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Emanuela Orlandi was born on 14 January 1968 in Vatican City. She was the fourth of five children of Ercole Orlandi and Maria Pezzano.
Emanuela Orlandi’s Biography
Emanuela Orlandi’s father worked as a lay employee in the papal household, and the family lived on the grounds of the Vatican. Emanuela and her siblings were free to roam the Vatican Gardens and play.
Emanuela was a great musician who loved playing the flute. In her second year of secondary school in Rome, she attended the Scuola di Musica Tommaso Ludovico da Victoria, which was affiliated with the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music.
She also sang in the cathedral choir at the Vatican’s Sant’Anna dei Palafrenieri.
Emanuela mysteriously vanished on her way home from music school on June 22, 1983. She generally rode the bus to the last few hundred metres and walked the rest.
She was running late that day and requested her brother Pietro to drive her, but he had other obligations.
Emanuela called home after her music lesson to tell her sister Federica about a job offer to hand out leaflets for Avon Products at a fashion show. Federica cautioned her not to accept the offer without first consulting their parents.
Emanuela was last seen around 7:30 p.m. at a bus stop on Corso Rinascimento with another girl who has yet to be identified.
When she did not return home, her family got concerned, and they began looking for her throughout the Vatican and the region around the music school. When she was formally proclaimed missing the next day, they reported her missing to the police.
Over the next few weeks, the Orlandi family received phone calls from an anonymous man with an American accent, claiming to be a member of a terrorist organisation holding Emanuela hostage and demanding the release of Mehmet Ali Aca, the Turkish man who attempted to assassinate Pope John Paul II two years earlier.
Over the years, the investigation into Emanuela’s disappearance took many unexpected turns. There were suspicions of international terrorism, organised crime, and even a sex scandal cover-up within the Holy See.
The Vatican kept a tight lid on the situation, denying any participation, although numerous voices within the Holy See hinted that someone knew what happened to Emanuela.
Her brother Pietro insisted on receiving information about the case from the Vatican, claiming that they knew more than they acknowledged. The Vatican’s silence, on the other hand, has only fanned suspicion and conspiracy theories.
Pope Francis met with the Orlandi family in 2013 and hinted that Emanuela was in heaven, implying that the Vatican was aware of what had happened to her.
Several ideas about Emanuela’s disappearance have emerged throughout the years. Some believe she was kidnapped by international terrorists, while others believe she was kidnapped by organised crime, such as the Banda della Magliana.
There has also been talk of a Vatican sex scandal and a high-ranking official cover-up.
Despite countless investigations and the passage of time, the truth regarding the disappearance of Emanuela Orlandi remains unknown. The Vatican restarted the investigation in 2023, undertaking a thorough review of all data and witnesses.
A third formal investigation into the case has also been opened by the Italian public prosecutor. The Orlandi family and their allies are still looking for answers and justice for Emanuela, never giving up faith that the truth will be disclosed.
Who Are Emanuela Orlandi’s Parents?
Emmanuela Orlandi’s parents are Ercole Orlandi, who worked for the Institute for the Works of Religion in the Holy See and her mother Maria Orlandi.
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