1 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:06,360 Speaker 1: Hey, and welcome to the Short Stuff. I'm Josh, and 2 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,400 Speaker 1: Chuck's here and Jerry's here for Dave, So that makes 3 00:00:09,440 --> 00:00:11,200 Speaker 1: this an official short stuff. 4 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:14,680 Speaker 2: That's right, And we're going to issue a trigger warning 5 00:00:14,720 --> 00:00:16,639 Speaker 2: on this one. Part of the story has to do 6 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:18,880 Speaker 2: with sexual assault, so we just wanted to kind of 7 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:21,759 Speaker 2: let everyone know that that's coming. But ultimately this is 8 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:24,000 Speaker 2: a story of courage and bravery. 9 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:28,200 Speaker 1: Yeah. So if you go down to Sicily and southern 10 00:00:28,280 --> 00:00:31,320 Speaker 1: Italy and ask them what a fou atina is, they 11 00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:34,960 Speaker 1: will say, huh, we don't really do that anymore, but 12 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:37,559 Speaker 1: we'll tell you what it is anyway. It means sudden escape, 13 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:41,200 Speaker 1: and in its most benign form, it was a way 14 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:44,880 Speaker 1: for couples who were consenting. They wanted to get married, 15 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:46,879 Speaker 1: but their families were like, no, we don't approve of 16 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:50,479 Speaker 1: this union, and therefore you can't get married. It was 17 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:53,279 Speaker 1: a way for them to elope all right. So the 18 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:58,240 Speaker 1: fu atina was essentially an elopement. The key to the 19 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:01,320 Speaker 1: fu atina, though, was that the couple would wait a 20 00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:03,640 Speaker 1: little while, say a week, and then they would return 21 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:07,640 Speaker 1: home and their families would presume that over the course 22 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:11,640 Speaker 1: of that week this couple had had premarital sex. So 23 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:14,880 Speaker 1: when they came back, the couple was like, now you 24 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:18,720 Speaker 1: have to agree to letting us get married. And in fact, 25 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:21,319 Speaker 1: it's going to be a specific type of marriage that's 26 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:25,880 Speaker 1: prescribed by law and socially it's called the matrimonial repertory. 27 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:28,479 Speaker 1: It's called a rehabilitating marriage. Right. 28 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:32,679 Speaker 2: That's right, and that was a legal thing. It was 29 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:36,920 Speaker 2: a socially accepted thing to where you could restore honor 30 00:01:36,959 --> 00:01:40,399 Speaker 2: to that bride. It was a loophole if he wanted 31 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:42,319 Speaker 2: to get married and your parents didn't like he were 32 00:01:42,360 --> 00:01:46,280 Speaker 2: getting married to. But there was a very dark version 33 00:01:46,319 --> 00:01:51,120 Speaker 2: of this in which a man could take a woman 34 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:54,600 Speaker 2: that he wanted to marry even if she didn't want to. 35 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:57,720 Speaker 2: He could take her away, he could kidnap her, he 36 00:01:57,760 --> 00:02:01,240 Speaker 2: could hold her against her will, he could sexually assault her, 37 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:05,960 Speaker 2: and then in the same way that that elopement, which 38 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:10,200 Speaker 2: was consensual would have to be, you know, could restore 39 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:13,000 Speaker 2: that marriage. They would then come back with a woman 40 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:16,239 Speaker 2: and say, well, you are now a tainted woman. If 41 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:20,040 Speaker 2: your damaged goods, no one's going to marry you. So 42 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:22,320 Speaker 2: if you want to restore your honor and you want 43 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:24,760 Speaker 2: to have a family, one day and be married. Then 44 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:29,480 Speaker 2: you have to marry me your maybe your captor and assault. 45 00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:33,440 Speaker 1: Yeah. And so it's a no win situation here, right, 46 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:38,720 Speaker 1: because if you wanted to be not ostracized by your community, 47 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:41,720 Speaker 1: if you wanted to ever get married, because no one 48 00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:45,080 Speaker 1: would marry you after you were essentially teened goods because 49 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:48,960 Speaker 1: you had been sexually assaulted by this man. The only 50 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:51,799 Speaker 1: way out of it was to consent to this rehabilitating 51 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:55,399 Speaker 1: marriage because it would restore your honor and then also conveniently, 52 00:02:55,840 --> 00:03:01,440 Speaker 1: it erased any criminal act that had led to that marriage. Legally, 53 00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:03,720 Speaker 1: it let the man off the hook for kidnapping in 54 00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:07,320 Speaker 1: sexual assault because the woman had married her him, even 55 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:09,639 Speaker 1: though she had no choice. If she ever wanted to 56 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:13,280 Speaker 1: get married and say, have kids, her only chance now 57 00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:16,240 Speaker 1: was with the man who had kidnapped and sexually assaulted her. 58 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:17,840 Speaker 1: That's just how that worked. 59 00:03:18,560 --> 00:03:24,520 Speaker 2: Yeah. So this was a thing that went seemingly completely 60 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:27,959 Speaker 2: unchallenged as far as anyone knows, until the mid nineteen sixties, 61 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:34,480 Speaker 2: when a woman named Franka Viola came along and said no. 62 00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:38,520 Speaker 2: In nineteen sixty three, in her hometown of Alcamo, she 63 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:40,800 Speaker 2: was fifteen years old, she was engaged to a twenty 64 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:44,640 Speaker 2: three year old nephew of a Sicilian mafioso. His name 65 00:03:44,720 --> 00:03:49,360 Speaker 2: was Filippo Melodia, and they were headed toward marriage, but 66 00:03:49,480 --> 00:03:53,720 Speaker 2: he got nabbed for a crime for theft. Six months 67 00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:57,040 Speaker 2: into their engagement, she broke it off. He fled to 68 00:03:57,080 --> 00:04:02,120 Speaker 2: Germany to escape this, going to prison basically, and while 69 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:04,839 Speaker 2: he was gone she became engaged. She fell in love 70 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:07,280 Speaker 2: to another guy, this guy she grew up with named 71 00:04:07,280 --> 00:04:14,560 Speaker 2: Giuseppe Ruisi, her former fiance. I guess Melodia came back 72 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:17,600 Speaker 2: in nineteen sixty five, said I want you back, and 73 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:20,360 Speaker 2: she said, no, I really love this guy. I'm staying 74 00:04:20,400 --> 00:04:20,719 Speaker 2: with him. 75 00:04:21,080 --> 00:04:24,600 Speaker 1: Yeah. So Melodia kept trying over and over again to 76 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:27,400 Speaker 1: win her back, and she kept saying no every time, 77 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:30,719 Speaker 1: so as each time he was becoming angrier and angrier, 78 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:33,559 Speaker 1: and also he was humiliated every time that she turned 79 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:37,000 Speaker 1: him down. So he hatched a plan where he would 80 00:04:37,080 --> 00:04:40,680 Speaker 1: kidnap Franca from her home. He and fifteen other men 81 00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:43,360 Speaker 1: did on the day after Christmas in nineteen sixty five, 82 00:04:44,080 --> 00:04:47,600 Speaker 1: and he held her at a farmhouse and he sexually 83 00:04:47,640 --> 00:04:50,720 Speaker 1: assaulted her there over the course of a week, which 84 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:55,200 Speaker 1: effectively triggered that matrimonial repertory, like it gave her no 85 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:58,560 Speaker 1: choice at that point. Then after the week she was released, 86 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:02,920 Speaker 1: and then as part of this custom, initially Melodia and 87 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:06,640 Speaker 1: his accomplices were arrested, but the choice was up to 88 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:10,719 Speaker 1: Franca to press charges or to marry the guy. That 89 00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:13,960 Speaker 1: was her choice. And again, up to this point, as 90 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:16,120 Speaker 1: far as we know, every single woman put in this 91 00:05:16,200 --> 00:05:19,480 Speaker 1: position agreed to marry the person who kidnapped and sexually 92 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:20,160 Speaker 1: assaulted her. 93 00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:24,400 Speaker 2: That's right. So I feel like that's halfway point. It's 94 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:25,719 Speaker 2: a good time for a break, and we'll tell you 95 00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:50,320 Speaker 2: what happened right after this, all right. So I actually 96 00:05:50,400 --> 00:05:53,159 Speaker 2: kind of spoiled it earlier when I said that she 97 00:05:53,279 --> 00:05:57,960 Speaker 2: said no, But that's exactly what happened. Franca, very very 98 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:00,839 Speaker 2: bravely decided to press charges, and like you said, she 99 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:04,880 Speaker 2: was the first woman in modern times, maybe of all times, 100 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:09,719 Speaker 2: to say I'm not participating in this. Even though her 101 00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:15,239 Speaker 2: honor was tarnished, her family's reputation was tarnished, They got threats, 102 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:18,800 Speaker 2: their barn and their vineyard were burned down because remember 103 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:22,119 Speaker 2: this is a nephew of a mafioso, so some heavy 104 00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:25,760 Speaker 2: things were going down and these guys were arraigned for trial. 105 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:30,200 Speaker 2: It became an international story in nineteen sixty six. They 106 00:06:30,279 --> 00:06:32,000 Speaker 2: knew he did it, so it wasn't like did you 107 00:06:32,040 --> 00:06:35,120 Speaker 2: do it or not? He basically said no, no, no, 108 00:06:35,160 --> 00:06:38,919 Speaker 2: I was love sick. She loved me too, and it 109 00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:40,960 Speaker 2: was the parents who didn't approve. So this is just 110 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:44,280 Speaker 2: like a good old fashioned eloping. What was that called, 111 00:06:45,560 --> 00:06:50,080 Speaker 2: It's like a good old fashioned fuitina. And she said this, 112 00:06:51,040 --> 00:06:53,040 Speaker 2: I am the property of no one. No one can 113 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:55,120 Speaker 2: force me to love a person I do not respect. 114 00:06:55,600 --> 00:06:58,120 Speaker 2: Honor is lost by the one who does certain things, 115 00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:01,120 Speaker 2: not the one who was subjected to the right. 116 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:05,240 Speaker 1: She also said to him directly from the stand, I 117 00:07:05,279 --> 00:07:08,560 Speaker 1: do not love you. I will not marry you. And 118 00:07:08,880 --> 00:07:14,400 Speaker 1: she was despite she was going against all custom. And again, 119 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:16,480 Speaker 1: like I think it's worth pointing out, her family stood 120 00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:19,880 Speaker 1: by her and rather than pressuring her to do you 121 00:07:19,920 --> 00:07:23,320 Speaker 1: know what the community and society wanted her to do. 122 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:27,800 Speaker 1: That was extremely brave of them as well, and in 123 00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:32,080 Speaker 1: return for her bravery and courage she won. Melodia lost 124 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:35,680 Speaker 1: his case and because rape and kidnapping were still crimes 125 00:07:36,520 --> 00:07:39,880 Speaker 1: in Sicily and Italy, he was sentenced to eleven years 126 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:43,480 Speaker 1: in prison, ended up serving ten, and seven of his 127 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:48,680 Speaker 1: fifteen accomplices were received four year sentences each. And I 128 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:55,480 Speaker 1: guess kind of joyously two years after Filippo Melodia got 129 00:07:55,480 --> 00:07:58,000 Speaker 1: out of prison, so he spent ten years in prison. 130 00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:01,280 Speaker 1: Within two years he'd been gunned down Modina in Italy 131 00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:03,240 Speaker 1: famous for its balsamic vannegar. 132 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:07,920 Speaker 2: So the media, you know, got a hold this story, 133 00:08:07,960 --> 00:08:10,920 Speaker 2: like I said earlier, and you might think like the 134 00:08:10,960 --> 00:08:13,680 Speaker 2: media talked about like just how awful this was. They 135 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:16,440 Speaker 2: did in a way, but the media in Italy also 136 00:08:16,560 --> 00:08:19,240 Speaker 2: talked about how pretty she was, and there were on 137 00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:22,080 Speaker 2: TV there were panel discussions where they talked to local 138 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:24,560 Speaker 2: men about like, hey, like you know, she's good looking, 139 00:08:24,600 --> 00:08:27,200 Speaker 2: would you still marry her? And you know they were 140 00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:30,720 Speaker 2: all like no, I still wouldn't marry her. So the 141 00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:35,280 Speaker 2: media coverage was just very sexist and not fair. But 142 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:39,600 Speaker 2: she did get married to Giuseppe. They were married December 143 00:08:39,679 --> 00:08:42,240 Speaker 2: nineteen sixty eight. She was twenty by this time, he 144 00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:45,680 Speaker 2: was twenty five years old, and it was a like 145 00:08:45,920 --> 00:08:49,640 Speaker 2: it was a national celebration basically when she got married. 146 00:08:50,800 --> 00:08:53,480 Speaker 1: Yeah, surprisingly there was a huge happy ending of this 147 00:08:53,679 --> 00:08:57,240 Speaker 1: Giuseppe's another person who deserves credit for standing by her too. 148 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:01,400 Speaker 1: He was honestly the only chance. He was the only 149 00:09:01,440 --> 00:09:05,360 Speaker 1: man who could step up and restore her honor because 150 00:09:05,559 --> 00:09:11,439 Speaker 1: essentially she they got married under a matrimonial raprare. And yeah, 151 00:09:11,520 --> 00:09:13,800 Speaker 1: it was a celebration by the country, so much so 152 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:17,760 Speaker 1: that Italy's president, and I think Mashable pointed this out, 153 00:09:18,120 --> 00:09:22,000 Speaker 1: Italy's president directly sent them a wedding president of forty dollars, 154 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:24,520 Speaker 1: which would be over two hundred and fifty dollars today, 155 00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:28,120 Speaker 1: and the transport minister gave them a month of free 156 00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:32,680 Speaker 1: railway rides. So like this woman went rail pass Yeah, 157 00:09:32,679 --> 00:09:34,720 Speaker 1: pretty much. I mean a month of it. That's pretty 158 00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:37,679 Speaker 1: good for a newly whit couple, right. Yeah, So they 159 00:09:38,040 --> 00:09:42,000 Speaker 1: she went from scorned and people in the media talking 160 00:09:42,040 --> 00:09:44,160 Speaker 1: about how her life was basically over, she was going 161 00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:48,400 Speaker 1: to be a spinster to being celebrated in Italy by 162 00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:51,240 Speaker 1: the very people who had essentially tried to pressure her 163 00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:55,760 Speaker 1: into submitting to Melodia's advances. 164 00:09:56,280 --> 00:09:59,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, and this was nineteen sixty six when it happened. 165 00:09:59,640 --> 00:10:02,520 Speaker 2: He would think, well, in nineteen sixty seven, they probably 166 00:10:02,559 --> 00:10:05,400 Speaker 2: got rid of this thing, not so it wasn't. It 167 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:10,520 Speaker 2: took till nineteen eighty one to repeal that law, which 168 00:10:10,559 --> 00:10:13,400 Speaker 2: is staggering. I can't believe it took that long. 169 00:10:13,559 --> 00:10:17,440 Speaker 1: Yeah, the foutina is still around in the rehabilitation. Marriage 170 00:10:17,480 --> 00:10:20,240 Speaker 1: is still around. But the key is that if you 171 00:10:20,640 --> 00:10:23,160 Speaker 1: rape the woman, you are no longer off the hook 172 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:25,200 Speaker 1: if she marries you. And yeah, the fact that it 173 00:10:25,240 --> 00:10:28,680 Speaker 1: took more than a decade is a little unnerving, but 174 00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:31,680 Speaker 1: that was one of the things that she did. She 175 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:36,120 Speaker 1: kind of shined an international spotlight on this really backwards custom, 176 00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:39,800 Speaker 1: and Italy and Sicily were kind of like shrinking a 177 00:10:39,800 --> 00:10:43,040 Speaker 1: little bit in the spotlight because it just made them 178 00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:45,520 Speaker 1: look so bad. So that was one thing she did. 179 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:48,800 Speaker 1: And also she was credited for inspiring no less than 180 00:10:48,960 --> 00:10:54,440 Speaker 1: four women in the same situation to press charges on 181 00:10:54,520 --> 00:10:57,840 Speaker 1: their abductor and assault her by the time she even 182 00:10:57,880 --> 00:11:00,920 Speaker 1: got the trial. Who knows how many she she inspired 183 00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:03,840 Speaker 1: after that. So she changed this custom that was so 184 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:07,959 Speaker 1: old you can't even tell when it would have began. 185 00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:12,640 Speaker 2: Yeah, for sure. If you do think, why haven't I 186 00:11:12,679 --> 00:11:15,880 Speaker 2: seen this movie, well you can. There's a filmmaker named 187 00:11:15,880 --> 00:11:19,760 Speaker 2: Marta Savina who had an award winning short film called Viola, 188 00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:23,360 Speaker 2: and she turned that into a feature film called Prima 189 00:11:23,400 --> 00:11:25,800 Speaker 2: Donna or The Girl from Tomorrow. 190 00:11:26,520 --> 00:11:29,439 Speaker 1: Yes, and in an even happier part of the happy 191 00:11:29,520 --> 00:11:35,119 Speaker 1: ending on International Wednesday. In twenty fourteen, President Giorgio Napolitano 192 00:11:35,480 --> 00:11:40,040 Speaker 1: bestowed on Franca the honor of Grande Officiale del ordinae 193 00:11:40,080 --> 00:11:44,160 Speaker 1: el Marito della Republica Italiana, which means that she was 194 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:50,400 Speaker 1: essentially knighted for her active bravery. Amazing, amazing, huge hat 195 00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:52,680 Speaker 1: tip to m I had never heard of Franko Viola 196 00:11:52,760 --> 00:11:55,439 Speaker 1: until she mentioned her to me. I think she sent 197 00:11:55,480 --> 00:11:59,040 Speaker 1: me an article a while back, so yeah, I appreciate that. 198 00:11:59,360 --> 00:12:01,600 Speaker 1: I think the whole world does now. Yeah. 199 00:12:01,679 --> 00:12:03,640 Speaker 2: Did she was it from the did she see the 200 00:12:03,640 --> 00:12:04,959 Speaker 2: movie or was it just from something she read. 201 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:07,120 Speaker 1: I think she ran across something like an article on 202 00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:09,280 Speaker 1: the internet and send it to me, So yeah, I 203 00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:11,160 Speaker 1: want to check check out that movie. Let's see what 204 00:12:11,160 --> 00:12:13,520 Speaker 1: that's like. Yeah, and a huge hat tip to Franco 205 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:15,960 Speaker 1: Viola too for being so brave. That's just what an 206 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:23,520 Speaker 1: amazing story. Agreed Chucks That agreed short Stuff is out. 207 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:26,440 Speaker 1: Stuff You Should Know is a production of iHeartRadio. 208 00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:30,120 Speaker 2: For more podcasts, my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 209 00:12:30,320 --> 00:12:33,240 Speaker 2: Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.