The "lost girl" of the Vatican is Emanuela Orlandi, a 15-year-old girl who vanished on June 22, 1983, while returning home from a flute lesson in Rome. As the daughter of a Vatican employee, her disappearance within the walls of the world's smallest city-state sparked one of Italy's most enduring and high-profile mysteries. Over the decades, the case has been linked to various conspiracy theories involving everything from the plot to assassinate Pope John Paul II to the Roman mob (Banda della Magliana) and international espionage. In 2023 and 2024, the case received renewed global attention due to the Netflix documentary Vatican Girl and the decision by Vatican prosecutors to officially reopen the investigation. In 2026, the search for the truth continues as investigators sift through decades of classified documents and new leads, while her brother, Pietro Orlandi, remains the leading voice in a tireless campaign to find out what happened to his sister after 43 years of silence and speculation.