Murder victim Cecchettin to receive university degree.

Italy's education minister on Sunday said he will invite Italian schools to observe a minute's silence in memory of murdered 22-year-old Italian woman Giulia Cecchettin.

"Tomorrow I will send an invitation to all Italian schools to respect a minute of silence on Tuesday in honour of Giulia and all the women who are abused and victims of violence", Giuseppe Valditara wrote on X.

Valditara also said that a new education scheme about relationships, aimed at helping to prevent gender violence and femicide, would be unveiled at a press conference on Wednesday.

Education minster Anna Maria Bernini confirmed on Sunday that Cecchettin, who had been due to defend her thesis and graduate from Padua University last week, would receive her degree in engineering.

Giulia riceverà la sua laurea in ingegneria.

Innanzitutto vogliamo rispettare il dolore della famiglia che viene prima di tutto. Poi, quando vorranno e se vorranno, Giulia ha diritto ad avere quello che si è ampiamente guadagnata, cioè la sua laurea in ingegneria, è una… pic.twitter.com/NOzRRkxqk4

— Anna Maria Bernini (@BerniniAM) November 19, 2023

Filippo Turetta, an Italian engineering student suspected of murdering Cecchettin, his former girlfriend, was arrested near Leipzig in Germany on Sunday after eight days on the run. He is set to be extradited.

After the pair went missing last weekend, Cecchettin's body was found on Saturday in a ravine near Lake Barcis in the northeastern Italian region of Friuli Venezia Giulia.

Her body showed signs of a brutal murder, with multiple, deep knife wounds to her neck and head as well defensive injuries, reports news agency ANSA.

Cecchettin's murder has caused widespread anger and grief in Italy and is dominating news headlines as the nation prepares to mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on 25 November.

Writing on X on Sunday, deputy Italian premier Matteo Salvini posted an image of Turetta and said that if found guilty he should receive a life sentence.

In a Facebook post on Saturday, prime minister Giorgia Meloni said the "discovery of Giulia's lifeless body is heartbreaking news" and expressed her hope that "full light will soon be shed" on "this unthinkable drama".

Elly Schlein, leader of the opposition centre-left Partito Democratico (PD) reiterated calls to Meloni for interparty collaboration to prevent violence against women, including the introduction of educational measures in schools.

Rome actress Paola Cortellesi, whose directorial debut C’è ancora domani is currently a sensation in Italian cinemas, had earlier called on Meloni and Schlein to work together to combat gender-based violence.

Cortellesi's black and white film, which confronts issues related to patriarchy and women's empowerment, has become the highest-grossing Italian film at the box office in recent years.