Buried in concrete: how the mafia made a killing from the destruction of Italy's south

[Judi Lynn]

The south of the country bears the scars of how bosses enriched their clans with illegal, brutalist buildings and gaudy, now decaying, villas

Roberto Saviano and Lorenzo Tondo
Sun 25 Jul 2021 04.00 EDT

If you ask Maurizio Carta what the mafia looks like, he will take you to the residential areas of the Sicilian capital of Palermo. There, hundreds of desolate, nondescript grey apartment blocks scar the suburbs and a vast part of the historic centre.

It is the result of a building frenzy of the 1960s and 1970s, when Vito Ciancimino, a mobster from the violent Corleonesi clan, ordered the demolition of splendid art nouveau mansions to make space for brutalist tower blocks, covering vast natural and garden areas with tonnes of concrete. It is one of the darkest chapters in the postwar urbanisation of Sicily, and would go down in history as the “sack of Palermo”.

The Sicilian mafia had declared that urban planning in Palermo was to be controlled by Ciancimino, who in 1959 was nominated head of public works by the public administration. “The word ‘sack’ was not randomly chosen to describe that period,” says Carta, professor of urban planning at Palermo University. “Like plundering barbarians, mafiosi devastated the city with cement, disfiguring its parks, landscape and natural beauty.”

Rubble from demolitions and building materials were dumped on the coast, causing the pollution of beaches, many of which remain inaccessible to swimmers today.

“With the sack of Palermo, the mafia exhibited its enormous criminal power,” says Carta. “They sent a message to the institutions, making it clear that they, the bosses, had the power to change not only the laws that regulated the urban planning projects and the shape of the city, but also the local climate.

“Palermo had been built to allow the breeze to rebound off the mountains and swirl back down to cool the city. With those towering constructions built along the coast and at the foot of the mountains, Palermo became a hot, muggy, suffocating city.”

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/25/buried-in-concrete-how-the-mafia-made-a-killing-from-the-destruction-of-italys-south

[bahboo]

1. knock them down, build something cool....

hate this shit....

[leftieNanner]

2. We went to Sicily in 2017 (remember when we used to be able to travel?)

But we avoided Palermo. Mostly spent time on the east coast and south. Ortigia was the best. Wish we had spent the entire time there.

But there were signs of the mafia down there as well.

Sicily is a beautiful place. How sad that so much damage was done to a beautiful city.

[littlemissmartypants]

3. Very interesting read. Thanks, Judi Lynn.

I had a Summer job one year of college working as a hostess in the penthouse lounge of a New Jersey high rise hotel for members of the Sicilian mafia. The pay was outstanding and I got to dress up in fancy formal clothes, wearing evening make up and high heels while basically just standing around being sweet and looking good. I've had a really interesting life.

I hope you are well and happy my friend. I really enjoy your posts. Stay encouraged. ❤