toFabrizio Pieronacci
A 30-year-old man on holiday in Rome finds his car stolen and sticks up leaflets around the neighborhood: “They stole everything from us, but we only feel sad for Gorošek. He followed us everywhere for 10 years. The police didn’t help us.”
The holiday was great. Returning to Italy as a tourist – I am flying from Moscow in mid August.rent a Turning machine Freely – flew away like a dream. Karo Astapov30 years old, freelancer from Moscow specializing in Software Engineering – He has already gone to Rome. last spring With his girlfriend, that, He was so enchanted by the food, the ruins and some of the sunsets that he wanted to go there. Back with her and her closest familyto experience the same feelings together.
But it ended badly.. A robbery in the heart of Trastevere, in broad daylight, in the style of the old “Maranga”: broken glass and four bags taken by the thieves, as well as two backpacks filled with huge amounts of money and computers, money and jewelry but Also and above all something very beloved: the green goroshik doll“Little Pea,” Caro and Anne's talisman, is a twenty-centimeter bundle of sympathy, like a real pod, stolen along with everything else. A blow to Caro's heart. A young, passionate and sensitive man, He is about to «Little Pea” as “a real, living, irreplaceable friend, nothing more than a toy…”
It was September 1st. Since the discovery of the “separate” robbery, a nightmare has begun that has not yet ended, including:Desperate hug with AnneOnce the couple realized that Piscellino had ended up in the hands of criminals, they abandoned him. Appeals to the police To busy, come on Bureaucratic complexities With the embassy and finally from Extend residence to Rome in the hope of recovering Goroshek and the rest of the loot, also confident in Hundreds of newsletters Attacked in the neighborhood.
“Good morning, I am an Italian journalist…” Contact was not difficult.Karo Astapov, who had returned to Moscow in the meantime, was waiting for nothing more than one Phone call from Rome. “Thank you very much, I hope for a miracle…”. Will the miracle happen after this article? Meanwhile, here it is, The long and emotional story of a vacation that ended in a broken heart.without the amulet that Caro and Ann still hope to find, thanks to promise of reward Breaking the record… (The conversation was in English, with the promise of dinner in Rome, in the Renaissance, once the “miracle” had happened…)
Engineer Karo Astapov Stories… How did the journey begin and how did it go?
“Anne and I live in Russia, I work independently in the IT sector, we work remotely and we love to travel. In May 2024 we were in Rome, we loved it and decided to come back with the family. So, in August 2024, we traveled to Rome again with mom, sister and 4-year-old nephew. We took a car and traveled for 2 weeks all over Italy and Switzerland as well. It was a beautiful, wonderful and amazing trip. The last part was in Rome…”
And here's where the bad thing happened.
“On September 1, my sister’s birthday, we left the hotel in Trastevere, via Emilio Morosini, and put our backpacks and suitcases in the trunk of the car. Since we had a lot of things, we left two backpacks in the back seat. It was 11 am. We went to have breakfast for the birthday party. At 3 pm we came back and discovered that the back window was broken and that our bags, backpacks and everything had been stolen. There were 4 laptops, smart devices, headphones, watches, wallets with money and documents, gold jewelry, lots of gifts and clothes.”
Big Loot: How Much Do We Have?
«The amount is definitely more than 20,000 euros. But that's not the most offensive fact. There were things that were unforgettable and very important to us. The biggest thing we lost was a green pea-shaped toy called “Gorushek”. This was my girlfriend's toy that I gave her at the beginning of our story more than 10 years ago. For anyone else, it's just an ordinary toy. But for us it's the best part of our life, the whole story and the symbol of our love. This toy was almost alive, it was with us always and everywhere. It always traveled with us…”
It was clear that he conveyed the idea well.
«No, wait, listen! The thieves with Goroshek took not only a lot of material goods, but also a very dear friend of ours. And this void now cannot be filled with anything. He was like a pet for us. He has been with us for more than 10 years and we understand that he will make us happy for the rest of our lives. “Pisellino” was with us in Spain, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Andorra, Uzbekistan, Dubai, Bahrain, Russia, Armenia and many other countries we visited. Our friends offered to buy us the same toy, but it will never be the same again, he is the only one.»
You're really sad, like you're reading a book. feather 19th century. Then what happened?
«Since the theft was discovered, our lives have been turned upside down. We found ourselves in Europe, in a foreign country, with our entire family, without documents, credit cards, and our belongings. We only had our smartphones and managed to book a hotel for a few days to retrieve our documents at the embassy. But the saddest thing happened after the theft: we called 112, but no one wanted to help us. They said that the police would not come to the area, and that we had to go. We started searching. In three police stations we were told that they could not help, that they had a lot of work to do. They ignored us indifferently and repeated the same phrase, with a smile: “We cannot help in any way, this is normal for Italy”…».
It's frustrating to say, Mr. Caro, but it's the truth.
“In fact, unfortunately, there were a lot of people, like us, at the police station. They came from all over the world, tourists from Europe, Russia, Ukraine, China and other countries. At the 4th police station, 4 hours after the theft was discovered, they took our statements and sent us to the embassy. But they also told us directly that no one would help us. No one would look at the camera recordings, it's normal here, the police are busy. We replied that we had the location of the devices, and that we could try to find the criminals, but the police repeated that they would not help us.”
The recovery rate of stolen goods in such cases in Italy is about 1-2%, did you know that?
“Yes, we knew we wouldn’t get our most valuable things back, but at least we hoped that the criminals would throw our clothes and toys in the trash. All night after the robbery we searched in bins scattered all over Rome. We couldn’t find anything. We decided to stay for a week and take a closer look. We walked, met homeless people and asked them to help us find the doll. We searched in bins, went to waste collection points, checked along the Tiber, under bridges. During the week our devices were located several times, but when we called the police they refused to help us.”
Do you mean they could have been caught via GPS?
“After the signal, we went in front of the building where our electronic items were. We called the police, but they told us that even if the criminals were inside, they could not enter a private house and arrest them. We toured all the facilities of the waste center near Rome. We asked them to be careful, and if they suddenly found the toy, we promised all the people we spoke to to pay up to 20,000 euros for it.”
Twenty thousand euros: Seriously?
“Of course I do. That doll is a symbol of great value to me and to Ann. Everyone was so kind and tried to help, everyone except the police, who have the ability and resources to do so.”
I understand the bitterness, but you are overusing these terms.
«I discovered that in Italy it is normal for people to steal from others, and it is normal for the police not to do anything to ensure fair punishment. There is also another very important point: nowhere, neither on the first nor the second trip, no one in the car rental service, nor in the hotels, airports, stations warned tourists that there are many thieves in Rome, and that you cannot leave your belongings unattended even in a closed car, not even for a few hours, neither during the day nor at night.
Let's hope for a miracle, all we have left is this…
“I would like as many people as possible to know our history, to avoid similar situations in the future. Every corner and every billboard should warn tourists in Italy about the seriousness of the situation here.”
Good luck, Caro. And best wishes to anyone – if anyone – who actually manages to find that little green doll, thrown into a valley, which from now on is worth a fortune… ([email protected])
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