Giampaolo Manca’s name once struck fear into the hearts of many. Today, however, he leads tourists through the winding streets of Venice—revealing not just its historic beauty, but the dark underworld he once ruled as a member of the Italian mafia. Once a feared hitman, Manca now shares his story not to glorify his past, but to serve as a powerful warning.
In an interview with Corriere della Sera, Manca explained that he charges €20 for guided tours through Venice, offering chilling accounts of the robberies and art heists he once committed.
Remarkably, half of the proceeds go to Alphabeta, an organization that supports autistic children and young adults: “I donate half the income to the Alphabeta Association, which helps autistic children and youth,” he stated.
Manca’s most notorious act? Stealing a Bellini painting from the Church of Saints John and Paul in Venice in 1971. He recalled the event with unsettling clarity: “To steal the painting in 1971, I hid inside a crate in the church a day before; a nun almost discovered me. I ‘adopted’ the canvas for 300 million lira, which had been commissioned by an English industrialist.
They said it was worth 5 billion. In the end, we decided to blackmail the Superintendency: they caught me while I was toasting with a cold Dom Perignon.”
His descent into crime began early. At just 13 years old, Manca committed his first offense—stealing none other than Aristotle Onassis’ luxury yacht, a vessel once frequented by Jackie Kennedy, Maria Callas, and Marilyn Monroe.
His father’s reaction? “You stole a vaporetto?” he recalled with a grim smile.
Another memory links him to the San Sebastiano Church: “We heated the doors to break in and stole Veronese paintings.”
Though many journalists have pushed for more violent details, Manca refuses to indulge: “Many reporters wanted to talk about the blood and violence. I didn’t want to speak about those things… they’re not pleasant memories. I don’t want to create another ‘Gomorrah’ and teach kids how to be gangsters.”
He only speaks of one death—that of a notorious bandit: “The police killed him on that bridge… we were like brothers.”
Convicted for his role in the 1990 murders of Massimo and Maurizio Rizzi along the Brenta River, Manca spent a staggering 37 years in prison—12 of those in solitary confinement.
His words about that time remain haunting: “I can’t forget those years; I still feel like I belong with them. From there, I watched my son play in the kindergarten yard. That’s where I found out I was going to be a father.”
He hoped to have his son baptized in the Carmini Church, but was turned away: “You know… your past,” the priest told him.
Eventually, he appealed to the Patriarch of Venice, who agreed to intervene. That man would later become Pope John Paul I—Albino Luciani.
In another heist, Manca stole 14 kilograms of gold from a jewelry store. “The director was sure my brother and I did it—but no one had seen us.”
Now a free man, Manca is trying to turn his past into a lesson for others. He gives talks in schools, writes books, and leads a guided tour called “In the Footsteps of Crime in Venice.”
“This is where it all began, and where my life went wrong. I used to be a man with a bad reputation—now I’m trying to become a man with a good one. Or at least, leave behind a message: Don’t be like me.”
His life story is being turned into a documentary, set to premiere in Italian cinemas in November 2025.