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CRIME

Syrian scholar’s murder ‘a horror’

Italy’s Culture Minister, Dario Franceschini, has expressed his 'horror' over the brutal murder of a Syrian antiquities scholar in Palmyra by the Isis militant group.

Published: 19 August 2015 17:28 CEST
Syrian scholar's murder 'a horror'
A general view taken on May 18th shows the castle of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra. Photo: STR/AFP

Isis beheaded Khaled Al-Asaad in a public square in Palmyra in front of dozens of onlookers, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said on its website on Tuesday.

The 82-year-old expert was the former director of the city’s world-famous archaeological site and his body was hung from a pillar after he was decapitated.

“The beheading of Khaled Al-Asaad is a gesture that provokes horror,” Franceschini said in a statement released on Wednesday.

“The barbaric violence towards a man who dedicated his life to the cultural heritage of his own country is the very rejection of civilization.”

“This horrible act cannot pass without a response. The Declaration of Milan endorsed at Expo by nearly 90 countries is the first step, now we need a major commitment from the international community to defend culture and people in areas of crisis.”

The news of the archaeologist’s death was initially given by Syrian Antiquities and Museums Director, Maamoun Abdulkarim, to Syria’s state-run news agency, Sana.

Al-Asaad is reported to have been arrested a month ago and interrogated by members of Isis seeking information on where Roman artefacts may have been hidden before Isis occupied the ancient city in May. 

He had been director of the Palmyra archaeological site for 40 years until his retirement in 2003. Sana reports that he had continued to work as an expert after his retirement for the Antiquities and Museums Department.

He had also worked with US, French, German and Swiss archaeological missions on excavations and research in Palmyra’s 2,000-year-old ruins, which is a Unesco World Heritage site that includes Roman tombs and the Temple. 

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CRIME

REVEALED: Where in Italy you’re most likely to be a victim of crime

From theft and home burglary to cyber fraud and extortion, the latest figures reveal where in Italy you are most likely to fall victim to crime and the most common types of offences in major cities around the country.

Published: 17 September 2024 11:15 CEST
REVEALED: Where in Italy you're most likely to be a victim of crime

While Italy is among the safest countries in the world – it ranked 33rd out of 163 in the latest Global Peace Index report, right above the UK – crime is still a concern, especially in metropolitan cities and tourist hotspots.

According to the annual crime report from newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore, which collated the most recent data from Italy’s Department of Public Security, Milan was the Italian city with the highest crime rate in 2023.

Overall, some 230,394 crimes were reported in the northern metropolis last year, which corresponded to 7,094 offences for every 100,000 residents.

Milan was followed by Italy’s capital, Rome, with 6,071 reported crimes for every 100,000 residents (up by nearly 600 compared to 2022) and Florence, with 6,053.

The top ten was completed by Rimini (6,002 reports for every 100,000 residents), Turin (5,685), Bologna (5,539), Prato (4,887), Imperia (4,838), Venice (4,825) and Livorno (4,743).

At the other end of the spectrum, Oristano, Sardinia, was the Italian city with the lowest crime rate in 2023 as it ‘only’ saw 1,511 offences for every 100,000 residents. 

Oristano was followed by Potenza, Basilicata (1,934) and Treviso, Veneto (2,258).

Single-offence rankings

While the overall crime rate ranking provides a picture of Italy’s major crime hotspots, it doesn’t allow for any insight into the types of offences committed locally, which is why it is worth looking into single-offence rankings. 

Milan, Rome and Rimini (a popular seaside resort on Emilia Romagna’s Adriatic coast) were the Italian cities with the highest theft rates in 2023, with the northern city registering nearly 3,900 reported thefts (furti) for every 100,000 residents and the capital stopping just shy of the 3,500 mark.

Milan was also Italy’s least-safe city when it came to petty theft and pickpocketing, with over 900 such offences reported for every 100,000 residents.

READ ALSO: How bad is pickpocketing in Italy’s major cities?

Florence was the Italian city with the highest robbery rate (rapine), with 136 offences for every 100,000 residents. 

The Tuscan city was followed by Milan (128) and Prato (124).

Outside of big cities and popular tourist destinations, a number of smaller and, perhaps, slightly unassuming Italian cities had their own crime ‘specialisations’ in 2023. 

For instance, Ragusa, Sicily, ranked first in vehicle theft, while Pisa, Tuscany, came in first in reported home burglary offences.

Trieste, Friuli Venezia Giulia, had the highest sexual assault rate (24 reports for every 100,000 residents) in the country, whereas Crotone ranked first for attempted murder.

READ ALSO: The 8 red flags to look out for to avoid rental scams in Italy

Turin came in first for cyber fraud and online scams, while Isernia, Molise, was Italy’s extortion capital. 

National picture

At a national level, reported crimes were up by 3.8 percent compared to 2022, with online fraud and robbery registering 10.3- and 9.5-percent increases respectively. 

Assault offences also registered a 3.1-percent year-on-year increase, while there were 341 murders in 2023 – up by 13 against 2019. 

According to Marco Dugato, a researcher at the Crime Observatory of Milan’s Cattolica University, the latest increases “must be monitored, particularly for certain types of crime”.

In particular, “the rise of more impulsive, less planned, but more aggressive forms of criminal activity” such as assault and robbery “is of concern”. 

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