The funeral of 33-year-old Antonio Perrotta took place on Monday at 6pm in Fuscaldo, Calabria. The young man died after being attacked outside a nightclub in Sangineto, in the province of Cosenza, a week ago.
The mayor of Fuscaldo has declared a day of mourning for the town. Flags on public buildings are flying at half-mast, and businesses, public institutions and companies have been asked to close for the duration of the ceremony as a mark of respect for the family, according to TGR Calabria, the local Rai television station.
Perrotta worked as a labourer and supplemented his income with work in nightclubs. He was reportedly attacked on the night of 9 to 10 August outside the Il Castello nightclub in Sangineto.
The autopsy carried out in Catanzaro revealed a serious head injury. Further examinations will allow doctors to establish more precisely the extent of the injuries and their link to the death.
The investigation is being led by the public prosecutor's office in Paola.
Two brothers, aged 22 and 24, from Belvedere Marittimo and living in Luxembourg, were arrested as part of the investigation.
The younger brother plays for the Luxembourg national rugby team, while his older brother works as a physiotherapist in Luxembourg.
At the hearing before the investigating judge, the older brother answered questions and identified his brother as the one alleged to have struck Perrotta. The younger brother chose not to answer the judge's questions.
The Luxembourg Rugby Federation issued a brief statement, saying it had no information beyond what had already been publicly reported in the media. "The circumstances remain unclear and are the subject of ongoing investigations." It also considered it important not to speculate on the sequence of events or on the involvement of any individual.
The situation of the two brothers has since changed. The older brother has been released by the investigating judge of the Paola court.
The younger brother, however, remains in pretrial detention as part of the investigation. According to Italian media, the charge against him has also been reformulated, from voluntary manslaughter to premeditated murder.
The release of the older brother does not, in any case, mean that he has been definitively cleared of suspicion. The Paola prosecutor's office is continuing its investigation to establish the precise circumstances of the attack and the responsibilities of each individual involved.
Investigators still need to determine the exact circumstances of the altercation and the role played by each of those involved in Perrotta's death.
