Carlo was 23, he lived in Genoa all his life, his father is a CGIL trade union activist. He said this about his son:

"Nothing is worth more than the life of a young man. Nothing exists which can bring him back to us.

"'What was our son like', people ask?

"Carlo was the exact opposite of what people have written about him.

"He was a boy of great generosity, opposed to injustice, who never did harm to anyone.

"He read, he studied, he discussed, he protested for his ideas. He was always around places where ideas were being discussed, always. He always cared about others.

"And he always worked, if irregularly. he worked in the jobs that all young people are forced to take - in the black economy, without any security, without any rights.

"The press say he had a criminal record. When he was 17 the police misidentified him as a criminal. He was accused of 'aggression against a public official'.

"But the judge laughed the case out of court and cleared him of the charges.

"He didn't accept the notion that eight leaders of the world should decide the life and death of thousands of people. Here in Genoa you do not need to go far to see the victims of their policies.

"All you need to do is to come back after the G8 have gone to see the desparation of those who are left in hunger, those who are forced to flee their own countries, forced to survive without any dignity in the alleyways that surround the harbour.

"On Friday's demonstration he wore a balaclava, yes. But you cannot equate the throwing of a fire extinguisher with a gunshot to the head.

"In some ways we didn't understand each other. I am a member of the Democratic Left - well, I was, our branch has been closed for months.

"There won't be his liveliness in our house anymore. We won't hear his jokes about football. And we won't have our political discussions anymore.

"But maybe now is the time for new people to open up new branches so we can carry on discussing".