Salvatore Giuliano
Encyclopedia
Salvatore Giuliano was a Sicilian
peasant
. It has been suggested that the subjugated social status
of his class led him to become a bandit and separatist. He was mythologised during his life and after his death. His background is commonly compared to the legend of Robin Hood
in popular culture, owing to stories pertaining to his helping the poor villagers in his area by taking from the rich.
As a member of the Sicilian Independence Movement, Giuliano actively pursued efforts directed towards the gaining of independence for the island from the Italian government. His story attracted attention in the media worldwide, in part because of his handsome looks. An account of his endeavours appeared in Time Magazine
.
within the Province of Palermo
as the fourth child of Salvatore and Maria Giuliano. As a child he was nicknamed Turiddu or Turi. He had a decent primary education, but limited by Sicilian class strictures, went to work on his father's land at the age of 13.
He transported olive oil and worked as a telephone repairman and on road construction. Giuliano was due to be called up to the Italian army, but the Allied invasion of Sicily
prevented his actual enlistment. He became involved in the wartime black market and was armed in case of attacks from bandits.
On September 2, 1943, he killed a Sicilian carabiniere
at a checkpoint near Quattro Molini while transporting illegally purchased grain. He left his identity papers at the scene and was wounded when a carabiniere shot him twice as he was running away, it was then that he returned fire and killed the carabiniere. His family sent him to Palermo
to have the bullet removed. In late December, a number of residents of Montelepre, including Giuliano's father, were arrested during a police raid. Giuliano helped some of them escape from prison in Monreale
, and a number of the freed men stayed with him.
In the Sagana mountains, Giuliano collected a gang of approximately fifty bandits, criminals, deserters, and homeless men under his leadership and gave them military-style marksmanship training. The gang took to robbery and burglary for the money they needed for food and weapons. When carabinieri came to look for them, they were met with accurate submachinegun fire.
He also joined a Sicilian separatist group, Sicilian Independence Movement (MIS), which included members of very different political views, such as revolutionary socialist
Antonio Canepa, centrist Giovanni Guarino Amella, right-wingers, most of them aristocrats, such as baron Lucio Tasca and duke Guglielmo Paternò, as well as some members with close ties to the Mafia
, and outright Mafiosi such as Calogero Vizzini
.
The union between Giuliano and separatist leaders came to fruition in the latter part of 1945. Giuliano entered the armed branch of the movement, EVIS (Esercito Volontario per l'Indipendenza della Sicilia, Volunteer Army for the Independence of Sicily), as a colonel and was promised that in the event of a separatist victory, he would be pardoned for his crimes and appointed to some position in the newly independent state. Defenders of the Giuliano-separatist alliance justified the agreement by claiming that Giuliano had been forced to become a bandit by the cruelty and injustice of the Italian state. Although an EVIS commander, Giuliano remained cautious about subordinating himself to the movement's leadership.
.png)
Giuliano led small-scale attacks on government and police targets in the name of this movement. He supported the MIS and the similar MASCA with funds for the 1946 elections, in which both groups did poorly. Reputedly, Giuliano himself would have liked to have seen Sicily become a state within the United States of America. He sent president Harry S. Truman
a letter in which he urged him to annex Sicily.
Giuliano remained a long term problem for authorities. He continued to fight the Italian government in the name of the separatist movement. His attacks gained worldwide attention and made him a legend. In January 1946, at Montedoro
, Giuliano and his band fought a brutal battle with authorities in which perhaps a thousand separatists took part. His actions kept alive the vision of Sicilian independence accomplished through the force of arms. Police and military forces were unable to destroy Giuliano’s EVIS formations. In fact, with the aid of the peasants – many of whom saw Giuliano as a sort of Robin Hood – and the landowners – who feared him – Giuliano continued to operate almost untouched.
Giuliano also fostered a number of myths around himself. One tale tells how he discovered a postal worker was stealing letters that contained money Sicilian families had sent to their relatives in the USA; he killed the postal worker and assured the letters continued to their correct destinations. When he robbed the duchess of Pratameno, he left her with her wedding ring and borrowed a book she was reading; he returned it later with compliments. He fostered cooperation of poor tenant farmers by sending them money and food. Contrary to some claims, he was not a Mafioso.
As more separatist leaders were arrested, his funds became limited and he was forced to find new sources of supply. He eventually alienated himself from the peasants and became a tool of the landowners and conservatives. In this role he was manipulated to slaughter innocent peasants in the name of halting Communism in May 1947. In 1947, with his group steadily shrinking, he turned to kidnapping for ransom
and turned regular profits. Also in that year there were more elections, following a limited victory for socialist-communist groups.
After receiving a mysterious letter from an unknown source, Giuliano led his remaining men on a raid to the mountain pass Portella della Ginestra
on May 1, intending to capture Sicily's most prominent communist, Girolamo Li Causi
. However, the event turned into a massacre. Fourteen civilians, including a woman and three children, were killed and more than 30 wounded. Giuliano himself (who fired no shots) stated he ordered his band to fire above the heads of the crowd hoping they would disperse. Some sources accuse the Mafia
of infiltrating it and claim mafiosi instead shot at the crowd causing the massacre.
The incident created a national scandal, which ended in 1956 with the conviction of the remaining members of the band. It still remains a highly controversial topic, especially with regard to the contents of the letter Giuliano received before it; the finger of blame has been pointed at numerous sources, including the Italian government, which had long sought to destroy the famous bandit. Leftists who were the victims of the attack have blamed the landed baron
s and the Mafia
; significantly, the memorial plaque erected by them makes no mention of Giuliano or his band:
and wounding 11. As a result, the Italian government dispatched an additional 1000 troops to Western Sicily, with all troops under the command of Colonel Ugo Luca.
On July 5, 1950, Giuliano was shot in Castelvetrano
. According to police, carabinieri captain Antonio Perenze shot him as he was resisting arrest. However, the investigative reporter Tommaso Besozzi
from the weekly news magazine L'Europeo
soon exposed the official version as fiction; the headline read: "The only thing certain is that he is dead". Gaspare Pisciotta
, Giuliano's lieutenant, claimed later that police had promised him a pardon
and reward if he would kill Giuliano. Giuliano's mother Maria reportedly believed this story. Pisciotta died four years later in prison from poisoning, after ingesting 20 centigrams of strychnine
, hidden in a cup of tea.
At the trial for the Portella della Ginestra massacre
, Gaspare Pisciotta
had said: "Those who have made promises to us are called Bernardo Mattarella
, Prince Alliata, the monarchist MP Marchesano and also Signor Scelba
, Minister for Home Affairs … it was Marchesano, Prince Alliata and Bernardo Mattarella who ordered the massacre of Portella di Ginestra. Before the massacre they met Giuliano…" However the MPs Mattarella, Alliata and Marchesano were declared innocent by the Court of Appeal of Palermo, at a trial which dealt with their alleged role in the event.
with living relatives of Giuliano.
, was directed by Francesco Rosi
in 1961. Novelist Mario Puzo
published The Sicilian
, a dramatized version of Giuliano's life, in 1984. The book was made into a film in 1987, directed by Michael Cimino
and starring Christopher Lambert
as Giuliano.
An opera, Salvatore Giuliano, was composed in 1985 by Italian composer Lorenzo Ferrero
and premiered on 25 January 1986 at Teatro dell'Opera di Roma
. The libretto outlines in short, graphic scenes the network of intrigue between Sicilian independence activists, Mafia and State that surrounds, and eventually destroys, the bandit hero.
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,...
peasant
Peasant
A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...
. It has been suggested that the subjugated social status
Social status
In sociology or anthropology, social status is the honor or prestige attached to one's position in society . It may also refer to a rank or position that one holds in a group, for example son or daughter, playmate, pupil, etc....
of his class led him to become a bandit and separatist. He was mythologised during his life and after his death. His background is commonly compared to the legend of Robin Hood
Robin Hood
Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....
in popular culture, owing to stories pertaining to his helping the poor villagers in his area by taking from the rich.
As a member of the Sicilian Independence Movement, Giuliano actively pursued efforts directed towards the gaining of independence for the island from the Italian government. His story attracted attention in the media worldwide, in part because of his handsome looks. An account of his endeavours appeared in Time Magazine
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
.
Early life
Salvatore Giuliano was born in MontelepreMontelepre
Montelepre is a town and comune in the province of Palermo, Sicily, Italy. It is known for having been the native city of Sicilian bandit Salvatore Giuliano.-Main sights:*The Church of Maria Santissima del Rosario...
within the Province of Palermo
Province of Palermo
The Province of Palermo is a province in the autonomous region of Sicily, a major island in Southern Italy. Its capital is the city of Palermo. The Province of Palermo has 82 comuni , 1,239,272 inhabitants, and is 4,992 km² .-External links:...
as the fourth child of Salvatore and Maria Giuliano. As a child he was nicknamed Turiddu or Turi. He had a decent primary education, but limited by Sicilian class strictures, went to work on his father's land at the age of 13.
He transported olive oil and worked as a telephone repairman and on road construction. Giuliano was due to be called up to the Italian army, but the Allied invasion of Sicily
Allied invasion of Sicily
The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis . It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.Husky began on the night of...
prevented his actual enlistment. He became involved in the wartime black market and was armed in case of attacks from bandits.
Rise to infamy
Carabinieri
The Carabinieri is the national gendarmerie of Italy, policing both military and civilian populations, and is a branch of the armed forces.-Early history:...
at a checkpoint near Quattro Molini while transporting illegally purchased grain. He left his identity papers at the scene and was wounded when a carabiniere shot him twice as he was running away, it was then that he returned fire and killed the carabiniere. His family sent him to Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
to have the bullet removed. In late December, a number of residents of Montelepre, including Giuliano's father, were arrested during a police raid. Giuliano helped some of them escape from prison in Monreale
Monreale
Monreale is a town and comune in the province of Palermo, in Sicily, Italy, on the slope of Monte Caputo, overlooking the very fertile valley called "La Conca d'oro" , famed for its orange, olive and almond trees, the produce of which is exported in large quantities...
, and a number of the freed men stayed with him.
In the Sagana mountains, Giuliano collected a gang of approximately fifty bandits, criminals, deserters, and homeless men under his leadership and gave them military-style marksmanship training. The gang took to robbery and burglary for the money they needed for food and weapons. When carabinieri came to look for them, they were met with accurate submachinegun fire.
He also joined a Sicilian separatist group, Sicilian Independence Movement (MIS), which included members of very different political views, such as revolutionary socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
Antonio Canepa, centrist Giovanni Guarino Amella, right-wingers, most of them aristocrats, such as baron Lucio Tasca and duke Guglielmo Paternò, as well as some members with close ties to the Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
, and outright Mafiosi such as Calogero Vizzini
Calogero Vizzini
Calogero Don Calò Vizzini was a historical Mafia boss of Villalba in the Province of Caltanissetta, Sicily. Vizzini was considered to be one of the most influential and legendary Mafia bosses of Sicily after World War II until his death in 1954...
.
The union between Giuliano and separatist leaders came to fruition in the latter part of 1945. Giuliano entered the armed branch of the movement, EVIS (Esercito Volontario per l'Indipendenza della Sicilia, Volunteer Army for the Independence of Sicily), as a colonel and was promised that in the event of a separatist victory, he would be pardoned for his crimes and appointed to some position in the newly independent state. Defenders of the Giuliano-separatist alliance justified the agreement by claiming that Giuliano had been forced to become a bandit by the cruelty and injustice of the Italian state. Although an EVIS commander, Giuliano remained cautious about subordinating himself to the movement's leadership.
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
a letter in which he urged him to annex Sicily.
Giuliano remained a long term problem for authorities. He continued to fight the Italian government in the name of the separatist movement. His attacks gained worldwide attention and made him a legend. In January 1946, at Montedoro
Montedoro
Montedoro is a comune in the Province of Caltanissetta in the Italian region Sicily, located about 80 km southeast of Palermo and about 20 km west of Caltanissetta...
, Giuliano and his band fought a brutal battle with authorities in which perhaps a thousand separatists took part. His actions kept alive the vision of Sicilian independence accomplished through the force of arms. Police and military forces were unable to destroy Giuliano’s EVIS formations. In fact, with the aid of the peasants – many of whom saw Giuliano as a sort of Robin Hood – and the landowners – who feared him – Giuliano continued to operate almost untouched.
Giuliano also fostered a number of myths around himself. One tale tells how he discovered a postal worker was stealing letters that contained money Sicilian families had sent to their relatives in the USA; he killed the postal worker and assured the letters continued to their correct destinations. When he robbed the duchess of Pratameno, he left her with her wedding ring and borrowed a book she was reading; he returned it later with compliments. He fostered cooperation of poor tenant farmers by sending them money and food. Contrary to some claims, he was not a Mafioso.
Portella della Ginestra massacre
Ransom
Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or it can refer to the sum of money involved.In an early German law, a similar concept was called bad influence...
and turned regular profits. Also in that year there were more elections, following a limited victory for socialist-communist groups.
After receiving a mysterious letter from an unknown source, Giuliano led his remaining men on a raid to the mountain pass Portella della Ginestra
Portella della Ginestra massacre
The Portella della Ginestra massacre was one of the more violent acts of in the history of modern Italian politics, when 11 people were killed and 33 wounded during May Day celebrations in Sicily on May 1, 1947, in the municipality of Piana degli Albanesi...
on May 1, intending to capture Sicily's most prominent communist, Girolamo Li Causi
Girolamo Li Causi
Girolamo Li Causi was a Sicilian Communist leader. As a Sicilian and communist he was actively involved in the post war struggle against the Mafia...
. However, the event turned into a massacre. Fourteen civilians, including a woman and three children, were killed and more than 30 wounded. Giuliano himself (who fired no shots) stated he ordered his band to fire above the heads of the crowd hoping they would disperse. Some sources accuse the Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
of infiltrating it and claim mafiosi instead shot at the crowd causing the massacre.
The incident created a national scandal, which ended in 1956 with the conviction of the remaining members of the band. It still remains a highly controversial topic, especially with regard to the contents of the letter Giuliano received before it; the finger of blame has been pointed at numerous sources, including the Italian government, which had long sought to destroy the famous bandit. Leftists who were the victims of the attack have blamed the landed baron
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
s and the Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
; significantly, the memorial plaque erected by them makes no mention of Giuliano or his band:
Decline and death
Giuliano continued to work against socialist groups whenever he had the opportunity but by 1948 his popular support was ebbing. Locals and even the Mafia were less willing to aid him and helped the police, despite his tendency to kill suspected informers. Giuliano dared police by sending them boisterous letters about himself and dining in Palermo restaurants and leaving a note about his presence with a tip. The reward for his capture was doubled, and a special police force was instituted to suppress banditry. 300 carabinieri attacked his mountain stronghold, but most of his gang escaped. On August 14, 1949 Giuliano's men exploded mines under a convoy of police vehicles near the Bellolampo barracks outside Palermo, killing seven CarabinieriCarabinieri
The Carabinieri is the national gendarmerie of Italy, policing both military and civilian populations, and is a branch of the armed forces.-Early history:...
and wounding 11. As a result, the Italian government dispatched an additional 1000 troops to Western Sicily, with all troops under the command of Colonel Ugo Luca.
On July 5, 1950, Giuliano was shot in Castelvetrano
Castelvetrano
Castelvetrano is a town and comune in the province of Trapani, Sicily, Italy. The archeological site of Selinunte is located within the territory of the comune. It was the birthplace of Giovanni Gentile, the key philosopher of the Fascist movement in Italy.The town is predominantly a farming town,...
. According to police, carabinieri captain Antonio Perenze shot him as he was resisting arrest. However, the investigative reporter Tommaso Besozzi
Tommaso Besozzi
Tommaso Francesco Besozzi , also known as Tom, was an Italian journalist and writer...
from the weekly news magazine L'Europeo
L'Europeo
L'Europeo was a prominent Italian weekly news magazine launched on November 4, 1945, by the founder-editors Gianni Mazzocchi and Arrigo Benedetti. The magazine stopped publication in 1995.-Orientation:...
soon exposed the official version as fiction; the headline read: "The only thing certain is that he is dead". Gaspare Pisciotta
Gaspare Pisciotta
Gaspare Pisciotta was a companion and close friend of the Sicilian bandit Salvatore Giuliano, and considered to be the co-leader of his outlaw band.- Origins :...
, Giuliano's lieutenant, claimed later that police had promised him a pardon
Pardon
Clemency means the forgiveness of a crime or the cancellation of the penalty associated with it. It is a general concept that encompasses several related procedures: pardoning, commutation, remission and reprieves...
and reward if he would kill Giuliano. Giuliano's mother Maria reportedly believed this story. Pisciotta died four years later in prison from poisoning, after ingesting 20 centigrams of strychnine
Strychnine
Strychnine is a highly toxic , colorless crystalline alkaloid used as a pesticide, particularly for killing small vertebrates such as birds and rodents. Strychnine causes muscular convulsions and eventually death through asphyxia or sheer exhaustion...
, hidden in a cup of tea.
At the trial for the Portella della Ginestra massacre
Portella della Ginestra massacre
The Portella della Ginestra massacre was one of the more violent acts of in the history of modern Italian politics, when 11 people were killed and 33 wounded during May Day celebrations in Sicily on May 1, 1947, in the municipality of Piana degli Albanesi...
, Gaspare Pisciotta
Gaspare Pisciotta
Gaspare Pisciotta was a companion and close friend of the Sicilian bandit Salvatore Giuliano, and considered to be the co-leader of his outlaw band.- Origins :...
had said: "Those who have made promises to us are called Bernardo Mattarella
Bernardo Mattarella
Bernardo Mattarella was an Italian politician for the Christian Democrat party . He has been Minister of Italy several times...
, Prince Alliata, the monarchist MP Marchesano and also Signor Scelba
Mario Scelba
Mario Scelba was an Italian Christian Democratic politician who served as the 34th Prime Minister of Italy from February 1954 to July 1955...
, Minister for Home Affairs … it was Marchesano, Prince Alliata and Bernardo Mattarella who ordered the massacre of Portella di Ginestra. Before the massacre they met Giuliano…" However the MPs Mattarella, Alliata and Marchesano were declared innocent by the Court of Appeal of Palermo, at a trial which dealt with their alleged role in the event.
Doubts about Giuliano’s death
Over the years doubts about Giuliano’s death have been expressed. According to some Giuliano fled from Sicily to Tunis and went on to live in the United States. The historian Giuseppe Casarrubea, son of one of the victims of Giuliano, compiled material to demonstrate that the body buried as Giuliano belonged to someone else. On October 15, 2010, the Public Prosecutor's Office in Palermo decided to exhume the body and compare its DNADNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
with living relatives of Giuliano.
Dramatizations
A film of his life, Salvatore GiulianoSalvatore Giuliano (film)
Salvatore Giuliano is a 1962 Italian film directed by Francesco Rosi. Shot in a neo-realist documentary, non-linear style, it follows the lives of those involved with the famous Sicilian bandit, Salvatore Giuliano...
, was directed by Francesco Rosi
Francesco Rosi
Francesco Rosi is an Italian film director. He is the father of actress Carolina Rosi.-Biography:After studying Law, but hoping to study film, Rosi entered the industry as an assistant to Luchino Visconti on La Terra trema...
in 1961. Novelist 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...
published The Sicilian
The Sicilian
The Sicilian is a novel by Italian-American author Mario Puzo. Published in 1984 by Random House Publishing Group , it is based on Puzo's most famous work, The Godfather. It is regarded as The Godfathers literary sequel....
, a dramatized version of Giuliano's life, in 1984. The book was made into a film in 1987, directed by Michael Cimino
Michael Cimino
Michael Cimino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and author. He is best known for writing and directing Academy Award-winning The Deer Hunter and the infamous Heaven's Gate. His films are characterized by their striking visual style and controversial subject...
and starring Christopher Lambert
Christopher Lambert
Christophe Guy Denis "Christopher" Lambert is an American-born French actor who has appeared in French, European and American productions. He is best known for his role as Connor MacLeod, or simply "The Highlander", from the movie and subsequent movie franchise series of the same name...
as Giuliano.
An opera, Salvatore Giuliano, was composed in 1985 by Italian composer Lorenzo Ferrero
Lorenzo Ferrero
Lorenzo Ferrero is a contemporary Italian composer with a predilection for opera, a librettist, author, and book editor. He started composing at an early age and wrote over a hundred compositions thus far, including twelve operas, three ballets, and numerous orchestral, chamber music, solo...
and premiered on 25 January 1986 at Teatro dell'Opera di Roma
Teatro dell'Opera di Roma
The Teatro dell'Opera di Roma is an opera house in Rome, Italy. Originally opened in November 1880 as the 2,212 seat Costanzi Theatre, it has undergone several changes of name as well modifications and improvements...
. The libretto outlines in short, graphic scenes the network of intrigue between Sicilian independence activists, Mafia and State that surrounds, and eventually destroys, the bandit hero.
External links
Blog di Giuseppe Casarrubea- The true story of Salvatore Giuliano, based on the book by Giuseppe Sciortino Giuliano and Marianna Giuliano, the sister of Salvatore.
- Review of the film Salvatore Giuliano directed by Francesco Rosi by Derek Malcolm in The Guardian
- Bandit and Murderer, or Hero and Patriot? Biography of Salvatore Giuliano