Stidda
Encyclopedia
La Stidda is a name for Mafia
-type criminal organizations centered in Gela
, Sicily
, in Italy
. Members are known as stiddari or stiddaroli. It is most active in the rural parts of southern Sicily and is partially a rival to Cosa Nostra. Apparently some members tattoo
ed a star on their bodies.
Little is known of the origins of the organization, though it is believed to have come about in a similar fashion to the Mafia, in the same rural environment of Sicily. Unlike the Mafia, however, the Stidda was mostly rural and low-profile until the 1980s, when it became somewhat more expansionist and started moving into the cities, bringing the two Sicilian groups into competition with one another. It differs from the Mafia by the fact that it is not based on an honor system but is interested only in criminal activities and the resulting profits.
The Stidda came into public view when Cosa Nostra pentito
Francesco Marino Mannoia
spoke about it in 1989. Later another Mafia member Leonardo Messina
told his own view. According to their testimonies, Stidda is an organisation that was founded by former members of the Cosa Nostra during the Second Mafia War
of the early 1980s. They had been expelled due to disobedience or, in a couple of cases, even marrying a relative of a police officer. Many of the original stiddari were followers of the murdered Mafia-boss Giuseppe Di Cristina
.
The Stidda was particularly strong in southern Sicily around the towns of Agrigento
, Caltanissetta
and Gela
. The original leaders of the Stidda were Giuseppe Croce Benvenuto and Salvatore Calafato. A dynamite bomb later killed Stidda boss Calogero Lauria. They were involved a more direct war with the Mafia in the early 1990s. The vicious war led to over 300 deaths.
Stidda is not a tight organization and many gangs ("clans") operate relatively independently. They ally with each other or even the local chapter of Cosa Nostra. They have similar rituals and rules. There is also a membership tattoo. Older members use a needle and black and blue ink to carve a five-pointed star on the initiate's right hand between the thumb and index finger. This tattoo is known as stiddari.
Stidda gangs exist in Agrigento
province and in Milan
, Genoa
, Trieste
and Turin
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 organizations centered in Gela
Gela
Gela is a town and comune in the province of Caltanissetta in the south of Sicily, Italy. The city is at about 84 kilometers distance from the city of Caltanissetta, on the Mediterranean Sea. The city has a larger population than the provincial capital, and ranks second in land area.Gela is an...
, Sicily
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,...
, in 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...
. Members are known as stiddari or stiddaroli. It is most active in the rural parts of southern Sicily and is partially a rival to Cosa Nostra. Apparently some members tattoo
Tattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
ed a star on their bodies.
Little is known of the origins of the organization, though it is believed to have come about in a similar fashion to the Mafia, in the same rural environment of Sicily. Unlike the Mafia, however, the Stidda was mostly rural and low-profile until the 1980s, when it became somewhat more expansionist and started moving into the cities, bringing the two Sicilian groups into competition with one another. It differs from the Mafia by the fact that it is not based on an honor system but is interested only in criminal activities and the resulting profits.
The Stidda came into public view when Cosa Nostra pentito
Pentito
Pentito designates people in Italy who, formerly part of criminal or terrorist organizations, following their arrests decide to "repent" and collaborate with the judicial system to help investigations...
Francesco Marino Mannoia
Francesco Marino Mannoia
Francesco Marino Mannoia is a former member of the Sicilian Mafia who became a pentito in 1989. His nickname was Mozzarella. He is considered to be one of the most reliable government witnesses against the Mafia...
spoke about it in 1989. Later another Mafia member Leonardo Messina
Leonardo Messina
Leonardo "Narduzzo" Messina is a former Sicilian mafioso who became a government informant or "pentito" in 1992. His testimony led to the arrest of over 200 mafiosi during the so-called "Operation Leopard"...
told his own view. According to their testimonies, Stidda is an organisation that was founded by former members of the Cosa Nostra during the Second Mafia War
Second Mafia War
The Second Mafia War was a conflict within the Sicilian Mafia, mostly taking place in the early 1980s. As with any criminal organization, the history of the Sicilian Mafia is replete with conflicts and power struggles, and the violence that results from them, but these are generally localised and...
of the early 1980s. They had been expelled due to disobedience or, in a couple of cases, even marrying a relative of a police officer. Many of the original stiddari were followers of the murdered Mafia-boss Giuseppe Di Cristina
Giuseppe Di Cristina
Giuseppe Di Cristina was a powerful mafioso from Riesi in the province of Caltanissetta, Sicily, southern Italy...
.
The Stidda was particularly strong in southern Sicily around the towns of Agrigento
Agrigento
Agrigento , is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy, and capital of the province of Agrigento. It is renowned as the site of the ancient Greek city of Akragas , one of the leading cities of Magna Graecia during the golden...
, Caltanissetta
Caltanissetta
Caltanissetta is a city and comune located on the western interior of Sicily, capital of the province of Caltanissetta...
and Gela
Gela
Gela is a town and comune in the province of Caltanissetta in the south of Sicily, Italy. The city is at about 84 kilometers distance from the city of Caltanissetta, on the Mediterranean Sea. The city has a larger population than the provincial capital, and ranks second in land area.Gela is an...
. The original leaders of the Stidda were Giuseppe Croce Benvenuto and Salvatore Calafato. A dynamite bomb later killed Stidda boss Calogero Lauria. They were involved a more direct war with the Mafia in the early 1990s. The vicious war led to over 300 deaths.
Stidda is not a tight organization and many gangs ("clans") operate relatively independently. They ally with each other or even the local chapter of Cosa Nostra. They have similar rituals and rules. There is also a membership tattoo. Older members use a needle and black and blue ink to carve a five-pointed star on the initiate's right hand between the thumb and index finger. This tattoo is known as stiddari.
Stidda gangs exist in Agrigento
Agrigento
Agrigento , is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy, and capital of the province of Agrigento. It is renowned as the site of the ancient Greek city of Akragas , one of the leading cities of Magna Graecia during the golden...
province and in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
and Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...