Heat finally startled him awake the morning of Dec. 1, 2013. Before him was a maze of burning fabric. He raced through the building, the only worker to survive.
Seven people died at the Teresa Moda factory in Prato, a largely Chinese manufacturing district in Tuscany.
It was the deadliest in living memory, exposing the true costs of cheap clothes and the pursuit of profit over safety in the thriving, illicit economy that has grown in the wake of Chinese immigration to Italy.
Five people now face homicide charges including - in a rare move two Italians who owned the building. Prosecutors contend they failed to meet basic safeguards such as fire alarms and adequate fire extinguishers. Defense lawyers say their clients are not guilty.
For years, thousands of Chinese migrants have been smuggled to Italy, finding work at factories that ignore basic safety standards, and billions of euros have been smuggled back to China, police investigations show.
In a sign of the growing global impact of Chinese crime, the justice ministers of China and Italy last month signed a memorandum of cooperation on investigations in the fight against transnational organized crime.
"Chinese communities are very closed and difficult to penetrate," said Franco Roberti, Italy's chief anti-mafia prosecutor. "Until now, we haven't had the possibility of relating with Chinese investigative authorities."
Gino Reolon, the provincial commander of Italy's financial police, said Prato serves as a laboratory for the study of Chinese organized crime. "It's like a virus, a new disease," he said.
Teresa Moda was one of thousands of Chinese factories that churn out cheap "fast fashion" garments, taking advantage of the proximity to Europe, their main market, and the cachet of the "Made in Italy" brand. Yet the clothes are made by Chinese workers in Chinese factories.