The Questore of Naples has prohibited a public funeral for Marco Barbuto, the 48-year-old man found stabbed to death in the historic centre. The funeral must be held in strictly private form, with no procession and no church service, because of public-order concerns while those responsible for the killing remain unidentified.

According to the order reported by Il Mattino, authorities cited the risk of tensions, disorder and possible revenge. The measure is preventive: with the investigation still open, officials want to avoid a public gathering that authorities fear could increase those risks.

Who the victim was and where he was found

Marco Barbuto, 48, was originally from the Sanita district. He was killed during the night of 27 October 2026.

His body was found in Via San Giovanni in Porta, in the Anticaglia and Decumani area. He had seventeen wounds from a bladed weapon, reported as concentrated mainly on the back. Reports in La Repubblica, Corriere and Il Mattino agree on the number of wounds and the location where the body was discovered.

What a private funeral means in this case

In practice, the order removes the public elements normally associated with funeral rites:

  • no funeral procession through the streets;
  • no public function in church;
  • attendance limited to a reserved rite.

No official details have been made public about the time or place of the private ceremony. The restriction concerns the public form of the farewell, not the family's right to hold a reserved service.

What investigators are examining

The investigation is being carried out by the Squadra Mobile and the Decumani police station, which are working to identify those responsible.

The main line of inquiry under consideration is a punitive attack possibly connected to an alleged attempted theft or robbery. That motive remains provisional and has not been established as a final judicial reconstruction.

Items reported from the scene include a scooter with an altered or covered plate, latex gloves and a neck warmer. Investigators have also taken into account a witness account describing three attackers, with two men said to have held Barbuto while a third struck him. That account is still to be verified, and the precise roles attributed to the alleged attackers have not been confirmed.

Corriere has also noted that other possibilities, including a quarrel, a robbery that turned bloody, or revenge, remained open in the early phase of the investigation.

What remains unclear

Several central points have not been publicly established:

  • who materially killed Marco Barbuto;
  • whether three people took part in the attack, as described in the witness account under verification;
  • whether the killing was a revenge attack following an attempted theft or robbery, or had another motive;
  • when and where the reserved funeral will take place.

References to the victim's criminal history and alleged criminal associations have appeared in press and investigative reporting as background elements. They are not, in the sources available, a definitive finding about the motive for this killing.