Appendice
Dal sito delle Nazioni Unite: htpp//www.odccp.org./palermo
"The most revolutionary thing you could do in Sicily, is simply to apply the law
and punish the guilty."
Judge Giovanni Falcone, 2 December 1992
The city of Palermo has a rich and diverse history. First founded in the 8th century B.C. by the Phoenicians, Palermo has come under the influence of the Moors, the Normans, the Spanish, the Austrians and the Houses of Savoy and Bourbon. Palermo's art, architecture and style reflects its unique past.
However, Palermo and Siciliy's wealth of culture has been overshadowed by the region's history with organized crime. Media and entertainment (most notably in Mario Puzo's novel, "The Godfather" later adapted in an Academy Award winning film) turned Sicily into a worldwide metaphor for violence and organized crime.
Even among Sicilians and Palermitani, the Mafia was perceived as an invincible and thought to be part of the culture until the middle of the 1980's. Criminal violence, political corruption, intimidation and fear dominated everyday life. Mafia killings in Palermo were commonplace.
There was a moment between 1979 and 1982, when the ferocious Corleone mafiosi killed all the top authorities in Sicily: the President of the regional parliament, the prefect, the chief prosecutor, the top investigative judge and the head of the opposition party.
At the same time a movement began. Led by a small group of citizens from all walks of life. It was quiet at first. However, they believed that the situation could be reversed.
(At right) Judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino

By the second half of the 1980's, the mentality of Sicilians began to change. There were the maxi-trials of 1986-1987 that for the first time convicted the entire leadership of the Sicilian Cosa Nostra.
At the beginning of the 1990's, Mani Pulite ("Clean Hands") magistrates in the North, and anti-mafia prosecutors in the South, succeeded in changing the Italian political system. They dealt substantial blows to the most powerful criminal networks. Pentiti -- or turncoats -- provided prosecutors with valuable information that turned the tables on the Mafia. Top bosses -- like Toto Riina -- were jailed.
These efforts did not come without a price. It cost the lives of courageous magistrates -- like Judge Giovanni Falcone and Judge Paolo Borsellino -- and the lives of many other public officials.
Instead of provoking fear, their killing provoked a greater outcry for justice and a restructuring of Sicilian society. Bed sheets with anti-Mafia slogans were hung from windows throughout Palermo. Housewives and shopkeepers joined youth groups and religious congregations in the street. Journalists exposed corrupt politicians. Community leaders demanded accountability and transparency from government.
Today the Sicilian mafia is in pieces. While there is still an underworld in Italy and they continue to use intimidation as a means to power, the Mafia is no longer the national emergency it once was.
Happily, Sicily is in a much better condition today. Tourists from around the world are flocking to the island in record numbers. Palermo is in the midst of a renaissance. The BBC recently described it as "exciting and safe." The downtown has been reborn. You can walk in the historical centre at night, enjoy a pizza, and there is music, open-air restaurants and thousands of people.