Nicola Alongi
Encyclopedia
Nicola Alongi was a Sicilian socialist leader, involved in the Fasci Siciliani
(Sicilian Leagues) a popular movement of democratic and socialist inspiration in 1891-1894. He was killed by the Mafia
.
in 1893 following the example of Bernardino Verro
in the neighbouring town of Corleone
.
In the early 20th century, with the agrarian strike in 1901 and the resumption of struggle for land reform, he joined other peasant leaders like Verro and Lorenzo Panepinto
from Santo Stefano Quisquina
with whom he designed a change of strategy of political struggle, aiming to organise peasants in collective leaseholds through cooperatives and agricultural banks, to reduce dependence on the leaseholders (gabelloto
) of the large rural estates.
After the murders of Panepinto in 1911 and Verro in 1915, he became the leader of the peasant movement in the region and built a solid political and human relationship with Giovanni Orcel, leader of the metalworkers in Palermo
. They theorized the need for unity between peasants and industrial workers for social change even before Antonio Gramsci
, one of the most important Marxist thinkers of the twentieth century.
, 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. Social tension began to rise across the country, known as the biennio rosso
(red biennium – 1919-1920), and the government feared that the Soviet revolution could be extended to Italy.
To counter this situation, the government of Francesco Saverio Nitti
issued the Visocchi-decree in 1919, followed by the Falcioni-decree in 1920, which allowed the granting of ill-cultivated and uncultivated land to cooperatives formed by war veterans. For the first time the State gave landless peasants the necessary legal instruments to claim the right to land, despite the ambiguities and red tape.
Throughout the country cooperatives were established to apply for land to cultivate. In Corleone and Prizzi cooperatives were created thanks to socialist leaders like Alongi and Vincenzo Schillaci. In Prizzi, Alongi was the animator of the cooperative "The Proletarian" that was opposed by a cooperative set up by Mafia boss Silvestre "Sisì" Gristina, the brother of the mayor of Prizzi, Epifanio Gristina. Gristina attempted to block the push for renewal that Alongi and his group carried out intimidating and infiltrating the peasant movement. When this attempt failed, the local landowners went the hard way to stop the socialists.
The reaction to the social upheaval came from the Mafia. Mafia boss Gristina first ordered the murder of Alongi’s friend and pupil, Giuseppe Rumore, secretary of the Lega di miglioramento (League of improvement) in Prizzi on September 22, 1919. Alongi, considered already "a dead man on leave," did not change the programme of land tenure. On February 29, 1920, he was shot and killed in Prizzi at the orders of Gristina.
On October 14, 1920, Alongi’s ally Giovanni Orcel was killed as well. With the killing of Orcel and Alongi, the undisputed leaders of the union movement Sicilian, the "red biennium" in Sicily was repressed. The advent of Fascism
the following years definitively ended the period of agitation. The story of the murders of Alongi and Orcel had its ending January 21, 1921, with the killing of the man who is regarded as the principal behind the killings, Silvestre Gristina. His murder is still unsolved and is considered to be a case of "proletarian justice".
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...
(Sicilian Leagues) a popular movement of democratic and socialist inspiration in 1891-1894. He was killed by the 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...
.
Socialist leader
With Giuseppe Marò and Salvatore Tortorici, he was one of the founders of the Fasci in PrizziPrizzi
Prizzi is a town and comune of 5,711 inhabitants in the Italian province of Palermo, on the island of Sicily. It is located south of the city of Palermo at an altitude of 696 m above sea level on a hill in the upper valley of the River Sosio...
in 1893 following the example of Bernardino Verro
Bernardino Verro
Bernardino Verro was a Sicilian sindicalist and politician. He was involved in the Fasci Siciliani a popular movement of democratic and socialist inspiration in 1891-1894, and became the first socialist mayor of Corleone...
in the neighbouring town of Corleone
Corleone
Corleone is a small town and comune of approximately 12,000 inhabitants in the Province of Palermo in Sicily, Italy....
.
In the early 20th century, with the agrarian strike in 1901 and the resumption of struggle for land reform, he joined other peasant leaders like Verro and Lorenzo Panepinto
Lorenzo Panepinto
Lorenzo Panepinto was an Italian politician and teacher. He was the founder of the Fascio dei lavoratori in his hometown Santo Stefano Quisquina, editor of the newspaper La Plebe and member of the Comitato della Federazione Regionale Socialista...
from Santo Stefano Quisquina
Santo Stefano Quisquina
Santo Stefano Quisquina is a comune in the Province of Agrigento in the Italian region Sicily, located about 60 km south of Palermo and about 35 km north of Agrigento...
with whom he designed a change of strategy of political struggle, aiming to organise peasants in collective leaseholds through cooperatives and agricultural banks, to reduce dependence on the leaseholders (gabelloto
Gabelloto
In Sicily, a gabelloto was a person who rented farmland for short-term use. They were rural entrepreneurs who leased the lands from aristocrats more attracted to the comforts of the city.Many gabelloti were associated with, if not members of, the Mafia...
) of the large rural estates.
After the murders of Panepinto in 1911 and Verro in 1915, he became the leader of the peasant movement in the region and built a solid political and human relationship with Giovanni Orcel, leader of the metalworkers in Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
. They theorized the need for unity between peasants and industrial workers for social change even before Antonio Gramsci
Antonio Gramsci
Antonio Gramsci was an Italian writer, politician, political philosopher, and linguist. He was a founding member and onetime leader of the Communist Party of Italy and was imprisoned by Benito Mussolini's Fascist regime...
, one of the most important Marxist thinkers of the twentieth century.
Biennio rosso
After 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...
, 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. 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), and the government feared that the Soviet revolution could be extended to Italy.
To counter this situation, the government of Francesco Saverio Nitti
Francesco Saverio Nitti
Francesco Saverio Vincenzo de Paola Nitti was an Italian economist and political figure. A Radical, he served as the 36th Prime Minister of Italy between 1919 and 1920....
issued the Visocchi-decree in 1919, followed by the Falcioni-decree in 1920, which allowed the granting of ill-cultivated and uncultivated land to cooperatives formed by war veterans. For the first time the State gave landless peasants the necessary legal instruments to claim the right to land, despite the ambiguities and red tape.
Throughout the country cooperatives were established to apply for land to cultivate. In Corleone and Prizzi cooperatives were created thanks to socialist leaders like Alongi and Vincenzo Schillaci. In Prizzi, Alongi was the animator of the cooperative "The Proletarian" that was opposed by a cooperative set up by Mafia boss Silvestre "Sisì" Gristina, the brother of the mayor of Prizzi, Epifanio Gristina. Gristina attempted to block the push for renewal that Alongi and his group carried out intimidating and infiltrating the peasant movement. When this attempt failed, the local landowners went the hard way to stop the socialists.
Murder
In August 1919, the alliance between peasant and workers promoted by Alongi and Orcel, materialized when peasants in the area of Corleone and Prizzi began a strike, claiming not only the improvement of wages, but radical legislation that would lead to agrarian reform. Orcel and other socialist leaders supported this position by organizing a national rally in Palermo to support the agitation of the peasants in Sicily and the expropriation of land.The reaction to the social upheaval came from the Mafia. Mafia boss Gristina first ordered the murder of Alongi’s friend and pupil, Giuseppe Rumore, secretary of the Lega di miglioramento (League of improvement) in Prizzi on September 22, 1919. Alongi, considered already "a dead man on leave," did not change the programme of land tenure. On February 29, 1920, he was shot and killed in Prizzi at the orders of Gristina.
On October 14, 1920, Alongi’s ally Giovanni Orcel was killed as well. With the killing of Orcel and Alongi, the undisputed leaders of the union movement Sicilian, the "red biennium" in Sicily was repressed. The advent of Fascism
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...
the following years definitively ended the period of agitation. The story of the murders of Alongi and Orcel had its ending January 21, 1921, with the killing of the man who is regarded as the principal behind the killings, Silvestre Gristina. His murder is still unsolved and is considered to be a case of "proletarian justice".
Biography
- Marino, Giuseppe Carlo (1997), Vita politica e martirio di Nicola Alongi, contadino socialista, Palermo: Edizioni Novecento