Francesco Paolo Varsallona
Encyclopedia
Francesco Paolo Varsallona or Varsalona was a Sicilian
bandit
who operated on the island around the turn of the 20th century. He is considered to be the last great bandit of the pre-fascist era
. He hailed from Castronovo
and was the son of a bandit that had belonged to the notorious band of Angelo Pugliese, better known as "Don Peppino il Lombardo", credited with introducing kidnapping people for money in Sicily.
Varsallona became an outlaw in 1893 after he killed a witness in the trial about his brother Luigi Varsallona's murder. His brother, a bandit as well, had been killed in 1892 over a dispute about the booty of his band’s actions. The witness did his best to provide the defendants with an alibi. Varsallona took justice in its own hands and in an act of vendetta
killed the witness.
He became a fugitive and his hide-out was in the Cammarata
mountains. He assembled a band of fellow fugitives which became involved in robberies and cattle rustling roaming the province of Caltanisetta
and the neighbouring areas of the provinces of Palermo
and Agrigento
.
He soon acquired an aureole of popularity to challenge the law and its agents, according to the New York Times. From his hide-out in the mountains, he “dominated great territories, imposing ransoms which were regularly paid, administering justice according to their own ideas, and living quite secure, as the shepherds and peasants – partly through fear, and partly from satisfaction in that open rebellion against what is the personification of that Government which they have hated for centuries – never let them lack ammunition or food and carefully informed them of every move of the police by signals.”
Varsallona is credited with modernizing brigandage
in Sicily. Instead of bands roving the countryside and abducting people, he introduced tribute payments in return for guaranteed safety for the landlords and their caretakers and lease-holders (gabelotto or bailiff
), while freelancing bands were suppressed. He also supplied manpower to noble landowners to repress farmers' revolts. Another innovation was to arrange for his men to be mobilized and demobilized according to the circumstances. They went quietly to a planned operation and then afterwards slipped back to their everyday occupations.
The future Mafia
boss, Calogero Vizzini
, enrolled in the band when he was still a young and aspiring criminal. In the decades to come he would be considered to be the "boss of bosses" – although such a position does not exist in the loose structure of Cosa Nostra. In 1902, Varsallona’s band finally fell into a trap set up by the police and stood trial for "association to commit a crime". Vizzini was one of the few to be acquitted.
According to some sources, Varsallona was a "man of honour" – a member of the Mafia.
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,...
bandit
Outlaw
In historical legal systems, an outlaw is declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, this takes the burden of active prosecution of a criminal from the authorities. Instead, the criminal is withdrawn all legal protection, so that anyone is legally empowered to persecute...
who operated on the island around the turn of the 20th century. He is considered to be the last great bandit of the pre-fascist era
Italian Fascism
Italian Fascism also known as Fascism with a capital "F" refers to the original fascist ideology in Italy. This ideology is associated with the National Fascist Party which under Benito Mussolini ruled the Kingdom of Italy from 1922 until 1943, the Republican Fascist Party which ruled the Italian...
. He hailed from Castronovo
Castronovo di Sicilia
Castronovo di Sicilia is a comune in the Province of Palermo in the Italian region Sicily, located about 50 km southeast of Palermo.-External links:*...
and was the son of a bandit that had belonged to the notorious band of Angelo Pugliese, better known as "Don Peppino il Lombardo", credited with introducing kidnapping people for money in Sicily.
Varsallona became an outlaw in 1893 after he killed a witness in the trial about his brother Luigi Varsallona's murder. His brother, a bandit as well, had been killed in 1892 over a dispute about the booty of his band’s actions. The witness did his best to provide the defendants with an alibi. Varsallona took justice in its own hands and in an act of vendetta
Feud
A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight between parties—often groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one party perceives itself to have been attacked, insulted or wronged by another...
killed the witness.
He became a fugitive and his hide-out was in the Cammarata
Cammarata
Cammarata is a comune in the Province of Agrigento in the Italian region Sicily, located about 60 km southeast of Palermo and about 35 km north of Agrigento on the eponymous mountain in a territory rich of forests....
mountains. He assembled a band of fellow fugitives which became involved in robberies and cattle rustling roaming the province of Caltanisetta
Province of Caltanissetta
The Province of Caltanissetta is a province in the southern part of Sicily, Italy...
and the neighbouring areas of the provinces 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:...
and Agrigento
Province of Agrigento
Agrigento is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy. It has an area of 3,042 km², and a total population of 454,370...
.
He soon acquired an aureole of popularity to challenge the law and its agents, according to the New York Times. From his hide-out in the mountains, he “dominated great territories, imposing ransoms which were regularly paid, administering justice according to their own ideas, and living quite secure, as the shepherds and peasants – partly through fear, and partly from satisfaction in that open rebellion against what is the personification of that Government which they have hated for centuries – never let them lack ammunition or food and carefully informed them of every move of the police by signals.”
Varsallona is credited with modernizing brigandage
Brigandage
Brigandage refers to the life and practice of brigands: highway robbery and plunder, and a brigand is a person who usually lives in a gang and lives by pillage and robbery....
in Sicily. Instead of bands roving the countryside and abducting people, he introduced tribute payments in return for guaranteed safety for the landlords and their caretakers and lease-holders (gabelotto or bailiff
Bailiff
A bailiff is a governor or custodian ; a legal officer to whom some degree of authority, care or jurisdiction is committed...
), while freelancing bands were suppressed. He also supplied manpower to noble landowners to repress farmers' revolts. Another innovation was to arrange for his men to be mobilized and demobilized according to the circumstances. They went quietly to a planned operation and then afterwards slipped back to their everyday occupations.
The future 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...
boss, 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...
, enrolled in the band when he was still a young and aspiring criminal. In the decades to come he would be considered to be the "boss of bosses" – although such a position does not exist in the loose structure of Cosa Nostra. In 1902, Varsallona’s band finally fell into a trap set up by the police and stood trial for "association to commit a crime". Vizzini was one of the few to be acquitted.
According to some sources, Varsallona was a "man of honour" – a member of the Mafia.