Andrea Purgatori, the journalist of Atlantis died after a long illness

The journalist, screenwriter, author Andrea Purgatori, born in 1953, died this morning in Rome, in hospital, after a brief fulminant illness. The news to Ansa from his sons Edoardo, Ludovico, Victoria and the family represented by the Cau law firm. For years at Corriere della Sera where he dealt with terrorism, intelligence, crime, among other things he dedicated himself with tenacity to the Ustica massacre of 1980. Author of reports, he successfully presented on La7 Atlantis. Screenplay teacher, director of authors, among his latest works the participation in the Netflix documentary Vatican Girl on the case of Emanuela Orlandi. Only a week ago, at the presentation of the La7 schedules, the new season of Atlantis.

A brilliant mind – underline the grief-stricken family members – which we remember recently in the broadcast of La7 Atlantis where he was the author and presenter and in more remote times as a correspondent in war zones and author of the most important Italian judicial investigations, then still the author and screenwriter of many films and television dramas including Il Rubber wall, Fortapasc And The boy judge. To remember is also his participation in the cult series Boris.

Among the first to express his pain is the president of Tuscany Eugenio Giani, who writes on social media: «He leaves us a legacy of true investigative journalism. Thank you for your work full of passion and constant search for the truth, goodbye”.

The carreer
Sent of Corriere della Sera from 1976 to 2000, he is known for his investigations and reports on burning cases of international and Italian terrorism in the years of lead and on massacres, such as the Moro case and the Ustica massacre. He recounted numerous mafia crimes from 1982, until the capture of Totò Riina. He has reported on many conflicts, such as the 1982 Lebanon War, the 1980s Iran-Iraq War, the 1991 Gulf War, the Intifada and the uprisings in Tunisia and Algeria.

He has dealt with terrorism, intelligence, crime, but his most important investigation concerns the Ustica massacre of 1980. As Paolo Conti, who was a colleague of his in the via Solferino newspaper, writes, «Andrea Purgatori has revealed the lies and omissions of those who he put forward the thesis of a bomb that exploded on board the Itavia which on 27 June 1980 was traveling with 81 people on board, revealing how the disaster had been caused by the impact with a missile. And always remaining at the side of the families of the victims and above all guaranteeing the search for the truth. This is why Purgatori-Ustica has become a true synonym, a professional brand of extraordinary continuity, of the desire to get to the truth».

Professor of screenwriting, he has written for cinema, among other things The rubber wall (1991) inspired by his investigation into the Ustica massacre, The boy judge (1994), The industrialist (2011). Among others, he obtained the 1992 Silver Ribbon for best subject with The rubber wallthe Hemingway Prize for journalism in 1993, the Crocodile – Altiero Spinelli Prize for journalism in 1992, the 1994 Golden Globe for best screenplay with The boy judge and in 2009, with Marco Risi and Jim Carrington, he won the Sergio Amidei award for best international screenplay with the film Fortapasc. Also engaged in environmental battles, from 12 May 2014 to 15 June 2020 he was president of Greenpeace Italy.