1967
digitized negative
Photography by Carlo Fumagalli e Giancarlo De Bellis
© Archivio Publifoto Intesa Sanpaolo

The Banda Cavallero was a criminal gang composed of five bandits, which took form in the working-class neighbourhoods of Turin and was active in the 1960s in Milan and Turin. Their most violent action took place in September 1967: after having robbed the Banco di Napoli in Milan, the gang spread terror during their escape, when after firefights in the streets with the police they caused the death of four innocent bystanders. With political positions ranging from Leninism to nihilist anarchism, during the trial the defendants sang the song “Figli dell’officina” (“sons of the factory”). The case met with national coverage and their capture attracted large crowds, as in the photograph with a girl holding a newspaper with the big headline “PRESI” (Captured).