Thanks to Mario Roggero, Mattarella calls Nordio to order: "The decision is up to the Quirinale."

President Sergio Mattarella met with Justice Minister Carlo Nordio at the Quirinale Palace to clarify their respective institutional roles in the pardon process. The meeting followed the announcement by the Minister of Justice that the investigation into Mario Roggero , the Piedmontese jeweler sentenced to 14 years and 9 months in prison, had begun . The President emphasized that decision-making power rests exclusively with the President of the Republic.

The reminder on the limits of the minister's powers

The President's intervention does not constitute a favorable or unfavorable assessment of Roggero's pardon. Rather, the criticism concerns the method used and the need to avoid overlapping the powers of the Minister of Justice with those constitutionally attributed to the President of the Republic. Nordio can initiate and coordinate the investigations, collect the documentation, and forward the file to the Quirinale, but he cannot preempt or influence the final decision.

The decision on pardons rests with the Head of State.

The power to grant pardons and commute sentences is provided for in Article 87 of the Constitution and is recognized as a prerogative of the President of the Republic. The Constitutional Court, with ruling number 200 of 2006, ruled that pardons cannot be considered an act shared equally between the Quirinale and the Government. The Keeper of the Seals performs an investigative, evaluative, and executive role, while the final decision rests with the Head of State.

The precedent of the 2006 constitutional ruling

The 2006 ruling arose from a conflict of powers between then-President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi and Justice Minister Roberto Castelli over the pardon of Ovidio Bompressi. The Court ruled that the minister could neither block the proceedings nor exercise substantial veto power. He may express opposing opinions and explain his reasons, but, should the President nevertheless decide to grant clemency, he is required to draft and countersign the decree.

The call for the protection of constitutional prerogatives

According to ANSA, during the meeting, Mattarella also recalled Luigi Einaudi's views on the President of the Republic's responsibility to fully preserve the powers conferred by the Constitution. The institutional significance is clear: every head of state must avoid setting precedents that could reduce or undermine the powers that must be passed on to his successors. The Roggero case thus takes on a significance that transcends the individual proceedings.

The Quirinale has not yet entered into the merits of the matter

Sources from the Presidency of the Republic have clarified that any discussion on the actual granting of a pardon is, at this stage, premature. The reasons on which the Court of Cassation rejected the defense's appeal and upheld the conviction have not yet been filed. Before a full assessment can be made, it will be necessary to understand the judges' legal reasoning, reconstruct the entire procedural process, and obtain the opinions required by the procedure.

What does the start of the investigation mean?

Nordio's initiative is not equivalent to a pardon and does not automatically result in a suspension or reduction of the sentence. The preliminary investigation serves to gather the final sentence, previous judicial decisions, information on the convicted person's conduct, and the assessments of the competent authorities. Once the investigation is concluded, the Minister may forward the documents to the President of the Republic, accompanied by his opinion, which is not binding on the Quirinale.

Pardon can be initiated even without an application

The law allows the convicted person, their family, or their defense attorney to submit a formal request, but the procedure can also be initiated ex officio. The Constitutional Court ruling clarified that the initiative can come directly from the President of the Republic, who can request the Minister to open and complete the investigation. Political mobilization and signature collection therefore do not replace the institutional procedure and cannot bind the Head of State's decision.

What can the clemency measure produce?

A pardon is an individual act that can extinguish, reduce, or commute the sentence imposed by a final judgment. It does not annul the trial, does not erase the judgment of liability, and does not constitute an acquittal. Unless expressly provided for in the decree, it does not eliminate the other criminal consequences resulting from the conviction. Its function is primarily humanitarian and equitable, and according to constitutional jurisprudence, it is intended for situations considered extraordinary.

Mario Roggero's final sentence

The Court of Cassation has finalized the 14-year and 9-month prison sentence handed down to Mario Roggero for killing two robbers and wounding a third. The decision upheld the sentence handed down in December 2025 by the Turin Court of Assizes of Appeal, which had reduced the first-instance sentence to 17 years established by the Court of Asti. Roggero was also awarded immediately enforceable interim measures amounting to hundreds of thousands of euros.

The robbery at the Grinzane Cavour jewelry store

The events date back to April 28, 2021 , when three men attacked the Roggero family jewelry store in Grinzane Cavour, in the province of Cuneo. During the robbery, the merchant's wife and one of his daughters were also threatened. After the robbers left the store, Roggero grabbed a gun and opened fire: Giuseppe Mazzarino and Andrea Spinelli were killed, while Alessandro Modica was injured and subsequently arrested.

For the judges it was not self-defense

The crux of the trial was the distinction between the danger experienced inside the jewelry store and what subsequently occurred outside. According to the reconstruction accepted at various levels of judgment, the robbers were fleeing at the time of the shots, and the immediate danger to the jewelry store owner and his family had ceased. For this reason, the judges ruled out self-defense, finding the crime responsible for the double homicide and attempted homicide.

The entrance to the Fossano prison

In the hours following the sentencing, conflicting information circulated about the timing of his prison entry. His defense attorney initially explained that Roggero was awaiting notification of the execution order, while subsequent updates reported that the jeweler had turned himself in at the Fossano penitentiary. Before his detention, Roggero posted a video greeting his family and supporters, describing the sentence, given his age, as equivalent to a life sentence.

The center-right begins collecting signatures

The group leaders of Brothers of Italy, the League, Forza Italia, Noi moderateti, Civici d'Italia, Unione di Centro, and MAIE-Centro Popolare have launched a petition among deputies and senators to support the pardon request. The initiative is also open to parliamentarians from other political parties. In a joint statement, the majority emphasized the need for a swift response, arguing that the length of the sentence would have particularly severe consequences for Roggero.

Salvini calls for a review of self-defense

Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini called the jeweler's continued imprisonment unjust and called on the entire center-right to support the pardon. The League leader also reiterated the need to broaden the scope of self-defense, arguing that the current legislation is insufficient to protect those who react after being attacked in their home or business.

Crosetto: "We should evaluate every possibility."

Defense Minister Guido Crosetto also spoke out, harshly criticizing the judicial outcome. While acknowledging that the law may have been formally applied, Crosetto distinguished between legality and substantive justice, calling on institutions to explore every possibility to allow Roggero to return home. His comments sparked a new political debate on the relationship between the interpretation of the law, judicial autonomy, and reactions to final sentences.

Tajani supports the forgiveness of society

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has agreed to the request made by the center-right parliamentary groups and Piedmont Regional President Alberto Cirio. Tajani acknowledged Roggero's mistake, but noted the previous attacks the businessman had suffered and his desire to protect his family. The final decision, the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized, must be made entirely independently by the President of the Republic.

His brother: "Mario is tired but resilient."

Dante Roggero, the jeweler's brother, described Mario as deeply affected by the sentence but still capable of coping. He also expressed gratitude for the political, social, and media outcry that developed in the hours following the Supreme Court's ruling. The case has drawn numerous expressions of solidarity, especially in Piedmont, but it continues to divide public opinion on the appropriateness of the sentence and the limits of the response to a crime.

Political debate cannot replace procedure

The signature collection and statements by government officials exert strong political pressure, but do not produce automatic legal effects. Pardons cannot be transformed into a tool for the Executive to correct a sentence deemed politically undesirable. Precisely to avoid this overlap, the Constitution assigns the decision to a super partes body, external to the government's political direction and mandated to evaluate exclusively the possible humanitarian and equitable reasons for each individual case.

The meaning of Mattarella's appeal

The message from the Quirinale therefore concerns the separation and balance of state powers. Mattarella did not close the door to scrutiny of Roggero's position, but emphasized that the timing, methods, and decision cannot be preempted by the minister or the political parties. Only after the Supreme Court's reasons have been filed and the preliminary investigation has been completed will it be possible to determine whether the extraordinary humanitarian needs required for an individual clemency measure exist.

A legal case that became an institutional clash

The Roggero case, which arose from a violent robbery and continued through a lengthy legal process, has now become a political and constitutional issue. On the one hand, the center-right considers the sentence disproportionate and calls for immediate intervention; on the other, the Quirinale defends the full autonomy of the judiciary and the presidential powers. The final say on the pardon, should the proceedings be completed, will rest exclusively with Sergio Mattarella, without automatic decisions and after an individual assessment of the entire case.