For the "comune" in Italy, see Lupara, Molise.

Lupara is an Italian

Italian language

Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

 word used to refer to a sawn-off shotgun of the break-open type. It is traditionally associated with Cosa Nostra, the Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 organized crime

Organized crime

Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...

 group dominant in Sicily

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

 for their use of it in vendetta

Feud

A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight between parties—often groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one party perceives itself to have been attacked, insulted or wronged by another...

s, defense—such as its use against Mussolini's

Benito Mussolini

Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....

 army when he decided to break up the Sicilian mafioso network—and hunting

Hunting

Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...

.

The shortened barrel (or barrels) of a lupara lend themselves to easier handling in wooded areas, or to easier concealment and indoor employment in urban areas. The lack of choke contributes to a wider spread of shot when the weapon is fired.

Terminology

The word 'lupara' means literally 'for the wolf', reflecting its traditional use in wolf hunting

Wolf hunting

Wolf hunting is the practice of hunting grey wolves or other lupine animals. Wolves are mainly hunted for sport, for their skins, to protect livestock, and, in some rare cases, to protect humans. Wolves have been actively hunted since 12,000 to 13,000 years ago, when they first began to pose...

. The word achieved wider recognition through Mario Puzo

Mario Puzo

Mario Gianluigi Puzo was an American author and screenwriter, known for his novels about the Mafia, including The Godfather , which he later co-adapted into a film by Francis Ford Coppola...

's bestselling novel The Godfather

The Godfather (novel)

The Godfather is a crime novel written by Italian American author Mario Puzo, originally published in 1969 by G. P. Putnam's Sons. It details the story of a fictitious Sicilian Mafia family based in New York City and headed by Don Vito Corleone, who became synonymous with the Italian Mafia...

where the lupara is used extensively by the mafia in Sicily, including Michael Corleone's

Michael Corleone

Michael Corleone is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's novels, The Godfather and The Sicilian. He is also the main character of the Godfather film trilogy that was directed by Francis Ford Coppola, in which he was portrayed by Al Pacino, who was twice nominated for an Academy Award for his...

 bodyguards.

From the word lupara comes the Italian expression lupara bianca (white lupara), a term especially used by journalists to refer to a mafia-style slaying in which the victim's body is deliberately hidden.

Famous usage

An early example of criminal use of the weapon in the United States was the assassination of the New Orleans chief of police

Chief of police

A Chief of Police is the title typically given to the top official in the chain of command of a police department, particularly in North America. Alternate titles for this position include Commissioner, Superintendent, and Chief constable...

, David Hennessy, in October 1890. The murder punctuated a rivalry between gangs of Sicilian fruit company stevedore

Stevedore

Stevedore, dockworker, docker, dock labourer, wharfie and longshoreman can have various waterfront-related meanings concerning loading and unloading ships, according to place and country....

s whose contracts did not fall under the auspices of the local longshoreman's union. A pile of sawn-off shotguns were displayed after the murder, including a homemade gun with a folding iron stock, and another with a hook on its stock with which to hang the gun under a coat. Anti-Italian provocation following the failed prosecution of a group of suspected men resulted in a mob assault on the New Orleans Parish Prison and the subsequent lynching of many Italian prisoners. This was possibly the first time the term "Mafia" was used during a criminal trial.