Bordighera bids farewell to two-year-old Beatrice, mother barred from funeral
Hundreds gathered in Bordighera on 14 August for the funeral of two-year-old Beatrice, found dead on 9 February in her mother's home. The mother, accused alongside her companion, was barred from attending; the detained father was brought under escort.
The funeral
Hundreds of people filled the piazza and the church of the Immacolata Concezione in Bordighera on 14 August 2026 for the funeral of Beatrice, a two-year-old girl found dead on 9 February in the home where she lived with her mother in Montenero. The small white coffin, carrying no flowers but only a photograph of the child barefoot in earth, wearing a pink Minnie dress and holding a pumpkin flower, entered the church to the sound of Schubert's Ave Maria. It left to the song "Sta passando novembre" by Eros Ramazzotti, accompanied by a long round of applause. Around 250 people attended inside the church, with hundreds more gathered outside.
The body had remained at the disposal of judicial authorities for over six months while the autopsy, investigation and clearances were completed. The ceremony, described as composed and silent, lasted nearly two hours.
- Beatrice dies during the night; body found the next morning in the mother's home in Montenero
- Mother Emanuela Aiello arrested; companion Emanuel Iannuzzi also detained
- Judge revokes mother's permission to attend the funeral for security reasons
- Funeral held at the church of Immacolata Concezione in Bordighera; father Maurizio Rao attends under prison-police escort
The accused and the parents
Beatrice's mother, Emanuela Aiello, 44, and her companion, Emanuel Iannuzzi, are both in prison, accused of aggravated maltreatment related to the girl's death. Aiello, detained in Turin, had initially been granted permission to attend the funeral, but the judge of Imperia revoked the authorisation on 13 August, citing the risk of verbal and physical aggression and possible repercussions on public order after a wave of hostility on social media.
The biological father, Maurizio Rao, also detained but for a separate offence, was brought to the church by prison police through a side entrance. He approached the coffin and accompanied his daughter for the last time. As he left the church a few minutes before the end of the Mass, he asked those present to applaud the child.
Let us give a round of applause to this angel, thank you for being here.
The bishop's homily
Bishop Antonio Suetta of Ventimiglia-Sanremo celebrated the Mass alongside two other priests. His voice broke repeatedly during the homily, which he opened with a quotation from the prophet Isaiah: "Can a woman forget her child, so as not to have compassion on the fruit of her womb?"
Beatrice, did you feel forgotten? Were you afraid? Certainly yes. And it is terrible for us to think of you in the darkness of violence. Often children meet the wicked ogre in fairy tales and seek refuge in the safe arms of loved ones. You met him for real, and those arms were missing for you to take refuge and find comfort.
Suetta said the case concerned not only one family but an entire society, asking everyone to question "what is happening in the heart of man". He never pronounced the mother's name during the homily.
Security and authorities
Both families, the Rao and the Aiello, were present at the ceremony but had no contact, no exchange of looks and no sign of reconciliation. Paternal aunt Sonia stayed beside the coffin from the mortuary to the cemetery without ever leaving the child alone.
A large security operation was deployed: special carabinieri teams, state police, Digos, firefighters, the 118 emergency service, Red Cross and civil protection. The prefect of Imperia, Antonio Iaccari, his deputy Rosa Abussi, and the mayor of Bordighera, Marzia Baldassarre, attended the ceremony. Baldassarre proclaimed city mourning and closed the Aurelia road and the stretch leading to the cemetery.
