the story in Il teatro della memoria.
Mussolini, while using the trials to his advantage, became concerned about the whole matter. When the case itself turned out to be a divisive issue among clerics and liberals, he intervened, trying to reduce its exposure in the national mass media. Ultimately, he ordered the newspapers to stop writing about it.
Psychology received media attention, and the now famous experts who had worked on the Bruneri/Canella case were instrumental in the birth of many psychological study institutes. Stefano Zago underlined how in this case Coppola developed cognitive evaluation methods still in use nowadays.
was inspired by the case when writing Come tu mi vuoi
, a three-act drama first staged in Milan in 1930.
In 1936, actor Angelo Musco was the star of Lo Smemorato, a theatrical adaptation of the story.
In 1962, the movie Lo smemorato di Collegno by Sergio Corbucci
was released, with Totò
as the star.
In 1970, RAI
aired two episodes of Processi a porte aperte about the case on 11 and 13 August. Bruneri's nephews tried to have the broadcast blocked, as did Canella's wife and Don Germano Alberti. The petition started by the priest received only about three hundred supporters.
Pasquale Festa Campanile
presented at the Venice Film Festival
the movie Uno scandalo perbene in 1984: he presented the story, but left the final open for interpretation.
In 1988 in Collegno, an exhibition titled Sconosciuto a me stesso was held. French writer Jean Giraudoux
was inspired by the case for Sigfrid et le Limousin.
Radio host Fiorello
created a character named lo smemorato di Cologno
on his show on Radio Due. The voice was an imitation of Silvio Berlusconi
(Cologno being the headquarter of his TV channels). The character lost his memory every time issues about political promises, social issues or an opposing politician were named. Berlusconi himself played the role in the last broadcast before the winter holidays in 2006.
Rai Uno
produced a TV movie named Lo smemorato di Collegno by Maurizio Zaccaro
.
On April 1, 2009, the TV show Chi l'ha visto by Rai 3 (a show investigating missing people) asked the Carabinieri
RIS
to examine the letters sent by Canella from the war front with the letters presented by Bruneri's brother in order to compare any traces of DNA
. The examination proved inconclusive.
Collegno
Collegno is a comune in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 9 km west of Turin.-Twin towns — Sister cities:Collegno is twinned with the following cities:-External links:*...
Amnesia
Amnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
c), is a notorious judicial and media affair concerning the alleged reappearance in 1926 of a man who had gone missing in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The question of his identity was thoroughly discussed in newspapers and in courtrooms, and endured for almost 40 years. Due to nationwide interest in the case, the term smemorato di Collegno became a a common saying since the 1930s, meaning a person who forgets something.
The man was originally identified as Professor Giulio Canella, an Italian philosophy scholar and teacher who had gone missing in action in World War I. His wife, Giulia Concetta Canella, had refused to give up hope of seeing him again. When she saw a newspaper photograph of a man who claimed to have no memory of his past or name, she thought she recognized him. She went to the mental hospital where he had been confined. After a few visits, she became convinced that he was her husband.
However, a few days after he was released to her, an anonymous letter was sent to the Questor
Questor
The term Questor may refer to:*Questor Thews, a character in the Magic Kingdom of Landover series of books by Terry Brooks.*An alternate spelling of Quaestor, an ancient Roman official...
of Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, claiming that the man was actually an anarchist and petty criminal with an extensive police record named Mario Bruneri. After an inquiry and several trials and appeals, the court found that he was indeed Bruneri.
During that time, the couple had lived together and had three children. After the final verdict was rendered, they moved to Brazil to get away from the scandal. Bruneri died there in 1941. Giulia Concetta Canella tried without success to have the decision overturned. She died in 1977.
Background
Giulio Canella was born in Padova in 1881. After his studies, he moved to VeronaVerona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
, where he became the principal of a high school specializing in education. In 1909, he founded with Agostino Gemelli
Agostino Gemelli
Agostino Gemelli was an Italian physician, Franciscan friar and psychologist who was also the founder and chancellor of Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore of Milan in 1921....
the Rivista di filosofia neoscolastica, and in 1916 was among the founders of the newspaper Corriere del mattino, a Roman Catholic opinion newspaper.
He married his cousin Giulia, the daughter of a wealthy landowner who had a successful business in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. The couple had two daughters, the second in 1916.
Mario Bruneri was a typist from Turin, born in 1886. He was homeless, an anarchist
Anarchy
Anarchy , has more than one colloquial definition. In the United States, the term "anarchy" typically is meant to refer to a society which lacks publicly recognized government or violently enforced political authority...
, and a petty criminal, wanted since 1922 for fraud and violence.
Missing in action
On November 25, 1916, Professor Canella was serving on the MacedonianMacedonia (region)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
front, near Nikopole, as a captain of an infantry company committed to capturing Monastir
Monastir
-Places:Italy* Monastir, Sardinia - a comune in the Province of CagliariOttoman Empire* Monastir Province, Ottoman Empire, a vilayet covering parts of modern Albania, Greece and the Republic of MacedoniaRepublic of Macedonia...
Hill. The company was caught in a crossfire by Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n soldiers armed with machine guns and was decimated. Among the missing was Canella. Some of his comrades-in-arms reported that he was severely wounded in the head, but was still alive and was taken prisoner by the enemy.
After the ambush, the company fell back and regrouped, counterattacked, and ultimately took the hill despite heavy losses. Medics searched the battlefield, recovering Italian wounded and corpses, but Canella was not found. Some Bulgarian prisoners were questioned, but denied having captured a captain.
Canella was listed as missing in action by the Ministero della Guerra
Ministero della Difesa
Ministero della Difesa is the Italian Ministry of Defence. It is responsible for military and civil defence, and also for weather forecasts.Giampaolo Di Paola is currently Italy's deputy defense minister.-External links:*...
, and a letter was sent to his wife. She never accepted the news, and kept hoping for his return.
Enter the amnesiac
Eleven years later, on February 6, 1927, the Chi li ha visti? column of the national newspaper La Domenica del Corriere broke the story of an inmate of the Collegno Mental HospitalMental Hospital
Mental hospital may refer to:*Psychiatric hospital*hospital in Nepal named Mental Hospital...
, confined there since March 10, 1926. The man had been found by the caretaker of the Jewish graveyard stealing a copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
vase. When apprehended by the Carabinieri
Carabinieri
The Carabinieri is the national gendarmerie of Italy, policing both military and civilian populations, and is a branch of the armed forces.-Early history:...
, he had been strolling around Turin, crying and threatening suicide. The 45-year-old man had a full beard, and claimed to have no recollection of his past or his name.
The Questor
Questor
The term Questor may refer to:*Questor Thews, a character in the Magic Kingdom of Landover series of books by Terry Brooks.*An alternate spelling of Quaestor, an ancient Roman official...
of Turin ordered him put in the mental hospital, in the hope that he would recover his memory. The man was well behaved and calm, and exhibited to the staff signs of some education. They diagnosed a "mental block" that prevented him from remembering his history and identity. The man was classified as Inconnu ("unknown", much like a John Doe
John Doe
The name "John Doe" is used as a placeholder name in a legal action, case or discussion for a male party, whose true identity is unknown or must be withheld for legal reasons. The name is also used to refer to a male corpse or hospital patient whose identity is unknown...
), and given the number 44170.
Giulia Concetta Canella saw the photograph of him in the newspaper, and thought to have found her beloved lost husband. She asked to visit, and on February 27, 1927, she was granted a meeting with the man.
Meetings at the hospital
Great care was placed in the handling of the meeting, in order to hide from the patient that the encounter had been prearranged. The man had showed signs of fear and psychological stress when confronted with staff members or visitors, so the meeting was to look to him like a random occurrence.The man was taken for a stroll in the cloister
Cloister
A cloister is a rectangular open space surrounded by covered walks or open galleries, with open arcades on the inner side, running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth...
of the hospital, and crossed Giulia Canella's path without showing any emotion or sign he recognized her. Canella stated that the man was her husband beyond doubt. On a second attempt the day later, the man told his psychiatrists that he vaguely recognized the woman, and that some recollections were resurfacing in his mind. In the third meeting, the woman broke into tears, and the man hugged her, apparently recognizing his wife. On the same afternoon, a fourth encounter convinced the doctors that the man was indeed Canella, who told them about some vague recollections about his children. More encounters were scheduled to aid in memory recovery, but the man was now considered identified.
In March 1927, the patient was officially recognized as Professor Canella and sent back to Verona with his wife. The story of a man lost in the war and returning to his family after ten years received a lot of news coverage, sparking hope in many other people who had also lost relatives in the conflict. The usually moderate Turin's newspaper La Stampa
La Stampa
La Stampa is one of the best-known, most influential and most widely sold Italian daily newspapers. Published in Turin, it is distributed in Italy and other European nations. The current owner is the Fiat Group.-History:...
printed the emphatic headline "A cry, a shiver, a hug, the light".
Despite newspapers covering the story, no interviews were granted. No one knew what he had done in the nine years he went missing.
Arrest
On March 3, 1927, just a few days after the apparently happy ending, an unsigned letter was received by the Quaestor of Turin stating that the man was not Canella, but instead Mario Bruneri, a typist from Turin born in 1886, an anarchist and con artist wanted since 1922 due to some convictions for acts of violence.Bruneri was not new to jails: he had served time for accounting fraud and stealing. His criminal record was extensive. He was wanted in other cities, including Pavia
Pavia
Pavia , the ancient Ticinum, is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It is the capital of the province of Pavia. It has a population of c. 71,000...
and Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, along with a woman from Brescia
Brescia
Brescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 197,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...
, Camilla Ghidini. She had a long criminal record too, with crimes against property and prostitution.
The records about Bruneri included a detailed physical and psychological profiling, perfectly matching the character and aspect of the amnesiac. On Sunday, March 6, 1927, the quaestor, firmly convinced he had been tricked, arranged for the arrest of Bruneri, who was brought back to Turin the same day.
Two days later, Bruneri's relatives were called in for an identification: his wife, Rosa Negro, recognized him immediately, along with their 14-year-old son, Giuseppino. Hi sisters Maria and Matilda and his brother Felice confirmed his identity. Bruneri had been missing for six years, when he fled the family to live with Camilla Ghidini. Bruneri refused to admit knowing the family, and faked a fainting. Another woman named Milly who had a love affair with him recognized him as Bruneri as well.
Bruneri's mother, Eugenia Mantaud, while still alive, was not involved in the identification, being weak of heart. The identification was contested by Giulia Canella's attorneys on the ground that the mother had not allowed to see the man, claiming she would have foiled the whole Bruneri family plot orchestrated in conjunction with the quaestor and police, not on the grounds of illness. Eugenia died two days later on July 4, 1929 of heart failure, causing some embarrassment to Canella's attorneys.
Inquiry
The quaestor ordered fingerprints to be taken, and had them compared with those from Bruneri's criminal records. Fingerprints had been sent to the central police archive in Rome when the man was initially arrested, but no matching was found at a superficial search of the huge archive. The second try proved to be 100% positive, and the Scientific Investigation School of Rome wired back a telegram confirming that Bruneri and the alleged amnesiac were the same person. Bruneri was a fugitive and had to serve two years from previous sentences, so he was jailed in the Collegno mental hospital while awaiting further trials.Giulia Canella fought the allegations and began a long campaign of appeals to the Turin Court, asking for the man to be set free on the premise that he was not Bruneri. The famous attorney and jurist Francesco Carnelutti offered to defend Bruneri, along with the lawyer and fascist
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
gerarca
Gerarca
Gerarca was a term used during the Fascist rule in Italy to refer to a member of the National Fascist Party ....
(National Fascist Party
National Fascist Party
The National Fascist Party was an Italian political party, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of fascism...
member) Roberto Farinacci
Roberto Farinacci
Roberto Farinacci was a leading Italian Fascist politician, and important member of the National Fascist Party before and during World War II, and one of its ardent anti-Semitic proponents.-Early life:...
. Carnelutti, with the aid of political pressure, managed to have the man released on December 23, 1927. The Turin Court stated that no certain proof of the man being Bruneri had been presented, despite the identification from the criminal records.
Bruneri's mother, after learning of the developments, stated that she was sure beyond doubt that the case was another scam by her son, that being his style. Rosa Negro and Felice Bruneri (Mario Bruneri's wife and brother) challenged the court decision in order to obtain an executive order from the court to bring Bruneri back to his duty to his wife and his mother.
Chronology
- December 28, 1927. The Turin Criminal Court declares the man's identity unproven despite the questor's identification and Dr. Coppola's neuropsychiatric analysis.
- Early 1928. Bruneri family challenges the decision in the Turin Civil Court
- November 15, 1928. The Turin Civil Court acknowledges the complete and sure identification of the man as Mario Bruneri, rejecting further requests from the Canella family.
- March 24, 1930. The Corte di Cassazione voids the Turin Civil Court finding due to procedural errors. The Canella family is granted the right to present further evidence in their favor.
- May 2, 1931. After a new trial is held, the Florence Appeal Court reinstates the Turin Court's verdict, rejecting the Cassazione's request and denying further prolonging of the trial.
- December 25, 1931. After another appeal from the Canellas, the Cassazione denies a further reexamination of the case. The decision is a close call, with the 14 judges equally divided. Ultimately, the commission president asks to consult with the Minister of Justice, Alfredo RoccoAlfredo RoccoAlfredo Rocco was an Italian politician and jurist.Rocco was born in Naples.He was Professor of Commercial Law at the University of Urbino and in Macerata , then Professor of Civil Procedure in Parma, of Business Law in Padua, and later of Economic Legislation at "La Sapienza" University of Rome,...
, and votes against a new trial. Bruneri identification is confirmed again. - 1946. A further request for a reopening of the case is rejected, since the outcome is not considered a "fascist political sentence", thus not subject to a new law requiring reviews of trials of prosecuted political opponents.
- 1964, Giuseppe Canella, son of Giulio Canella, asks to reopen the case, but is denied.
The civil trial
On October 22, 1928, the civil trial began, lasting over two years and ending with a solid identification of the man as Mario Bruneri. High profile witnesses were brought into the debate, including Father Agostino GemelliAgostino Gemelli
Agostino Gemelli was an Italian physician, Franciscan friar and psychologist who was also the founder and chancellor of Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore of Milan in 1921....
and Earl Giuseppe della Torre. The former had worked with Canella at the Rivista di Filosofia Neoscolastica, the latter was a co-founder of the Corriere del Mattino and director of the ultra-Catholic newspaper L'Osservatore Romano
L'Osservatore Romano
L'Osservatore Romano is the "semi-official" newspaper of the Holy See. It covers all the Pope's public activities, publishes editorials by important churchmen, and runs official documents after being released...
. Gemelli and Dalla Torre both stated that the man was not in any way Canella. They were important representatives of the Roman Catholic hierarchy, and independently chose to testify. They were accused by Canella's attorneys -despite Carnelutti being a close friend of the Church himself- of being part of a secret plot to hurt the family.
The Italian Army
Italian Army
The Italian Army is the ground defence force of the Italian Armed Forces. It is all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel, numbering 108,355 in 2010. Its best-known combat vehicles are the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, the Centauro tank destroyer and the Ariete tank, and among its aircraft...
never removed Canella's name from its list of missing in action
Missing in action
Missing in action is a casualty Category assigned under the Status of Missing to armed services personnel who are reported missing during active service. They may have been killed, wounded, become a prisoner of war, or deserted. If deceased, neither their remains nor grave can be positively...
, stating that nothing had suggested that the man was Canella.
An appeal from Giulia Canella was rejected by the Turin's Appeal Court on August 7, 1929. The family took the matter to the Corte di Cassazione, which on March 11, 1930 agreed to consider the case and ultimately allowed a new trial to be held in a new courtroom. Cassazione pointed out a procedural error by the Turin judges - they had denied Canella the chance to bring further evidence in his favor, in particular a new psychological survey and more examination of the fingerprints. That was required since the evidence presented by the public prosecutor came from a civil trial, not a criminal one, and could be lacking in "formal rigor".
The man kept living with Giulia Concetta Canella. They had three children. Elisa was born on November 21, 1928, Camillo on December 31, 1929 and Maria on September 12, 1931. According to Italian law, they were not sons of the still missing Giulio Canella; they were registered in Brazil thanks to the influence of Giulia's father.
In Florence, the Canellas' appeal was rejected again, and the man was sent to the Carceri Nuove jail to serve the remaining two years of Bruneri's sentences. He was later transferred to the Pallanza jailhouse.
Giulia Canella asked for help from her friend Giuseppe Parisi, an army's captain, and Germano Alberti, a priest. They suggested going to the Corte di Cassazione again.
Public opinion
On March 11, 1927, just a few days after the unsigned letter accusing Bruneri, an official bulletin was published by Agenzia Stefani, the censorship organ and news agency of the Fascist National Party, stating that the man was a fake in the eyes of the party. Newspapers had to conform to the agency's directives, called veline.The case gave a big boost to newspaper sales, and many news providers over time sided with or against the Canella family. Two informal groups, the canellians and brunerians, emerged.
Canellians cited as evidence the culture and education shown by the man while in the mental hospital. Bruneri was a rough and uneducated man, so the unknown man had to be Canella, the wealthy and educated professor. The man had been recognized by 25 members and friends of Canella family, and 145 other people.
Brunerians responded that Bruneri was well educated himself, having studied in institutes like the ones where Professor Canella received his formal education. Moreover, they had on their side the scientific evidence of fingerprints and many witnesses, among them Gemelli e Della Torre. It was found that Bruneri, when young, had been fond of philosophy, and had studied the subject himself.
In 1931, the notorious neuropsychiatric expert Alfredo Coppola, an expert in war traumas, published Il caso Bruneri-Canella all'esame neuropsichiatrico (studio psicobiografico e medico-legale). He confirmed that the man was none other than Bruneri, and that the amnesia
Amnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
was plainly faked. Extremely advanced methods of cognitive analysis were used in the study. The work was so advanced for its time that it is still considered a milestone in neuropsychiatry. Coppola's work gained him the chair of Palermo University Department of Clinical Neurosciences.
Other eminent contemporary scholars, among them Mario Carrara (son in law of Cesare Lombroso
Cesare Lombroso
Cesare Lombroso, born Ezechia Marco Lombroso was an Italian criminologist and founder of the Italian School of Positivist Criminology. Lombroso rejected the established Classical School, which held that crime was a characteristic trait of human nature...
and his successor as director of the Forensic Medicine department) and Ernesto Lugaro agreed with Coppola. Among the dissenting scholars were Giovanni Mingazzini, Calligaris, Perrando and Pellegrini.
Final sentence
In 1931, the Cassazione Court confirmed Bruneri's identity and his remaining jail time. Among the 14 judges, seven were in favor and seven against. The Court president had to cast the deciding vote, and called Minister of Justice Alfredo RoccoAlfredo Rocco
Alfredo Rocco was an Italian politician and jurist.Rocco was born in Naples.He was Professor of Commercial Law at the University of Urbino and in Macerata , then Professor of Civil Procedure in Parma, of Business Law in Padua, and later of Economic Legislation at "La Sapienza" University of Rome,...
to ask for three more days of debate. Rocco refused, saying "I'm not giving you an hour more. Let's close this clown show now.".
The court declared the couple's three children illegitimate, and their union "against public morals". A newspaper inquiry found that the man showed no sign of a gun wound to the head, as Canella would have had.
None of the five trials acknowledged the man to be Canella. The identification of Mario Bruneri was confirmed by all the trials except the first.
Exile in Brazil
Gilua Canella lived more uxorio (as man and wife) with Bruneri: that brought scandal to her and harmed her reputation. Her father, concerned about the damage to the family name, forced her to move to Brazil along with her sons and her alleged husband (as soon as he was released from jail).Some newspapers stated that Giulia Canella herself was now convinced that he was not her husband, but had to keep pretending otherwise to avoid a major scandal. Slander and malicious allegations about the issue became common.
The Brazilian government legally recognized the couple's sons and gave them the name Canella. The man registered as Julio Canella, and his title of "Professor" was legally validated. They moved to Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, where the man occasionally worked on local newspapers, studied philosophy and gave some lectures.
Bruneri/Canella wrote to Pope Pius XI about some of his philosophical thoughts. The Vatican secretary answered, addressing the letter to "Ill.mo signor dottor Giulio Canella", despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
Bruneri died in Rio de Janeiro on December 12, 1941. Giulia Canella tried again to have the verdict overturned, until she died in 1977.
Account of alleged meeting between Canella and Bruneri
After the trial was over, an EnglishEnglish people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
noblewoman living in Milan wrote to the court a letter under the name "Mrs. Taylor". The woman asked for a meeting to give her account of a story. In 1923, she gave shelter to a homeless man found wandering in the streets, dressed in an old military uniform. She gave him a meal, new clothes and some food. She nicknamed him "The Tramp" (Il Randagio). Later they met again; moved by his politness, she became his friend.
The homeless man told her that he had fought in the Great War, and he was sure he had a family. Unfortunately, he was suffering from consequences of a trauma, was psychologically unstable and could not remember his identity, where his family lived and many other details. He came to know a local girl, a salesgirl of dairy
Dairy
A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting of animal milk—mostly from cows or goats, but also from buffalo, sheep, horses or camels —for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a dedicated dairy farm or section of a multi-purpose farm that is concerned...
products, and he introduced her to the noblewoman. The two became friends and often talked about "The Tramp": from their combined experiences, the women became suspicious about the man's real identity, and ultimately begun thinking that the Tramp was actually two very similar-looking men. That would explain his mood changes, the inconsistency of his stories, and his forgetfulness of details and memories from day to day. The suspicion was apparently confirmed when the noblewoman gave a jacket to the man, which was ultimately found among Bruneri's possessions. Bruneri was indeed living in Milan at the time with Camilla Ghidini, wanted by police.
Mrs. Taylor alleged that the good-hearted Canella was the original Tramp. She speculated that Bruneri must have joined him in his life on the street, and the two became close friends, thanks to their physical resemblance. Bruneri later came to know many facts about Canella's life (but details were missing due to the man's mental condition), and when he feared that the police was on his track, he devised a plan to steal Canella's identity and hide in a mental hospital. When Canella's wife came to see him, he seized the chance to escape his criminal past.
Bruneri's letters
In 1960, new information about the case came to light. Felice Bruneri, Mario's brother, showed five letter sent by his brother to their mother while in the mental hospital. In the letters, he explained his situation and asked for the family's help, since he was hungry and repentant for his crimes.The letters were published 19 years after Bruneri's death. However, few of his other writings had survived, so they could not be scientifically compared for handwriting
Handwriting
Handwriting is a person's particular & individual style of writing with pen or pencil, which contrasts with "Hand" which is an impersonal and formalised writing style in several historical varieties...
. Nevertheless, the letters are nowadays still considered one of the most reliable clues about the man's true identity.
The brother was sorry for not having shown the letters before, but was fearful of shaming the family name and his mother. Despite the great span of time that had elapsed, the letters elicited strong reactions from the canellians, who tried to get a new trial to clear Giulio Canella's name.
Denial: heirs and the Church
In 1964, Beppino Canella, the first son of Giulio Canella, gave a public speech reasserting that the man was his father.Don Germano Alberti, a friend of Giulia Canella, nominated Giulio Cannella for beatification
Beatification
Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...
. The request was ultimately refused. After much lobbying from Canella heirs and friends, on June 10, 1970, the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
officially released a press statement by Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
and Secretary of the Vatican State Giovanni Benelli, asserting that in the Church's eyes, the man was Giulio Canella, and his sons were to be considered legitimate. The statement clashed with the court findings and the new evidence uncovered, but was presented as certain despite being supported by nothing other than testimonies.
Political aspects
The case broke at a very delicate time politically, when the newly elected FascistFascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
regime was beginning to face the many social problems of a divided country. The intellectual elite was divided. Many Catholic higher-ups sided with the brunerians, despite the official position of the Church in the following years. Politicians and journalists, especially from the liberal wing, sided with the canellians.
The story was used by certain politicians as a means of distracting the public from the commission writing the Lateran Treaty, the agreement between the Church and the Italian state that gave the former more authority, a trick by Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
to gain the support from the Catholic electorate, while risking protests from the then strong Liberal party. Leonardo Sciascia
Leonardo Sciascia
Leonardo Sciascia was an Italian writer, novelist, essayist, playwright and politician. Some of his works have been made into films, including Open Doors and Il giorno della civetta .- Biography :Sciascia was born in Racalmuto, Sicily...
wrote about the political use of the story in Il teatro della memoria.
Mussolini, while using the trials to his advantage, became concerned about the whole matter. When the case itself turned out to be a divisive issue among clerics and liberals, he intervened, trying to reduce its exposure in the national mass media. Ultimately, he ordered the newspapers to stop writing about it.
Scientific importance
The case was a landmark for the judicial process. Science, especially forensics disciplines such as handwriting comparison and psychiatric analysis, became a common tool in trials. The case marked one of the first uses of scientific fingerprint analysis in the legal system in Italy.Psychology received media attention, and the now famous experts who had worked on the Bruneri/Canella case were instrumental in the birth of many psychological study institutes. Stefano Zago underlined how in this case Coppola developed cognitive evaluation methods still in use nowadays.
Public representations
Luigi PirandelloLuigi Pirandello
Luigi Pirandello was an Italian dramatist, novelist, and short story writer awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1934, for his "bold and brilliant renovation of the drama and the stage." Pirandello's works include novels, hundreds of short stories, and about 40 plays, some of which are written...
was inspired by the case when writing Come tu mi vuoi
Come Tu Mi Vuoi
"Come Tu Mi Vuoi " is the first single release from the seventh studio album of Italian singer Alexia, Gli Occhi Grandi Della Luna released on 1 June 2004. The track was originally written in English , though the Italian version was released as the lead track on the physical CD release...
, a three-act drama first staged in Milan in 1930.
In 1936, actor Angelo Musco was the star of Lo Smemorato, a theatrical adaptation of the story.
In 1962, the movie Lo smemorato di Collegno by Sergio Corbucci
Sergio Corbucci
Sergio Corbucci was an Italian film director. He is best known for his very violent yet intelligent spaghetti westerns...
was released, with Totò
Totò
Prince Antonio Focas Flavio Angelo Ducas Comneno De Curtis di Bisanzio Gagliardi, best known by his stage name Totò and nicknamed il principe della risata was an Italian comedian, film and theatre actor, writer, singer and songwriter...
as the star.
In 1970, RAI
RAI
RAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...
aired two episodes of Processi a porte aperte about the case on 11 and 13 August. Bruneri's nephews tried to have the broadcast blocked, as did Canella's wife and Don Germano Alberti. The petition started by the priest received only about three hundred supporters.
Pasquale Festa Campanile
Pasquale Festa Campanile
Pasquale Festa Campanile was an Italian screenwriter, film director and novellist. He was born at Melfi and died in Rome.- Director :* Un tentativo sentimentale * La nonna Sabella...
presented at the Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
the movie Uno scandalo perbene in 1984: he presented the story, but left the final open for interpretation.
In 1988 in Collegno, an exhibition titled Sconosciuto a me stesso was held. French writer Jean Giraudoux
Jean Giraudoux
Hippolyte Jean Giraudoux was a French novelist, essayist, diplomat and playwright. He is considered among the most important French dramatists of the period between World War I and World War II. His work is noted for its stylistic elegance and poetic fantasy...
was inspired by the case for Sigfrid et le Limousin.
Radio host Fiorello
Fiorello
Fiorello may refer to:*Fiorello!, a Broadway musical*Fiorello! , a 1960 album by Oscar Peterson*Rosario Fiorello, also known as simply Fiorello, Italian singer and TV host*Fiorello H. La Guardia, former mayor of New York City...
created a character named lo smemorato di Cologno
Cologno Monzese
Cologno Monzese is a comune in the Province of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 5 km north-east of Milan...
on his show on Radio Due. The voice was an imitation of Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
(Cologno being the headquarter of his TV channels). The character lost his memory every time issues about political promises, social issues or an opposing politician were named. Berlusconi himself played the role in the last broadcast before the winter holidays in 2006.
Rai Uno
Rai Uno
Rai 1 is the primary television station of RAI, the national public service broadcaster, and the most watched television channel in Italy. It was born as Rai Tv from 1954 to 1961, called Programma Nazionale from 1961 to 1979, after called Rete 1 from 1979 to 1982, then called Rai Uno from 1982 to...
produced a TV movie named Lo smemorato di Collegno by Maurizio Zaccaro
Maurizio Zaccaro
Maurizio Zaccaro , is an Italian film director, cinematographer, editor and screenwriter.- Biography :Maurizio Zaccaro was born in Milan...
.
On April 1, 2009, the TV show Chi l'ha visto by Rai 3 (a show investigating missing people) asked the Carabinieri
Carabinieri
The Carabinieri is the national gendarmerie of Italy, policing both military and civilian populations, and is a branch of the armed forces.-Early history:...
RIS
RIS
The three-letter acronym RIS may refer to:* Radio Information Service, a reading service for the blind in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania* Radiology Information System, device used to manipulate and distribute patient radiological data imagery...
to examine the letters sent by Canella from the war front with the letters presented by Bruneri's brother in order to compare any traces of DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
. The examination proved inconclusive.