This story began on 22 June 1983. Fifteen-year-old Emanuela Orlandi left her home in the Vatican, went to a music lesson in the center of Rome and.... disappeared.

She was searched for all over the city, all over the country, even beyond its borders. But as time went on, the more confused the story became. Some claimed the girl had been kidnapped by the Mafia. Others believed that she was a bargaining chip in the political games: say, it was necessary to set someone up ... And some are still convinced she never left the Vatican.

40 years have passed. No trace of Emanuela has been found. But every year there are more and more people whose life was connected with service and work in the Vatican, who say: the truth has long been known, but hidden.

22 June, an ordinary summer day. Emanuela left home to go to her flute lesson at the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music (yes, the real name, but shortened). She was said to be a good student, always on time.

That day it was business as usual. She called her sister from a street pay phone and told her that a stranger had approached her before class. He introduced himself as an agent for a cosmetics company and offered her a job handing out advertising leaflets. Emanuela said she would think about it. It was her last call home.

After class, no one saw her leave. She has not been seen again since.

When it became clear that Emanuela was missing, the search began. At first the family just called people they knew, then they contacted the police.

But soon there was a strange phone call. Someone calling himself ‘Piero’ said he had seen the girl near Piazza Campo dei Fiori in the center of Rome. According to him, she said she had run away from home and was now earning money on the street by distributing cosmetics.

It seemed ridiculous. Emanuela's family claimed she would never do such a thing. The preconditions just weren't there. But after that phone call, something strange began to happen.

Time after time the police and television began to receive reports that the girl had been seen in different parts of the city. It seemed that they were trying to ‘dissolve’ her among hundreds of false traces.

And then completely different people appeared in the case.

A few weeks later, the police received another call. Someone claimed that Emanuela was in the hands of terrorists.

These people demanded the release of Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turkish terrorist who had attempted to assassinate the Pope two years earlier.

But how could the kidnapping of a schoolgirl be connected to this at all? Unless she knew something - was ‘living dirt’.....

Others, however, pointed to the Italian Mafia. In those years, the Vatican was linked to criminal organizations through the Vatican Bank, the Institute for Religious Affairs. In theory, Emanuela could have been kidnapped to put pressure on someone in the church.

But there's another theory. The most disturbing one.

Since 1983, the Vatican has provided little help in the investigation.

When the abduction case came to light in the press, church spokesmen either remained silent or made evasive statements.

Orlandi's family demanded that the archives be opened. But the Vatican refused.

And in 2019, unknown human bones were found in a Vatican tomb. For a while there was hope that it could be Emanuela. But after DNA analysis, it was officially declared: the remains belong to another person.

So why did the Vatican obstruct the investigation for years?

In January 2023, the Vatican suddenly announced that it was reopening the investigation.

This decision raised new questions. After all, if for 40 years we were told there were no traces, what has changed now?

Emanuela's brother, Pietro Orlandi, is convinced:

- Those behind the disappearance are either still alive or were so influential that even now the truth may not be favorable to someone...

40 years of silence. 40 years of secrets. It may not be long before the truth is known.

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