Caraglio
Caraglio is a municipality in the Province of Cuneo, in Piedmont. In the Bottonasco area stands the Bioparco Acquaviva, a park with a bio-lake built on the site of a former military powder magazine. Since 2022 the facility has been run by Roberto Manzi [1][2].
The bio-lake and the July 2024 accident
In July 2024 a seven-year-old girl, Anisa Murati, drowned in the Bioparco Acquaviva's bio-lake during a summer day-camp outing from the Stura valley, involving around a hundred children [1][2]. On the day of the accident two lifeguards were on duty, only one of whom was present at the moment the chaperones raised the alarm [1][2].
The investigation and the legal proceedings
Over the girl's death, the Cuneo public prosecutor's office investigated six people. On 12 October 2026 the preliminary hearing on the case concluded in Cuneo, before preliminary hearing judge Alberto Boetti [1][2]. The Bioparco's operator Roberto Manzi and the parish priest of Demonte, Fr Fabrizio Della Bella, agreed to plea bargains: Manzi is accused of not having arranged enough lifeguards, while Fr Della Bella, who was not present in Caraglio that day, is accused of having entrusted the children to inexperienced chaperones [1][2]. Two chaperones, only just adults at the time, are also facing charges: one has opted for a fast-track trial (giudizio abbreviato), the other for a full trial; the case against a further chaperone, a minor at the time, was separated out and closed by the juvenile prosecutor's office [1][2]. The two technicians under investigation, designer and site manager Stefano Ferrari and the head of Caraglio's municipal technical office, Graziano Viale, also opted for a fast-track trial [1][2].
Timeline
- — The operator of Caraglio's Bioparco Acquaviva and the parish priest of Demonte agree to plea bargains at the preliminary hearing over the death of a seven-year-old girl, who drowned in the bio-lake during a summer day-camp outing in July 2024. → ANSA Piemonte la Repubblica Torino
- — The Artea Foundation opens the exhibition «Marc Riboud. Verso il mondo» at the Filatoio in Caraglio, with 180 photographs from the Musée Guimet in Paris, and the following day, at the Castiglia in Saluzzo, «Robert Capa. Dentro la storia», produced with the International Center of Photography in New York: both remain open until 29 March 2027. → ANSA Piemonte Il Torinese
Related articles: Plea bargain over the death of a girl in the bio-pond of the Bioparco Acquaviva in Caraglio (October 2026)
Sources
- Bimba morì annegata in un biolago del Cuneese, patteggiano in due — ANSA Piemonte, 12 October 2026
- Bimba annegata al biolago di Caraglio, patteggiano il gestore e il parroco che organizzò la gita — la Repubblica Torino, 12 October 2026