A 36-year old Parma woman who stabbed herself to death on the beach at Ostia said in a note that she wanted to see Rome before she died.

 The body was spotted this morning lying on the boardwalk separating the esplanade from the beach. Carabinieri were called to the scene, where they found documents identifying the woman, who they have so far named only as L.F, and a long suicide note.

 In the letter, she apologises to her family for what she was about to do, and explained that she wanted to “see Rome and then die in front of my beloved sea.” She also referenced her work, complaining that although she had always been a good employee she was never treated as well as her colleagues.

 The initial findings of the coroner have ascertained the cause of death as suicide. She had stabbed herself seven times in the chest and was still had the knife in her hand when her bloodied body was discovered by a shocked passerby out walking his dog. The corpse was transferred to the mortuary at Rome’s Tor Vergata hospital awaiting autopsy.

 The woman, a hairdresser, had been reported as missing by her family on Monday.   Detectives are currently investigating suggestions that she had been having trouble paying her rent and was driven to take her life by financial woes. This would make her another one of Italy’s ‘vittime della crisi’, victims of the financial crisis. Media outlets have expressed alarm about the growing number of suicides attributed to the pressures of the economy. A protest in support of so-called ‘recession widows’ at the start of month in Bologna drew international attention to the issue.

 Locals expressed shock and disbelief at the gruesome discovery. “How could anyone kill themselves this way?” one said to reporters from Ostia TV.