Gioia Tauro
Encyclopedia
Gioia Tauro is a comune
(municipality) in the province of Reggio Calabria
, in Calabria
(Italy
), on the Tyrrhenian coast
. It has an important port
, situated along the route connecting Suez
to Gibraltar
, one of the busiest maritime corridors in the world.
in 1970, signaling frustration over neglect by the central government of the region. The construction of a large steel plant and port facility was meant to bring income and jobs to Calabria. Until then Gioia Tauro had been a productive and beautiful agricultural area. Profitable farms and olive groves were expropriated and demolished.
The 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia
-type criminal organisation based in Calabria, and in particular the Piromalli clan
, exploited the construction of the steelworks until the project was abandoned in 1979 when the crisis in the steel industry could no longer be ignored and the government decided there was no economic base for it. In the meantime some 1,000 people were killed in conflicts over construction contracts. For a while the homicide rate of Gioia Tauro, with a population of about 17,000 at the time, was higher than New York City
.
Then it was the turn of the energy project, but the great electrical energy power station was never built, due to environmental problems. Gioia Tauro became a grand example of failure which characterized much of the development of Italy’s South as "industrialisation without development."
port in Europe, with a 2007 throughput of 's from more than 3,000 ships.
The seaport represents more than a third (2002) of the whole national traffic and is specialised in transhipment
activities, taking the place of the Malta
seaport as the node for overseas traffic from/to USA and from/to the Far East
.
The Medcenter Container Terminal
(Medcenter, Contship
) is the main operator working within the seaport of Gioia Tauro.
arrives from Colombia
via Gioia Tauro's docks. The port is also involved in the illegal arms trade
. These activities are controlled by the 'Ndrangheta. However, according to a report of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction
(EMCDDA) and Europol
, the Iberian Peninsula
is considered the main entry point for cocaine into Europe and a gateway to the European market.
The Piromalli
-Molè
clan managed to condition the management of the new container terminal. Established in the mid-1990s, it became the largest terminal in the Mediterranean, moving over 2 million containers in 1998. Since 1994, when Contship Italia
rented the port area to start transshipment activity and the Medcenter Container Terminal was set up thanks to 138 billion lire (about US$86 million) in state financing, the Piromalli’s aimed to oblige the Medcenter company, through its vice president Walter Lugli, and the Contship company, through its president Enrico Ravano, to pay a kickback of US$1.50 for each transshipped container, a sum which corresponded to about half the net profits earned by the two companies.
In February 2008 the parliamentary Antimafia Commission
concluded that the ‘Ndrangheta “controls or influences a large part of the economic activity around the port and uses the facility as a base for illegal trafficking.” In its report it said that “the entire gamma of internal or sub-contracted activities is mafia-influenced, from the management of distribution and forwarding to customs control and container storage.” The extortion of Ravano and Contship, was part of a project that “did not involve simply this security tax, which grew with the port, but also control of activities tied to the port, the hiring of workers, and relations with port unions and local institutions,” the report added. “It effectively eliminated legitimate competition from companies not influenced or controlled by the mafia in providing goods and services, performing construction work and hiring personnel. And it threw a shadow over the behaviour of local government and other public bodies.”
of Gioia Tauro was dissolved in 1991 because of infiltration by the 'Ndrangheta. In April 2008, it was dissolved for the second time for the same reason. The town is home to several 'ndrine, such as the Alvaro, Mammoliti
, Molè and Piromalli families.
Gioia Tauro's former mayor and deputy mayor, Giorgio Dal Torrione, and Rosario Schiavone, were arrested on Mafia charges, on October 13, 2008. Both had been forced to step down in April when the city council was dissolved on suspicion of Mafia infiltration. 'Ndrangheta boss Gioacchino Piromalli was arrested as well along with his nephew, also named Gioacchino Piromalli, who is a lawyer. The mayors were accused of employing the younger Piromalli. Police believe the legal work was a front to enable the Piromallis to regain a slice of the business generated by Gioia Tauro, one of the largest container ports in Europe.
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
(municipality) in the province of Reggio Calabria
Province of Reggio Calabria
The Province of Reggio Calabria is a province in the Calabria region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Reggio., it has an area of 3,183 km², and a total population of 565,866. There are 97 comuni in the province, see Comuni of the Province of Reggio Calabria.- Economy :The region is...
, in Calabria
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
(Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
), on the Tyrrhenian coast
Tyrrhenian Sea
The Tyrrhenian Sea is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy.-Geography:The sea is bounded by Corsica and Sardinia , Tuscany, Lazio, Campania, Basilicata and Calabria and Sicily ....
. It has an important port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
, situated along the route connecting Suez
Suez
Suez is a seaport city in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez , near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same boundaries as Suez governorate. It has three harbors, Adabya, Ain Sokhna and Port Tawfiq, and extensive port facilities...
to Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
, one of the busiest maritime corridors in the world.
History
In the 1970s Gioia Tauro had to be the main centre for industrial development in Southern Italy, following a burst of violence in Reggio CalabriaReggio Calabria
Reggio di Calabria , commonly known as Reggio Calabria or Reggio, is the biggest city and the most populated comune of Calabria, southern Italy, and is the capital of the Province of Reggio Calabria and seat of the Council of Calabrian government.Reggio is located on the "toe" of the Italian...
in 1970, signaling frustration over neglect by the central government of the region. The construction of a large steel plant and port facility was meant to bring income and jobs to Calabria. Until then Gioia Tauro had been a productive and beautiful agricultural area. Profitable farms and olive groves were expropriated and demolished.
The 'Ndrangheta, a 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...
-type criminal organisation based in Calabria, and in particular the Piromalli clan
Piromalli 'ndrina
The Piromalli 'ndrina is one of the most powerful clans of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria, Italy. The 'ndrina is based in Gioia Tauro on the Tyrrhenian coast. The Piromalli's are allied with their relatives of the Molè family, also from Gioia Tauro. Often they...
, exploited the construction of the steelworks until the project was abandoned in 1979 when the crisis in the steel industry could no longer be ignored and the government decided there was no economic base for it. In the meantime some 1,000 people were killed in conflicts over construction contracts. For a while the homicide rate of Gioia Tauro, with a population of about 17,000 at the time, was higher than New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Then it was the turn of the energy project, but the great electrical energy power station was never built, due to environmental problems. Gioia Tauro became a grand example of failure which characterized much of the development of Italy’s South as "industrialisation without development."
Gioia Tauro seaport
The seaport has seven loading docks with an extension of 4,646 metres; it is the largest in Italy and the seventh largest containerContainerization
Containerization is a system of freight transport based on a range of steel intermodal containers...
port in Europe, with a 2007 throughput of 's from more than 3,000 ships.
The seaport represents more than a third (2002) of the whole national traffic and is specialised in transhipment
Transshipment
Transshipment or Transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, and then from there to yet another destination....
activities, taking the place of the Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
seaport as the node for overseas traffic from/to USA and from/to the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
.
The Medcenter Container Terminal
Container terminal
A container terminal is a facility where cargo containers are transshipped between different transport vehicles, for onward transportation. The transshipment may be between container ships and land vehicles, for example trains or trucks, in which case the terminal is described as a maritime...
(Medcenter, Contship
Contship Containerlines
Contship Containerlines was a global container carrier operating from 1969 to 2005 in the India/Pakistan, Levant, Australia/New Zealand, South America and Asia trade, mainly to and from Europe....
) is the main operator working within the seaport of Gioia Tauro.
'Ndrangheta control of port
According to a 2006 report, Italian investigators estimate that 80% of Europe's cocaineCocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
arrives from Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
via Gioia Tauro's docks. The port is also involved in the illegal arms trade
Arms industry
The arms industry is a global industry and business which manufactures and sells weapons and military technology and equipment. It comprises government and commercial industry involved in research, development, production, and service of military material, equipment and facilities...
. These activities are controlled by the 'Ndrangheta. However, according to a report of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction
European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction
The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction is an agency of the European Union. Established in 1993, the EMCDDA is located in Lisbon, Portugal.-Mission and role:...
(EMCDDA) and Europol
Europol
Europol is the European Union's criminal intelligence agency. It became fully operational on 1 July 1999....
, the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
is considered the main entry point for cocaine into Europe and a gateway to the European market.
The Piromalli
Piromalli 'ndrina
The Piromalli 'ndrina is one of the most powerful clans of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria, Italy. The 'ndrina is based in Gioia Tauro on the Tyrrhenian coast. The Piromalli's are allied with their relatives of the Molè family, also from Gioia Tauro. Often they...
-Molè
Girolamo Molè
Girolamo Molè , also known as Mommo, is an Italian criminal and a member of the 'Ndrangheta in Calabria. He is currently serving several life sentences....
clan managed to condition the management of the new container terminal. Established in the mid-1990s, it became the largest terminal in the Mediterranean, moving over 2 million containers in 1998. Since 1994, when Contship Italia
Contship Containerlines
Contship Containerlines was a global container carrier operating from 1969 to 2005 in the India/Pakistan, Levant, Australia/New Zealand, South America and Asia trade, mainly to and from Europe....
rented the port area to start transshipment activity and the Medcenter Container Terminal was set up thanks to 138 billion lire (about US$86 million) in state financing, the Piromalli’s aimed to oblige the Medcenter company, through its vice president Walter Lugli, and the Contship company, through its president Enrico Ravano, to pay a kickback of US$1.50 for each transshipped container, a sum which corresponded to about half the net profits earned by the two companies.
In February 2008 the parliamentary Antimafia Commission
Antimafia Commission
The Italian Antimafia Commission is a bicameral commission of the Italian Parliament, composed of members from the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate . The Antimafia Commission is a commission of inquiry into, initially, the “phenomenon of the Mafia”...
concluded that the ‘Ndrangheta “controls or influences a large part of the economic activity around the port and uses the facility as a base for illegal trafficking.” In its report it said that “the entire gamma of internal or sub-contracted activities is mafia-influenced, from the management of distribution and forwarding to customs control and container storage.” The extortion of Ravano and Contship, was part of a project that “did not involve simply this security tax, which grew with the port, but also control of activities tied to the port, the hiring of workers, and relations with port unions and local institutions,” the report added. “It effectively eliminated legitimate competition from companies not influenced or controlled by the mafia in providing goods and services, performing construction work and hiring personnel. And it threw a shadow over the behaviour of local government and other public bodies.”
'Ndrangheta infiltration of city council
The city councilCity council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
of Gioia Tauro was dissolved in 1991 because of infiltration by the 'Ndrangheta. In April 2008, it was dissolved for the second time for the same reason. The town is home to several 'ndrine, such as the Alvaro, Mammoliti
Mammoliti 'ndrina
The Mammoliti 'ndrina is a powerful clan of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria, Italy. The 'ndrina is based in Castellace and Oppido Mamertina in the plain of Gioia Tauro in southern Calabria on the Tyrrhenian coast. The clan is considered to be one of the more...
, Molè and Piromalli families.
Gioia Tauro's former mayor and deputy mayor, Giorgio Dal Torrione, and Rosario Schiavone, were arrested on Mafia charges, on October 13, 2008. Both had been forced to step down in April when the city council was dissolved on suspicion of Mafia infiltration. 'Ndrangheta boss Gioacchino Piromalli was arrested as well along with his nephew, also named Gioacchino Piromalli, who is a lawyer. The mayors were accused of employing the younger Piromalli. Police believe the legal work was a front to enable the Piromallis to regain a slice of the business generated by Gioia Tauro, one of the largest container ports in Europe.
Winds
- SiroccoSiroccoSirocco, scirocco, , jugo or, rarely, siroc is a Mediterranean wind that comes from the Sahara and reaches hurricane speeds in North Africa and Southern Europe. It is known in North Africa by the Arabic word qibli or ghibli Sirocco, scirocco, , jugo or, rarely, siroc is a Mediterranean wind...
, a hot dry wind originating in the desert of Sahara (from South-East); - LibeccioLibeccioThe libeccio is the westerly or south-westerly wind which predominates in northern Corsica all year round; it frequently raises high seas and may give violent westerly squalls. In summer it is most persistent, but in winter it alternates with the Tramontane...
, very dangerous for shippers (to be avoided - from South-West); - MistralMistral (wind)The mistral is a strong, cold and usually dry regional wind in France, coming from the north or northwest, which accelerates when it passes through the valleys of the Rhone and the Durance Rivers to the coast of the Mediterranean around the Camargue region. It affects the northeast of the plain...
(Ponente), the predominant and quiet wind (from North-West).