Blood Feuds, Sicilian style

The poor dog pays the price

Deadly feuds are a feature of life in the Balkans. I have known of people in England who have lost family members, killed seemingly randomly, in Albania, because the victim, through no fault of his own, just happened to be a relation of someone who had committed murder, and the victim’s family were taking revenge.

This sort of thing does supposedly happen in Sicily too. The second part of The Godfather opens with the flight of the young Vito Corleone from his native town, as the local boss, who has killed his father and brother, wants to kill him too, as one day he will seek revenge. It is a memorable scene.

And how right don Ciccio was to try and rub out the young Vito, as years later, Vito goes back and takes revenge, in another memorable scene.

When Michael and Kay go to Sicily in part three, Michael tells her that all the men in the town have been killed in feuds. This is most unlikely, but it makes artistic sense. Sicily, like the Balkans, is beautiful but deadly. ‘Oh Michael,’ as Kay says. ‘You never told me Sicily was so beautiful.’

It seems that blood feuds are a feature of Sicilian life, perhaps not in the beautiful parts of the island, but certainly in lo Zen of Palermo. Here is the latest report, translated and redacted for your benefit.

“The feud between the families of lo Zen in Palermo, continues, with plans for revenge.

A man from the Ferrara family wants to punish the person who burned down his lock-up and killed his dog. The stabbings and the threats: ‘I’ll shoot you in the face.’

In the new power struggle between the Ferrara and Maranzano families, many have been suffered already. And there are those who swear revenge, such as the man whose garage in via Gino Zappa was burned down. A person close to the Ferraras, in mid-May the flames engulfed the garage where he lived with his dog and which was earmarked to be a fruit and vegetable shop - obviously opened with the family’s permission.

In the fire, which also involved the butcher’s shop next door, which was also under the protection of the Ferraras, the poor animal was killed. A death that the man cannot accept and which could further enflame a situation that has already been tense for some time.

The Ferrara and Maranzano families are in fact fighting for control of commercial activities in the area, which has been under the sway of the Ferraras, who control betting agencies and various other shops. And this has now aroused the interest of the Maranzanos, who are mostly involved in drug dealing.

This most recent incident is said to have exacerbated relations between the families, leading to the stabbings on March 9th in via Costante Girardengo. A 32 year old man, an associate of the Maranzanos, was stabbed six times in the chest and back.”

So, it has not come to murder - yet. So far, only the poor dog has died. But it looks likely to escalate.

And what are the authorities going to do? The usual answer in Italy, as in Britain, is more ‘funding.’ The government is now spending 42 million euro on the blighted quarter of Borgo Nuovo, also on the outskirts of Palermo, a place I have already written about. (See here.) But while government spending is part of an area’s regeneration, it is not the entire story, and to their credit, the government officials seem to understand this.

Alfredo Mantovano, the man in charge, has this to say, when speaking of the restoration of the local vandalised church:

“The rebirth of Borgo Nuovo ‘will begin with the crucifix, because wherever a civilization has arisen, it arose around a cross. This symbol, which is not only religious, also has an extraordinary civil value, and must be the first to return to how it was before.’”

No British politician would speak like that, I am sure. That a Sicilian one does I take as a sign of hope.

The Archbishop of Palermo, Corrado Lorefice, has also spoken in rather less spiritual terms, and more like a politician (though that is not a criticism) : ‘We need to give answers to those who are experiencing both suffering and hope here. If people don't have a home, if they don't have work, if there isn't the essential bread, then the risk that they will turn to the Mafia to get what they need remains very high.’

It is quite haunting that the Archbishop speaks of people lacking the necessities of life - the essential bread - which makes one realise that Sicilian poverty goes very deep. There are still malnourished people in Sicily. While poverty is not entirely material, there is no real point talking about moral renewal when people are hungry.

Postscript: on a different note, the latest instalment in the ongoing saga of Calogero di Rienzi, entitled The Peace of Palermo, is out on Amazon, in paperback and on Kindle, and can be found here. Many thanks to my wonderful proof readers who tell me that they read it with great enjoyment. If you do the same, please leave a review and a rating. I will soon be putting all the books on audio as well. The first, The Chemist of Catania, is already on audio, and can be found here.