Davide Cesare

Who is Davide Cesare?

Davide Cesare, also known as Dax was an Italian anti-fascist activist from Rozzano, who was stabbed to death by two far-right activists in Milan, the night of March 16, 2003. Cesare was brought to the hospital but died in the ambulance. Immediately after his death, members of his group tried to enter the hospital but were blocked by the police. This resulted in new riots with several people being injured, damage to police cars, and the emergency department suspending all activities for the whole night.

Cesare's death and the following trial had a wide political resonance in far-left circles, both in Italy and abroad. This was partly due to the fact that the Italian media initially portrayed the events as a "riot between young dissidents" and, according to some sources, deliberately misrepresented Cesare's death as "a consequence of anti-globalization violence". During the trial, it turned out that brothers Federico Morbi and Mattia Morbi, the aggressors of Cesare, had in fact assaulted and killed him with premeditation. They were declared guilty in May 2004; Federico was sentenced to 16 years in jail, while Mattia was sentenced to 3 years.