The Day of the Owl
Encyclopedia
The Day of the Owl is a crime novel about the Mafia
by Leonardo Sciascia
, finished in 1960 and published in 1961.
As the author wrote in his preface of the 1972 Italian edition, the novel was written at a time in which the existence of the Mafia itself was debated and denied. Its publishing led to widespread debate
and to renewed awareness of the phenomenon.
The novel is inspired by the assassination of Accursio Miraglia, a communist
trade unionist, at Sciacca
in January 1947. Damiano Damiani directed a movie adaptation
in 1968.
Sciascia used this story as refutation against the Mafia and the corruption, apparent to his eyes, that led all the way to Rome.
A Carabinieri
captain from Parma
, Bellodi, gets on the case, ruffling feathers in his contemporaries and colleagues alike. Soon he discovers a link that doesn't stop in Sicily, but goes onwards towards Rome and the Minister Mancuso and Senator Livigno.
It seems that the man shot, Salvatore Colasberna, was the owner of a small construction company. He had been warned that he should take "protection" from mafia members, but he refused. Although his company was only a very small one, the local mafia decides to make an example of him and has him killed.
Using faintly corrupt methods, Bellodi traps one man and uses the names given by a dead informer to trap another, who has money stashed away in many bank accounts that add up to more than his fallow fields would ever bring. He is attempting to take down an organization with many members involved in the police and government, and whose mere existence many Sicilians deny.He has ignored the crime passionel lead, which is often a handy excuse for mafia killings.
The death of an eyewitness leads to the collapse of the case against all three, which sees Bellodi taken off the case. The novel ends with Bellodi recounting his time in Sicily to his friends in Parma (who think that it all sounds very romantic), and thinking that he would return to Sicily even if it killed him.
in 1968 by Damiano Damiani, starring Franco Nero
as Captain Bellodi and Claudia Cardinale
as Rosa Nicolosi.
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...
by Leonardo Sciascia
Leonardo Sciascia
Leonardo Sciascia was an Italian writer, novelist, essayist, playwright and politician. Some of his works have been made into films, including Open Doors and Il giorno della civetta .- Biography :Sciascia was born in Racalmuto, Sicily...
, finished in 1960 and published in 1961.
As the author wrote in his preface of the 1972 Italian edition, the novel was written at a time in which the existence of the Mafia itself was debated and denied. Its publishing led to widespread debate
Debate
Debate or debating is a method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion...
and to renewed awareness of the phenomenon.
The novel is inspired by the assassination of Accursio Miraglia, a communist
Italian Communist Party
The Italian Communist Party was a communist political party in Italy.The PCI was founded as Communist Party of Italy on 21 January 1921 in Livorno, by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party . Amadeo Bordiga and Antonio Gramsci led the split. Outlawed during the Fascist regime, the party played...
trade unionist, at Sciacca
Sciacca
Sciacca , also Schiacca, is a town and comune in the province of Agrigento on the southwestern coast of Sicily...
in January 1947. Damiano Damiani directed a movie adaptation
Il giorno della civetta (film)
Il giorno della civetta is a 1968 Italian mafia crime thriller film directed by Damiano Damiani. Inspired by Leonardo Sciascia's novel with same title, it stars Claudia Cardinale and Franco Nero. It was released in USA in 1970. The film was entered into the 18th Berlin International Film...
in 1968.
Sciascia used this story as refutation against the Mafia and the corruption, apparent to his eyes, that led all the way to Rome.
Plot
In a small town, early on a Saturday morning, a bus is about to leave the small square to go market in the next town nearby. A gunshot is heard and the figure running for the bus is shot twice in the back, with what is discovered as a (a sawn-off shotgun that the mafia use for their killings.)The passengers and bus driver deny having seen the murderer.A Carabinieri
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:...
captain from Parma
Parma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
, Bellodi, gets on the case, ruffling feathers in his contemporaries and colleagues alike. Soon he discovers a link that doesn't stop in Sicily, but goes onwards towards Rome and the Minister Mancuso and Senator Livigno.
It seems that the man shot, Salvatore Colasberna, was the owner of a small construction company. He had been warned that he should take "protection" from mafia members, but he refused. Although his company was only a very small one, the local mafia decides to make an example of him and has him killed.
Using faintly corrupt methods, Bellodi traps one man and uses the names given by a dead informer to trap another, who has money stashed away in many bank accounts that add up to more than his fallow fields would ever bring. He is attempting to take down an organization with many members involved in the police and government, and whose mere existence many Sicilians deny.He has ignored the crime passionel lead, which is often a handy excuse for mafia killings.
The death of an eyewitness leads to the collapse of the case against all three, which sees Bellodi taken off the case. The novel ends with Bellodi recounting his time in Sicily to his friends in Parma (who think that it all sounds very romantic), and thinking that he would return to Sicily even if it killed him.
Availability
The Day of the Owl is available in paperback under ISBN 159017061X (New York: NYRB Classics, 2003).Film adaptation
The novel was filmed as Il giorno della civettaIl giorno della civetta (film)
Il giorno della civetta is a 1968 Italian mafia crime thriller film directed by Damiano Damiani. Inspired by Leonardo Sciascia's novel with same title, it stars Claudia Cardinale and Franco Nero. It was released in USA in 1970. The film was entered into the 18th Berlin International Film...
in 1968 by Damiano Damiani, starring Franco Nero
Franco Nero
Franco Nero is an Italian actor.-Early life:Nero was born Francesco Sparanero in San Prospero Parmense , the son of a sergeant in the...
as Captain Bellodi and Claudia Cardinale
Claudia Cardinale
Claudia Cardinale is an Italian actress, and has appeared in some of the most prominent European films of the 1960s and 1970s. The majority of Cardinale's films have been either Italian or French...
as Rosa Nicolosi.