He was mistakenly cremated at the morgue. Family learned the truth minutes before the funeral

Leonardo Bonazzi’s family had gathered at the Church of San Francesco and Santa Chiara in Montughi, Florence, to say goodbye to the 87-year-old when his son received a devastating message. The body prepared for the funeral was not his father’s. It had been confused with that of a woman at the morgue.

By then, the mistake could not be reversed. The two deceased people had been prepared for separate funeral ceremonies, but Leonardo’s body was apparently linked to the woman’s documents. It was handed over for cremation before anyone noticed the error. The family learned what had happened only minutes before the service began, after the cremation had already taken place.

Leonardo’s ashes were later taken to the crematorium in Trespiano for storage. The family says the urn may even have carried the name of the woman with whom he had been confused, adding another possible failure to the case.

Checks are now under way to determine when the identification error occurred and why the required checks did not prevent the cremation. Leonardo’s relatives want to know who made the mistake and whether all procedures for identifying and handling the dead were followed. They have contacted a lawyer and asked the Municipality of Florence to investigate.

The family also suspects that Leonardo’s death certificate may contain the wrong date. Relatives are seeking a reconstruction of the entire sequence, from the body’s arrival at the morgue to its transport to the crematorium.