Professor Giuseppe De Luca, one of Italy's most recognized jurists and lawyers, passed away at the age of 98. He was a pioneer in modern criminal procedure, teaching it in Trieste, Bologna, and at Rome's Sapienza University. He was the central figure in hundreds of well-known trials, including the Montesi case, Mani Pulite, the Lockheed trial, and the Vajont atrocity. He passed through a century of Italian history, and Heads of State, entrepreneurs, journalists, internationally renowned artists, and ordinary residents all knocked on his door: he saw them all as equals, with the same rights to be defended. A career that began when he was just thirty years old, when he took his first steps as a lawyer in the shadow of the legendary Francesco Carnelutti. De Luca found himself promoting the interests of a wide range of personalities throughout the years, including Silvio Berlusconi and Romano Prodi, who were prime minister and opposition leader, respectively. Consequently, two very different people. However, they were both aware that having a professional who had made ethics and morals his signature would not have risked their respective interests.