After serving prison time for a juvenile offense, Freddo gathers his old buddies Libano and Dandi and embarks on a crime spree that makes the trio the most powerful gangsters in Rome. Libano loves their new status, and seeks to spread their influence throughout the underworld, while the other two pursue more fleshly desires. For decades, their gang perpetrates extravagant crimes, until paranoia threatens to split the friends apart.
Romanzo criminale is an Italian-language crime drama film released in 2005, directed by Michele Placido. It was highly acclaimed and won 15 awards. It is based on Giancarlo De Cataldo's 2002 novel, which is in turn inspired by the true story of the Banda della Magliana. The Magliana gang was one of the most powerful Italian criminal associations, dominating Rome's drug, gambling and other kinds of crime activities from the early 1970s until the death of Enrico De Pedis in 1992. The gang's affiliates started their career kidnapping rich people, drug dealing. From the 1970s they started working with the Italian secret service, fascists, terrorists, the Sicilian Mafia, the Camorra, and many more. Some gang members are still alive, as inmates of an Italian prison, or justice collaborators.
