Francesco Cuccia
Encyclopedia
Francesco Cuccia, also known as Don Ciccio, was a member of the Sicilian Mafia and one-time mayor of Piana dei Greci (now Piana degli Albanesi). He is best known as the Mafia boss who triggered Benito Mussolini
’s war on the Mafia, after humiliating the Duce while visiting Piana dei Greci in 1924. He was described by the writer Norman Lewis
as a Mafia potentate with an inflamed sense of his own importance.
, one of the leaders of the Fasci Siciliani
in 1892-93. Since those days, the town was known as Piana la rossa (Red Piana). In the late nineteenth, early twentieth century, the struggle for the rights and freedoms of peasants in Sicily was also a struggle against the Mafia.
In June 1914 the socialists won the municipal elections with a landslide. During the election campaign the socialist militants Mariano Barbato (a cousin of Nicola Barbato) and Giorgio Pecoraro had been killed. Cuccia was suspected to be behind the slaying, but was not charged until ten years later.
, the struggle of the landless peasants intensified. Sicilian peasants returning from the front found a disastrous economic situation. During their military service their fields had been abandoned and overgrown, and inflation reduced them to starvation. The only people, who had become rich by taking advantage of this situation, were the landowners and their leaseholders such as Cuccia. Social tension began to rise across the country, known as the biennio rosso
(red biennium – 1919-1920).
In Piana dei Greci the socialists won the elections of October 1920, gaining all seats in the municipal council and electing the mayor. During the parliamentary elections of May 1921 socialist candidates could not campaign or go to the polls due to serious intimidation by the Mafia. Under pressure from the Mafia and the prefect and the police, the Socialist Party left the municipal council and even had to close the local section. The town was then placed under a commissioner until the new elections on April 9, 1922, when the Liberal Democrats list led by Francesco Cuccia won by a landslide. The list was "composed of three-fifths of people belonging to the mafia."
The Arbëreshë
poet Giuseppe Schirò publicly defended the Mafia administration of Cuccia several times, considering it "the most suitable for the peaceful development of the best qualities of its people," able to open "a new period in our history." In a speech from the balcony of City Hall, he praised Cuccia to have had the merit and the courage "to have done away with that red flag of socialism from our community."
In June that year Cuccia received King Vittorio Emanuele II in full regalia in the local town hall, and, in return, was awarded the prestigious Knights Cross of the Crown of Italy (Croce di Cavalieri della Corona d’Italia). According to legend, Cuccia was able to manoeuvre the king into baptizing his child.
, then prime minister, visited Sicily and also passed through Piana dei Greci where he was received by the mayor Don Ciccio. At some point Cuccia expressed surprise at Mussolini’s police escort and whispered in his ear: “You are with me, you are under my protection. What do you need all these cops for?” Mussolini felt humiliated and outraged.
Cuccia's careless remark has passed into history as the catalyst for Mussolini’s war on the Mafia. When Mussolini firmly established his power in January 1925, he appointed Cesare Mori
as the Prefect of Palermo, with the order to eradicate the Mafia at any price. In 1927, when reporting on the progress of the drive against the Mafia in Sicily to the Chamber of Deputies, Mussolini referred specifically to Cuccia as "that unspeakable mayor who found ways of getting himself portrayed at every solemn occasion" and who was now safely behind bars.
Cuccia and his brother had been arrested on July 2, 1924, on charges of murdering the socialist militants Mariano Barbato and Giorgio Pecoraro in May 1914. However, on May 1, 1928, the Court acquitted the Cuccia brothers for lack of evidence.
during a Labour Day
manifestation on May 1, 1947, when 11 people were killed and 33 wounded by the bandit Salvatore Giuliano
. A few weeks before the massacre, Cuccia and others had asked landowners for money to "put an end to the communists once and for all." They made clear that they were ready to go beyond the traditional acts of Mafia violence that had been used against the socialist peasant movement before the rise of fascism in the early 1920s when six socialist militants had been killed in Piana.
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....
’s war on the Mafia, after humiliating the Duce while visiting Piana dei Greci in 1924. He was described by the writer Norman Lewis
Norman Lewis
Norman Lewis was a prolific British writer best known for his travel writing. Though not widely known, "Norman Lewis is one of the best writers, not of any particular decade, but of our century", according to Graham Greene....
as a Mafia potentate with an inflamed sense of his own importance.
Mafia boss in Piana dei Greci
Cuccia was one of the Mafia bosses of Piana dei Greci, a town known for its strong peasant movement demanding land reform. He sided with the landowners against the socialist inspired movement headed by Nicola BarbatoNicola Barbato
Nicola Barbato, , was a Arbëreshë socialist and politician. He was one of the national leaders of the Fasci Siciliani a popular movement of democratic and socialist inspiration in 1891-1894, and perhaps might have been the ablest among them, according to the Marxist historian Eric Hobsbawm.-Early...
, one of the leaders of the Fasci Siciliani
Fasci Siciliani
The Fasci Siciliani, short for Fasci Siciliani dei Lavoratori , were a popular movement of democratic and socialist inspiration, which arose in Sicily in the years between 1889 and 1894...
in 1892-93. Since those days, the town was known as Piana la rossa (Red Piana). In the late nineteenth, early twentieth century, the struggle for the rights and freedoms of peasants in Sicily was also a struggle against the Mafia.
In June 1914 the socialists won the municipal elections with a landslide. During the election campaign the socialist militants Mariano Barbato (a cousin of Nicola Barbato) and Giorgio Pecoraro had been killed. Cuccia was suspected to be behind the slaying, but was not charged until ten years later.
Fighting the socialists
After the World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the struggle of the landless peasants intensified. Sicilian peasants returning from the front found a disastrous economic situation. During their military service their fields had been abandoned and overgrown, and inflation reduced them to starvation. The only people, who had become rich by taking advantage of this situation, were the landowners and their leaseholders such as Cuccia. Social tension began to rise across the country, known as the biennio rosso
Biennio rosso
The Biennio Rosso was a two year period, between 1919 and 1920, of intense social conflict in Italy. The Biennio Rosso was followed by the extremely violent reaction of the Fascist blackshirts militia and eventually by the March on Rome of Benito Mussolini in 1922...
(red biennium – 1919-1920).
In Piana dei Greci the socialists won the elections of October 1920, gaining all seats in the municipal council and electing the mayor. During the parliamentary elections of May 1921 socialist candidates could not campaign or go to the polls due to serious intimidation by the Mafia. Under pressure from the Mafia and the prefect and the police, the Socialist Party left the municipal council and even had to close the local section. The town was then placed under a commissioner until the new elections on April 9, 1922, when the Liberal Democrats list led by Francesco Cuccia won by a landslide. The list was "composed of three-fifths of people belonging to the mafia."
The Arbëreshë
Arbëreshë
The Arbëreshë are a linguistic and ethnic Albanian minority community living in southern Italy, especially the regions of Apulia, Basilicata, Molise, Calabria and Sicily...
poet Giuseppe Schirò publicly defended the Mafia administration of Cuccia several times, considering it "the most suitable for the peaceful development of the best qualities of its people," able to open "a new period in our history." In a speech from the balcony of City Hall, he praised Cuccia to have had the merit and the courage "to have done away with that red flag of socialism from our community."
In June that year Cuccia received King Vittorio Emanuele II in full regalia in the local town hall, and, in return, was awarded the prestigious Knights Cross of the Crown of Italy (Croce di Cavalieri della Corona d’Italia). According to legend, Cuccia was able to manoeuvre the king into baptizing his child.
Triggering Mussolini’s war on the Mafia
Two years later, in May 1924, the Fascist leader Benito MussoliniBenito 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....
, then prime minister, visited Sicily and also passed through Piana dei Greci where he was received by the mayor Don Ciccio. At some point Cuccia expressed surprise at Mussolini’s police escort and whispered in his ear: “You are with me, you are under my protection. What do you need all these cops for?” Mussolini felt humiliated and outraged.
Cuccia's careless remark has passed into history as the catalyst for Mussolini’s war on the Mafia. When Mussolini firmly established his power in January 1925, he appointed Cesare Mori
Cesare Mori
Cesare Mori was a prefect before and during the Fascist period in Italy. He is known in Italy as the Iron Prefect because of his iron-fisted campaigns against the Mafia on Sicily in the second half of the 1920s.- Early years :Mori was born in Pavia and grew up in an orphananage and was only...
as the Prefect of Palermo, with the order to eradicate the Mafia at any price. In 1927, when reporting on the progress of the drive against the Mafia in Sicily to the Chamber of Deputies, Mussolini referred specifically to Cuccia as "that unspeakable mayor who found ways of getting himself portrayed at every solemn occasion" and who was now safely behind bars.
Cuccia and his brother had been arrested on July 2, 1924, on charges of murdering the socialist militants Mariano Barbato and Giorgio Pecoraro in May 1914. However, on May 1, 1928, the Court acquitted the Cuccia brothers for lack of evidence.
Portella della Ginestra massacre
Cuccia has also been mentioned as one of the mafiosi behind the Portella della Ginestra massacrePortella 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...
during a Labour Day
International Workers' Day
International Workers' Day is a celebration of the international labour movement and left-wing movements. It commonly sees organized street demonstrations and marches by working people and their labour unions throughout most of the world. May 1 is a national holiday in more than 80 countries...
manifestation on May 1, 1947, when 11 people were killed and 33 wounded by the bandit Salvatore Giuliano
Salvatore Giuliano
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...
. A few weeks before the massacre, Cuccia and others had asked landowners for money to "put an end to the communists once and for all." They made clear that they were ready to go beyond the traditional acts of Mafia violence that had been used against the socialist peasant movement before the rise of fascism in the early 1920s when six socialist militants had been killed in Piana.