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Georgo� li, a street a massacreRita Borsellino Lisa ClarkPreface Translation

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Saverio TommaSi

Georgofili,

a street, a massacre

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Georgofili, a street, a massacre

Interactive English translation.

Dear English-language reader,I have done my best to provide a translation of this text. Obviously, for those who know little about Italian recent history, some parts may be difficult to understand. The aim of the English version, however, is to be of use especially to those who know little about Italy (most of the others can presumably read the text in Italian, anyway).I am asking for your help. I did not want to fill the text with footnotes, or to disrupt the rhythm and style by giving too many explanations within the text. May I ask you, our readers, to request explanations where things are not clear? And, of course, to offer suggestions as to how to make this text understandable for a broader audience. As an example here are some of the explanations I could provide:Mafioso: a mafia boss, but also simply a member of a Mafia family (Cosa Nostra, ‘Ndrangheta, etc.)Pentito: literally this means “Repentant”, but the meaning has noting to do with the religious notion of repenting one’s sins! The Italian law, guaranteeing more lenient treatment (and sometimes protection) to those who give useful information on their erstwhile accomplices, calls these collaborators “Pentiti”.41bis: the article of the Penitentiary code assigning harsher prison conditions to persons convicted of Mafia crimes.

Lisa Clark

IndroductIon

A short while after the massacre, a group of students from the Faculty of Architecture in Florence (inclu-ding my daughter) painted a mural at Santa Verdiana, on the university premises. Dario Capolicchio had been part of that group.

The mural included a quote from Her-mann Hesse, which I want to suggest as a dedication for this play. Hes-se’s words will be a tribute to all those who lost their lives, or had their lives destroyed by the bomb attack in Via dei Georgofili. It is also my way of expressing my grati-tude to Saverio, and to all those who so tenaciously are committed to finding the truth.

Giovanna Maggiani ChelliAssociation of the Families of the Victims


Where have all his drawings and designs gone?

He died young, in tragic circumstances,

and I learned of it only after he had been buried.

Often, when I think of those joyful and good years,

I can see him, standing in front me, and hear his

impassioned voice: I have the feeling that he was

the real genius amongst us.

Still today, when I am tired and about to drop, and

tempted to think that our hopes in those years were

merely dreams ... all I need to do is think of him.

And I become once again certain that we were

right, that it is better to stay faithful to yourself and

your ideals, to dream of a city of the future, rather

than to build houses in isolation.

Hermann Hesse

Prefaceby Rita Borsellino Member of the European Parliament)

The mission, the purpose of this play

is declared quite clearly by Save-

rio Tommasi. It is the “effort to

remember”. The effort, I would add,

to transform memory into future, to

make it into something that belongs

to us, a common heritage that we can

fight for. To demand that the truth

be finally uncovered. And also the

effort “to connect the dots, link up

all the facts and the data,” as Sa-

verio writes. “Not allow anyone to

put us to sleep by their careful

stage-management of memories, with

all their disinformation, partial

reconstructions, half truths, big

lies, ...”

The truth which we are still seeking,

putting together facts and events,


is the truth about the massacre on

Via dei Georgofili, in Florence, on

27 May 1993. But the very title of

this booklet, “A Street, A Massa-

cre,” suggests all the other stre-

ets, all the other massacres per-

petrated in Italy over the years.

Saverio goes over these, pointing to

the red line that links them all to

each other, in different places and

times in our country: the common ele-

ment is that no one has ever found

the truth on who commissioned these

crimes. So, while we talk about Via

dei Georgofili, we are also talking

about Via D’Amelio, and also about

Piazza Fontana, Via Fauro in Rome,

Piazza San Giovanni ... A sequen-

ce of violent attacks about which

we still do not know the truth. The

evidence collected by years of Pro-

secutors’ investigations has shown

links to the Free Masons, to obscure

Preface

elements in the secret services, to

rightwing terror groups, to the Red

Brigades. Each of these links has

appeared on the horizon, and then

disappeared. Constantly, over the

years. Like a curse, throughout our

20th century history: “from Portella

delle Ginestre to the Bologna Rail-

way Station, to Genova, Milan, Rome,

Brescia, etc.”

Saverio’s style is gripping. He has

put together the words of witnesses,

extracts from trial documents, new-

spaper articles. He reconstructs and

presents to his audience a vision of

Italy with all her mysteries: from

the Mafia bosses’ papello, delivered

to 39 members of Parliament – none

of whom has ever confirmed having re-

ceived it – to the disappearance of

Paolo Borsellino’s red diary, to the

terror attacks that failed, to the

hypothesis of a coup d’état to in-


state a dictatorial regime in Italy

or, as Pietro Mannoia would have it,

“to separate Sicily from Italy, cre-

ating an independent State.”

The narrator blends wisdom and iro-

ny, provides the audience with evi-

dence on crucial elements of the in-

vestigation, as well as information

on the Prosecutor who worked himself

to death on this case, Gabriele Che-

lazzi. But he also assigns each one

of us a task. To keep the tension

high, to demand that the truth be

found, uncovering all those hidden

facts that buried our First Republic

and on which the Second is founded.

To heal the wounds of our country.

To be able to truly start building

our future.

Saverio Tommasi

THE ACTOR IS ALONE ON STAGE. TO HIS RIGHT, A TABLE WITH A GLASS OF WINE

MUSIC

“Incontrovertible logical arguments lead us

to conclude that the criminal actions that are the

object of this trial were thought up and decided

by persons who were organically included in the

criminal organization known as ‘cosa nostra’.

DISSONANT CHORDS ON A GUITAR

In particular, the persons belonging to this orga-

nization who are to be considered responsible for this

massacre are: Salvatore Riina, Bernardo Provenza-

no, Leoluca Bagarella, Matteo Messina Denaro, Gio-

vanni Brusca, Giuseppe Graviano, Filippo Graviano

and, only partially, Giuseppe Ferro.”

THE ACTOR SWIRLS THE WINE AROUND IN THE GLASS, LOOKING AT IT INTENTLY. WHEN THE MUSIC ENDS HE DRINKS THE WINE AND PLACES THE GLASS ON THE TABLE

12

GeorGofIlI, a street, a massacre

From the verdict of the Court of First Instance

in Florence.

This evening I shall try to recount to you a pie-

ce of Italian history. Actually, I shall be obliged to

tell you only a part of a part of this history, since

time is limited and I shall not be able to share

everything with you. Time is tyrant and many

parts of the story will remain untold. Actually, I

shall be forced to recount only a piece of a pie-

ce of the story, since we do not know the entire

truth. There are parts of the truth - and we do not

even know how large those parts are - that are

still unknown to us.

The story will take about an hour.

Diego, Giacomo and Lorenzo have composed

the music that will accompany our story. BLUES MUSIC. THE ACTOR POURS MORE WINE INTO THE GLASS

13

Saverio Tommasi

It may not be necessary to ask, but I shall do

so nonetheless. I ask you to listen to the story in

silence, trying to grasp the details and the nuan-

ces. Turn off your cell phone, if you have one.

We shall give you an overview: the historical pe-

riod, the massacres of 1993-’94. And we shall con-

centrate on the massacre in Via dei Georgofili.

MUSIC. THE ACTOR ROLLS UP HIS SHIRTSLEEVES

Let’s start with a name: Gabriele Chelazzi

(who?). The prosecutor investigating the massa-

cre in Via dei Georgofili. He said he was satisfied

with the verdict – I just quoted a piece from it –

and he said this also in his hearing in front of the

Parliamentary Anti-Mafia Committee.

“As far as the organization, the preparations

and the execution of the massacre is concerned;

14


and also as far as the involvement of Cosa Nostra

is concerned: I believe that all those responsible

have been identified, one by one.”

GUITAR MUSIC

Chelazzi was a man who loved his work. The

last ten years of his life were spent, in his own

words, living “on bread and massacres”. That is

not a rhetorical statement: he died of overwork,

of fatigue.

GUITAR MUSIC

Giovanna Maggiani Chelli, Vicepresident of

the Association of the Families of the Victims of

the Via dei Georgofili Massacre, in a public mee-

ting in Genova revealed that in October 1997 Pro-

secutor Chelazzi confessed that he had not given

her any answers. In other words, he said that he

had succeeded in getting the material executors

15

Saverio Tommasi

of the massacre convicted. But, he added, they

were merely the men caught with the smoking

gun. In other words, they were the front line, the

ones easiest to catch and convict. That was not

a private confession, since Gabriele Chelazzi also

stated in public:

“Our main objective must be to establish the

motives ...”

THE ACTOR STOPS, STARES AT THE AUDIENCE AND REPEATS

What did I just say? “The motives”!

HE CONTINUES QUOTING FROM CHELAZZI:

“... the motives behind these massacres: what

is usually called the causal element. This still ne-

eds to be understood. We must delve deeper, to

understand how these motives dictated that cer-

tain targets be hit and not others, that the massa-

16


cres be perpetrated not in Sicily but outside Sicily.

These details may appear of minor importance,

but since they are the motives behind massacres

none of them are of minor importance or insigni-

ficant. We need to learn why, in some instances,

only a few days passed between one incident and

the next; whereas much longer periods went by

between other events. Why the attacks that fai-

led were not re-attempted. And, further, why all

of a sudden the massacres came to an end.”

The causal element, that’s what we’ve got to

determine. The causal element.

ROCK MUSIC

Salvatore Cancemi, who collaborated with

investigators, was being questioned on 8 March

1994. He stated: “When Gangi told me about

contacts that Riina had with important people,

17

Saverio Tommasi

there was no doubt that these important pe-

ople were outside Cosa Nostra, since obviou-

sly the most important person inside Cosa No-

stra was Riina himself, along with Provenzano.”

And he continued:

“Cosa Nostra does not have the sophistication

needed to plant a car bomb such as the one used

in Florence: I am fully convinced that the target in

Florece, like the others, was suggested by people

outside Cosa Nostra.”

And Piero, too, was convinced of this. Piero,

who? Luigi, who? Vigna (Piero Luigi Vigna). Piero

is not another former mafioso collaborating with

the investigators! Piero Luigi Vigna is the National

Anti-Mafia Prosecutor. In his opinion, “the Mafia

18


had become a partner in a project devised and

managed in collaboration with a different, and

more sophisticated and widespread criminal po-

wer.” Which he called “integrated criminal po-

wer”.

“The investigators,” said Vigna, “have noticed

that very sophisticated evaluations of the effects

of a terror campaign – as well as the exploitation

of psychological conditioning deriving from such a

campaign – do not appear likely to be the product

of the mindset of a Mafia criminal. These opera-

tions of analysis and assessment reveal clearly a

knowledge of the dynamics and mechanisms of

mass media, and an ability to read the mood of

political spheres and interpret their signals. One

might think of a horizontal aggregation, in which

each component is a stakeholder for a specific

19

Saverio Tommasi

sector within a more complex partnership, and in

which different goals converge.”

On 12 June 1996 Judge Giuseppe Soresi-

na said: “Clearly, behind those massacres there

must have been brains with greater intelligence

and sophistication than Mafia mobsters ...”

Yes! He really said so.

Judge Soresina really appears to have got it

right: the Accademia dei Georgofili, just like the

Church of San Giorgio al Velabro in Rome, is a

highly sophisticated target even for a top level

Mafia boss like Giovanni Brusca. Just to give you

an example: when referring to Piazza della Signo-

ria, Brusca described it as “that square full of old

statues.”

20


GUITAR

Even the Court of Appeals described the con-

victed Mafia bosses as uncouth and ignorant, and

Totò Riina as a man with a low IQ. DISSONANT SOUND

Prosecutors Gabriele Chelazzi and Giuseppe

Nicolosi explained: “The object of the terror cam-

paign was to influence and steer the history of

this country. This verdict provides a starting point.

We have never stopped working, aiming at iden-

tifying what lies beyond these convicted criminals

and this organization.”

MUSIC

Why do the two Prosecutors speak of a terror

campaign?

Because there was not only one massacre, but

21

Saverio Tommasi

several. Some succeeded, some failed. Seven in

all. Between 1993 and 1994. And two in 1992:

Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, magistra-

tes of the highest moral calibre.

Massacres surrounded by myriad smaller epi-

sodes, warnings. 1993: let’s start our war bulle-

tin, because that is what it is.

MUSIC. FOLLOWING THE TEMPO, THE ACTOR DECLAMES.

14 May 1993. Rome. A car bomb explodes in

Via Fauro. The intended target is the journalist

Maurizio Costanzo. 24 injured.

Thirteen days later, 27 May 1993, Florence.

250 kilos of dynamite explode in Via dei Georgo-

fili. 5 killed and 48 injured. We will come back to

this event, later this evening.

22


Two months later, 27 July 1993, Milan. 5 killed

and 12 injured.

On the same day, 27 July 1993, Rome. A car

bomb detonates in Piazza San Giovanni in Late-

rano, 22 injured.

Just a few minutes later, after midnight, so it

is 28 July 1993, Rome. A car bomb explodes near

the Church of San Giorgio al Velabro.

Grand total: 10 persons killed, 106 injured.

Buildings reduced to a mass of rubble, roofs

collapsed, houses no longer inhabitable. Incalcu-

lable damage. Incalculable injuries, especially the

emotional wounds, the loss of loved ones.

THE ACTOR RAISES HIS GLASS, THEN SLOWLY POURS THE WINE ONTO THE GROUND. THE MUSIC STOPS

The First Instance Court also identified a fai-

led attack against the Olympic Stadium in Rome.

23

Saverio Tommasi

Listen carefully.

31 October 1993: a car bomb was set to go

off at the end of the Lazio-Udinese football match,

near some buses that were carrying the Carabi-

nieri to police the event. 60 Carabinieri’s lives –

presumably – were spared.

And another attack also failed, on 14 April 1994,

in Formello, near Rome. The target was Salvatore

Contorno, a mafioso who was collaborating with the

investigators, a pentito. Heard of him? Contorno is

the pentito par excellence, the Mafia has so far killed

twenty members of his family.

(NINETEEN DRUMBEATS, THE ACTOR COUNTS THEM, SHOUTING)

one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight,

nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thriteen, fourteen, fif-

24


teen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen

(CYMBALS CRASH)

twenty!

Public Prosecutor Gabriele Chelazzi thought

that these terror attacks shared another element

in common: they were international. SOFTLY, ALMOST AS THOUGH EXCUSING HIMSELF

Not because a Moroccan citizen was killed in

the attack in Via Palestro in Milan, or because an

Indonesian citizen and an Egyptian were injured

in Via Fauro. No. And not even because a French

citizen was injured in Via dei Georgofili, an Argen-

tinian and a Brazilian were wounded in Via Pale-

stro, or because a Belgian and a Dutchman were

wounded in the church massacres.

25

Saverio Tommasi

At least, not only because of this.

THE ACTOR’S TONE BECOMES HARSHER, ALMOST ANGRY

International, Supranational, because as well

as targeting human beings – taking their lives –

the attacks caused irreparable damage also to the

world’s cultural heritage. The 250 kilos of dynami-

te detonated in Via dei Georgofili, in that narrow

street, caused an explosion of such violence ...

(THREE DRUMBEATS STRESSING THE SYLLABLES VI-OL-ENCE, WITH THE ACTOR STOMPING HIS FOOT ON THE GROUND)

... that three paintings in the nearby Uffizi Gal-

lery were damaged beyond repair:

(SWEET MUSIC, THE ACTOR RELAXES, MODULATES HIS VOI-CE, DESCRIBES THE PAINTINGS)

Bartolomeo Manfredi’s ‘The Concert’ and ‘The

Card Players’, in the first room of the Vasari Cor-

ridor (remember them?); and ‘The Adoration of

26


the Shepherds’ by the Dutch artist Gerrit van

Honthorst, whom the Florentines called Gherar-

do delle Notti, on the main stairway of the Vasari

Corridor.

In 2003 expert restorers attempted to repair

the canvas: they decided to leave the lost sections

untouched – almost two thirds of the painting. Ir-

reparable damage, to remain visible for posterity,

as a Memento. The same was done for Bartolo-

meo di Manfredi’s ‘The Concert’, only a few frag-

ments of which have survived.

DISSONANT SOUNDS

In Florence 173 paintings were damaged by

the explosion, as well as 42 busts and 16 statues.

And in Milan, damage to the Contemporary Art

Pavilion and the Gallery of Modern Art. More.

SHORT PIECE OF MUSIC

27

Saverio Tommasi

Intenational, Supranational, because attacks

against the symbols and sanctuaries of a religion

– any religion – are attacks against humanity as

a whole. I am thinking of the attacks against the

Roman churches of San Giorgio al Velabro and

the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano, with da-

mage caused to the architectural structure, even

affecting the nearby Palazzo Lateranense. Art is

part of world heritage; so is the spiritual dimen-

sion of place of worship. There can be no private

ownership, nor any national ownership, of Histo-

ry, which by definition is history of humanity as a

whole, and every human life is obviously part of

humanity, in itself intrinsecally a work of art (and

a work of the Spirit, if you are a believer): THE MARTINELLA RINGS OUT, SIX TIMES; THE ACTOR, KNE-ELING, FILLS HIS GLASS

In Florence, every year on 27 May, at exactly

28


1.04 a.m., the Martinella rings out. It is a bell. The

same bell that rang out, summoning all Florenti-

nes onto the streets when the Nazis took over the

Ponte Vecchio. Thanks to the Martinella many –

so many! – citizens rallied together to withstand

the invaders.

Since the massacre it has rung out every year,

lest we forget ...

THE ACTOR WALKS ACROSS THE STAGE AND LOOKS AT THE AUDIENCE, SPEAKING TO THEM ONE BY ONE, IN A DIALOGUE

How could we forget? Easy! Time slips by, we

all have a thousand little daily worries, we per-

form a natural selection on the news we hear and

remember, taking care to store away only me-

mories that are not destabilizing. Only memories

that help, that console. That’s how we get used to

war – and how! One really does get used to war!

29

Saverio Tommasi

(SHORT MILITARY MARCH, WITH THE ACTOR ATTEMPTING A PARODY)

That’s what Tiziano used to tell us. Tiziano,

who? Terzani, in his last interview. And yet we

forget.

How can we remember? This is a more difficult

task. By feeling outraged, by being horrified. Not

horror before you run away, but horror together,

in our reflections, in our efforts at understanding.

Remembering, if it’s not a sterile mnemonic exer-

cise, is an effort.

To connect the dots, link up all the facts and

the data. Not allow anyone to put us to sleep by

their careful stage-management of memories,

with all their disinformation, partial reconstruc-

tions, half truths, big lies, ...

30


(MUSIC)

... “STATE SECRETS” HUSSSHHH!

(MUSIC ENDS)

For those massacres really were ugly

business. Ugly business. For some, me-

rely ‘ugly’, for others merely ‘business’.

What might happen if one morning all Ita-

lians woke up, having realized that the histo-

ry of this Republic consists of a Via Crucis of

massacres, distributed throughout the na-

tional territory? From Portella delle Ginestre

to Via dei Georgofili, from the Bologna Sta-

tion to Genova, Milan, Rome, Brescia, etc. etc.

Massacres for which, for the most part, not

even the material executors have been convic-

31

Saverio Tommasi

ted. Massacres without culprits. But with a huge

number of victims. THE ACTOR LOOKS AT THE AUDIENCE

You, too, are victims of these massacres. Do

not consider yourselves lucky, although we are

certainly luckier than all those who lost their lives

in the attacks. People who had only been christe-

ned the week before, like Caterina Nencioni, who

had not been baptized the week before because

she had suddenly converted ... but because she

was only fifty days old!

We are luckier than them, but we are equal-

ly victims. On 27 May, in Florence, we were all

attacked, in our dignity as human beings, in our

civil conscience. We are victims, too, because the

dynamite that detonated that night wanted to

32


prevent us all from living as free human beings in

a free country.

But, do not be sad. May the gravity of the si-

tuation make us all more aware, so that we can

be vigilant and ensure that this fucking country

not be devastated by more masacres. ROCK MUSIC.THE ACTOR OFFERS THE AUDIENCE A DRINK

To remain vigilant we must think about Che-

lazzi’s puzzle, or “mosaic” as he called it.

(The mosaic? What was that?) It was the me-

taphor that he used in his summing up to the jud-

ges in the first trial.

Chelazzi explained to the judges that they had

in front of them a vast frame, and that each piece

of information needed to be placed inside that fra-

me, almost like putting together a puzzle, a mo-

33

Saverio Tommasi

saic. But, for a variety of reasons, said Chelazzi,

the pieces of the puzzle could not be placed next

to each other from the beginning. They had to be

positioned in different parts of the overall picture.

As one piece of the mosaic was put in place it

would be lit up; but then, when the next one was

positioned, light would be shed on the new piece,

leaving the previous one in the dark.

The final operation, the most important one,

would be to light up the entire mosaic, checking

whether each piece had really been put in the

right place. Did everything match? The bounda-

ries, the outlines, the colours, the tones? What

figures emerged? What was the final image like,

what was the story ...

Gabriele believed this, since “an investigation

34


always starts from the bottom, from the small

clues, then it grows. The opposite never works,

never fall in love with a thesis,” he would say.

Seven massacres, surrounded by many

events, warnings.

A FEW BARS OF THE MUSIC PLAYED EARLIER

That’s what we were saying a little while ago,

remember?

Let’s start from the events themselves: this

evening they will be the first pieces in our mosaic.

We start from 5 November 1992, in Florence,

with the antecedents of the 1993 massacres.

In the Boboli Gardens, which you may know,

in an area called “Le Scesine” – which you may

not know – an artillery projectile from World War

35

Saverio Tommasi

II was found. Someone planted it there, to ensure

it was found. It was 12 cm long and 45 mm wide,

loaded with 70 grams of explosive and wrapped

up in a black sack, sealed with scotchtape. Let

me be clear on this! Unless you happen to own

a cannon to fire it with, this ammunition will be

more useful to you as a paperweight, or as an

iron. Wrapped up in a bin-liner, it was left at the

foot of the statue of Marcus Cautius, a Roman

magistrate who gave his name to cautionary re-

lease, what today we call bail on guarantee (in

Italian cauzione).

At that time not much importance was given

to the artillery shell, since no one really under-

stood its meaning. A mistake. The following year

was 1993, the year in which the Mafia devastated

the country with that terrible series of attacks.

36


The artillery projectile was taken into the Boboli

Gardens by Santo Mazzei, from Catania, a mob-

ster working for the ‘Cursoti’ who take their name

from the Corso, or main street in Catania. They

were affiliated to the Santapaola Clan. Mazzei, the

man from Catania, appeared to be a man of no

importance; during the trial they said that, when

he gave the information of where the bullet had

been left, he mumbled rather incomprehensibly,

and the threatening message was not understo-

od. They did not understand. And yet this event

was the antecedent to the 1993-’94 massacres.

When Santo Mazzei went to the foot of the

statue of Marcus Cautius, he had only just be-

come a member of Cosa Nostra, one might say

he had been affiliated especially for the task, in

July 1992, through the initiation rite knows as ‘La

37

Saverio Tommasi

Santina’.

Let me explain this rite in a few words: those

of you who already know about it will forgive me,

but I think it is interesting for the rest of you. MUSIC. THE ACTOR SPEAKS AGAINST A MUSICAL BACKGROUND

The initiation rite called ‘La Santina’ is used

by Mafia bosses (sorry, they never use the word

‘Mafia’, only the expression Cosa Nostra) to affi-

liate a new member, who thus becomes ‘a man

of honour’.

The rite varies from province to province and,

if needed, can be shortened. But usually – always

– at the moment of the initiation the candidate (or

candidates) is led to an isolated room, in the pre-

sence of the representative of the Family and of

other ordinary ‘men of honour’. The latter are lined

38


up on one side, while the candidates for initiation

are on the other. On some occasions the candida-

tes are locked up for several hours beforehand in

a room and only allowed out one at a time.

When they are led to the presence of the

Family representative, they are given by him a

detailed explanation of the rules governing the

organization, as well as being reminded of their

obligations. Including: do not covet the woman of

another man of honour; do not kill another man

of honour, except in cases of absolute necessity;

avoid grassing to the police; do not side against

another man of honour; always behave respec-

tfully and honestly; keep absolute secrecy about

Cosa Nostra; never introduce yourself alone to

other men of honour, since there must always be

a guarantor ensuring that both are members of

Cosa Nostra who will use the following phrase:

39

Saverio Tommasi

‘This man is the same’.

Having explained the commandments, the

candidate must reiterate his intention to join the

organization (You want to join? Yes, I do. Are you

sure? Yes, I am. Are you joining? Yes, I join.). The

representative then invites him to choose a god-

father from among the men of honour present at

the ceremony.

The oath ceremony then takes place: each

candidate will be asked what hand he uses to

shoot with. A small cut is made on the index fin-

ger of that hand, a drop of blood is drawn and

used to smear a holy image, usually the image

of the Virgin of the Annunciation, whose feastday

is 25 March ... and who is considered the patron

saint (the Patron Saint!?) of Cosa Nostra!

THE MUSIC CHANGES. THE ACTOR FOLLOWS THE TEMPO,

40


HIS TONE IS SURPRISED, AMUSED

The index finger is pricked with a pin, the

same pin always. Or with the thorn of a bitter

orange tree, which does not always have to be

same one!

The representative of the Family, while the

candidate’s finger is being pricked, warns the

candidate in a grave tone – remember, the grave

tone! – that he must never betray the Family. The

warning goes: you enter into Cosa Nostra throu-

gh the shedding of blood ... and you can only lea-

ve through the shedding of more blood. Then the

drop of blood is smeared on the holy image.

The image is then set on fire and the candida-

te holds it, as it burns, passing it form one hand

41

Saverio Tommasi

to the other, while solemnly swearing that he will

never betray Cosa Nostra, that he will obey the

rules, and vowing that, should he betray the Fa-

mily, then “may his flesh burn like the holy image

in his hands” ...

THE MUSIC STOPS. THE ACTORS CATCHES HIS BREATH, LOOKS AT THE AUDIENCE ONE BY ONE, SPEAKS SLOWLY

Why did I need to explain all this to you?

Mafiosi base their power on fear, but also

on ritual. On mystery. I believe that explaining

some of these aspects will help us reduce Mafia

power, exorcize it, as it were. I am convinced.

To show the murderers naked, stripped of their

accoutrements, as idiots who have their fingers pri-

cked, who smear their blood over a piece of paper

on which an image of the Virgin has been printed,

and who then set the paper alight and cry out ‘ouch,

ouch! My fingers are burning!’ passing the burning

42


paper from one hand to the other.

Idiots, clearly. And muderers. To show them

in their naked childishness, stripped of the thre-

atening sight of their ‘coppola’ (traditional cap),

makes them less magical, because there is no-

thing magical, nothing at all!, about killing Caterina

Nencioni, the fifty-day old infant killed on 27 May

1993, or her nine-year old sister (and no one ever

dare say again that the Mafia does not kill chil-

dren!), or their parents, father and mother both.

Or Dario Capolicchio, a student from Sarzana.

HARMONY

The trials showed that during 1993 the Ma-

fia had toyed with the idea of poisoning sweet

snacks in supermarkets (remember, the Mafia

and children …)

It really must alarm us, every time we hear

43

Saverio Tommasi

about plastic (plastic?) mineral water bottles, ap-

parently still sealed, which have been tampered

with and sold to the public. Acquabomber, the

Unabomber given a new name. Or rather. Re-

christened.

Still, we don’t know for sure about any of

this.

Let’s continue with all the pieces of the mosaic

that were, in fact, warnings.

2 June 1993: six days after the Via dei Ge-

orgofili bomb, in Rome a Carabinieri patrol fin-

ds a cardboard box full of explosives in an old,

blue FIAT 500 parked on Via dei Sabini, not far

from the Prime Minister’s office at Palazzo Chigi.

A few minutes later the entire capital is under sie-

ge: imagine, the bomb disposal unit, staggering

44


around in their underwater diving gear, a robot

advancing squeakingly on its wheels, hundreds of

Carabinieri and policemen lined up to prevent by-

standers, journalists, nosey-parkers from getting

close. Helicopters hovering over the crowds ...

(GUITAR MAKING SIREN-LIKE SOUNDS)

... an endless howling of sirens, an incredible

traffic jam immobolizing all nearby streets.

Rome is paralysed by a terror attack which the

official version says was thwarted by the expe-

rienced and highly trained observation powers of

the two Carabinieri.

Experts will later discover that the cardboard

box contained 500 grams of ammonium nitrate,

sealed inside a bottle, and placed next to a further

5 kilos of ‘Anfo’, a chemical fertilizer, mixed with

45

Saverio Tommasi

diesel fuel.

A mixture with the equivalent explosive po-

wer to two kilos of dynamite: if someone had just

been walking by he would have been unlikely to

survive. The bomb was connected to an electric

detonating device operated by remote control.

It was a professional job, although the explosive

mixture itself was put together in an amateurish

way, using cheap materials which anyone could

have bought in a specialized shop. And the remo-

te control itself was rather like an antitheft device

for cars, a very simple little booby-trap. The ove-

rall organization, however, revealed skill and pro-

fessionality: the choice of the place was crucial, in

a central area closed to private traffic during the

day, meaning that someone had placed the car

there either during the night or at dawn.

46


A gesture. A demonstration of the ability to stri-

ke. But the date is 2 June, the anniversary of the

foundation of the Republic of Italy. The symbolic

value is enormous.

And more. (SHORT PIECE OF BLUES)

Three months later. The switchboard of the

Ministry of the Interior receives a phonecall: “The-

re’s a trick in store for you at the central Police

Station in Florence.” Minutes later some officers

find a plastic sack under the loggia in Via San Gal-

lo, near the entrance to the Questura, the central

police station. In the bag, electric wiring connec-

ted to a few cylinders containing a putty-like sub-

stance. Semtex, the devastating explosive? No.

Stucco, of the kind builders use. A trick, as they

had said. But the packaging is professional, fabri-

47

Saverio Tommasi

cated by someone who knows what he’s doing.

And more. (LONGER PIECE OF BLUES)

On 13 August 1994 an explosive ordnance is

found in Via del Giglio, also in Florence, near a

Standa supermarket. Just a few hours before the

planned arrival in town of Roberto Maroni, the Mi-

nister of the Interior.

And more. (LONG PIECE OF BLUES)

The bomb in Via Palestro in Milan had blown

up 55 minutes earlier.

The bomb outside San Giovanni in Laterano, 10

minutes earlier.

The bomb outside San Giorgio al Velabro, a

48


mere 3 or 4 minutes earlier.

A black-out strikes the Prime Minister’s offi-

ces at Palazzo Chigi. Not a metaphorical black-

out: the switchboard goes on the blink, all the

extensions are dead. Unexplainable, although it

does not totally isolate Palazzo Chigi, since the

ministers were still able to communicate using

the outside lines. The black-out lasts two hours.

The private phone company Italtel, the provider

of the switchboard service, issues a press rele-

ase: “A breakdown, absolutely unpredictable.”

We shall learn later that, at that very moment,

on the second floor of Palazzo Chigi, in his private

meeting room, the Prime Minister Carlo Azeglio

Ciampi was chairing a top level, highly restricted

meeting of the Committee on Order and Securi-

ty. Present at the meeting: the Ministers of the

49

Saverio Tommasi

Interior and Defence, Mancino and Fabbri; the

Head of Police, Vincenzo Parisi; the Commander

of the Carabinieri, Luigi Federici; the Chief of the

Department for Anti-Mafia Investigations (DIA),

Gianni De Gennaro; the Head of the Executive

Committee for Information and Security Servi-

ces (CESIS), Taormina; the Directors of Civil and

Military Secret Services, Finocchiaro and Cesare

Pucci.

Closed in the meeting room, in the midst of

the black-out. What were they saying to each

other?

OFF-STAGE VOICE

“We know something!”

It’s true. Prime Minister Carlo Azeglio Ciam-

pi was demanding explanations. The weekly

L’Espresso wrote later that Ciampi stated he was

convinced that the three bombs that had shaken

50


the country had a political goal. The target was –

without a doubt – his government, he stated. But

whoever had armed the terrorists, according to

the Prime Minister, had acted in order to stop the

planned electoral reform; or the Enimont affair

investigations; or the enquiries into the Masonic

Lodges.

In his initial considerations, in the heat of the

moment, Ciampi did not rule out a Chilean-style

terror attack, a coup d’état in other words, a Latin

American style GOL-PE ...

(TWO DRUMBEATS ONE ON EACH SYLLABLE)

... like the one that brought General Augusto

Pinochet to power. Ciampi’s analogy was careful-

ly chosen: just a few days before the Rome and

Milan massacres, the truckdrivers had confirmed

their intention to strike and block all deliveries na-

51

Saverio Tommasi

tionwide. The idea was that the terrorists had ho-

ped to trigger a devastating escalation of events,

with the bombs killing and creating panic in a

country paralyzed by the truckdrivers’ strike, all

deliveries cancelled, including fuel. Just like Chi-

le in 1973. And, even when the truckdrivers had

called off their general strike, the terrorists had

decided to go ahead with the bombings.

On 3 September 1993 the Chief of Police re-

ceived an official document from the United Sta-

tes containing a statement by Pietro Mannoia: in

this declaration, Mannoia claimed that the Mafia’s

plan was to depose the Italian Government, re-

placing it with a dictatorial regime, or at the very

least to “separate Sicily from Italy, establishing an

independent State.”

And Mannoia’s statement concluded: “Cosa

52


Nostra cannot change Italy by killing all Pentiti

and their families, but it can achieve change by

destroying the Government, and this can only be

done through a coup d’état.”

The words may have been the blathering of

a Mafia boss. But – remember – Prime Minister

Ciampi said something very (very, very, very) si-

milar.

What was it that the Mafia wanted? Were they

really planning to overthrow the Government?

Let’s be clear: you don’t send someone a warning

without being sure that that someone is able to

understand the warning. Or without giving them

the means to understand to it.

What were the Mafia’s objectives?

VOICE OFF

53

Saverio Tommasi

“Had we only known ...”

Had we only known ... what?

In 1992 Salvatore Riina sent a series of de-

mands to 39 people (and, yes, including mem-

bers of Parliament!). Riina ensured that these 39

men received what he called his “papello” – at

least that is what Giovanni Brusca tells us in his

testimony. In Sicilian dialect, “papello” means

a bill, an invoice. The demands included: Aboli-

tion of 41bis and other requests relating to de-

tention conditions, Abolition of law confiscating

Mafia property, Review of trials, Law on Pentiti.

The Papello was received. Senator Nando Dal-

la Chiesa said so on the TV programme Omnibus,

on Channel La7 on 22 February 2004.

54


We don’t know who these 39 people were sin-

ce – so far – none of these nice gentlemen has

come forward, and it’s now been 15 years! The

Mafia frightens people, but so do people like the-

se 39 gentlemen, who appear to keep secrets like

this, who are de facto accomplices. Maybe they

didn’t understand the significance of the Papel-

lo. Maybe. But – then again – maybe they did.

Perhaps they didn’t fully understand at first: let’s

be realistic, it’s possible. Someone sends you a

package of papers containing a list of Mafia de-

mands. I find it difficult to believe that they didn’t

understand, but let’s just say that it is possible...

So these gentlemen just threw the papers away.

39 of them. All 39 of them just threw it in the wa-

stepaper basket. But then, later, when the word

“negotiations” was first mooted, in the deposi-

tions given by the former mafiosi collaborating

55

Saverio Tommasi

with the investigations as Pentiti ... and when the

word “negotiations” got out of the trial chambers

and we read it in the newspapers ... the State

negotiating with the Mafia, striking a deal... How

can it really be ... that none of the 39 gentlemen

understood, not one of them came forward ...?

Nobody has said: “Yes, I was sent the Papello.”

One year, two years, three years, fifteen

years. Nobody went to the investigating magi-

strates. And in this list there are Senators, Par-

liamentarians, well-paid people, people who

are protected with police escorts. Not one of

them went to the investigating magistrates.

“Negotiation.” The First Instance Court in Flo-

rence, in its verdict, used the following expres-

sion: “It sends shivers down our spines to think of

negotiations, of a deal being struck between Cosa

56


Nostra and the State.”

After all, we have no evidence of a deal.

Maybe the Mafia bosses were merely led to

believe that a deal had been struck. Maybe so-

meone went overboard with promises to them.

Certainly, the 1998 law that prohibited the use

of phone records over five years old, in the name

of privacy!, is revolting.

Or we may use slightly more elegant langua-

ge: it is horrifying.

We could also say that “it went against what

public opinion wanted”, or that “it was a proce-

dural mistake”, or we might say ... a lot of other

things ... But the truth is that, in the case of ex-

tremely serious crimes such as massacres, to

57

Saverio Tommasi

prohibit the use of phone records to identify the

accomplices – the very same phone records that

had enabled the Court to convict the Mafia of the

crime and to uphold the sentence in the first place

... Well, this can really only be called “revolting”!

If none of the recipients of the Papello come

forward as witnesses, then there is a lot that is

difficult to understand. For example, how come

on 31 October 1993 – just five months after the

Georgofili massacre and less after the massacres

of Rome and Milan – how come the 60 Carabinieri

at the Olympic Stadium in Rome survived?

Well! Of course, this is good news. But it would

be wrong to say that it was merely a question of

good luck. It would not be correct to say that their

lives were saved merely because the remote con-

trol did not work ... although, don’t forget!, that is

58


what the final sentence of the Court states.

So, why are we so suspicious?

A few days later (as many as the fingers on

one hand!) 130 Mafia bosses, in detention in va-

rious Italian jails under 41bis conditions, were re-

moved from the 41bis wards and transferred to

ordinary detention conditions. And, remember,

the abolition of 41bis conditions was one of the

demands of the Mafia. Regardless of what we

may – personally – think of those heightened se-

curity conditions.

To each his own duty: we ask the questions,

you give us the answers!

DRUMBEAT

In the midst of all this, the massacre of Via

Georgofili. How was it organized? Where, when?

The first step was to find a base in Florence

59

Saverio Tommasi

or nearby, they declared. Right, near Florence, in

Prato, where Vincenzo Ferro’s uncle lived. An ex-

cellent base.

True: at first Antonino Messana, the uncle,

was not at all keen, he hummed and hawed (as

we say). He didn’t want any strangers in his hou-

se, especially if there was no one there to guaran-

tee for them, someone he knew and respected.

Understandable. So he convinced Calabrò, the

first person who had contacted him, to send a

member of the family to Florence.

Vincenzo Ferro, therefore, came to Florence,

to his Uncle Antonino’s home, as a guarantee.

Who had originally got hold of the explosive

mixture? And how long before?

We know something about how it was proces-

60


sed: ground down and packaged. This was done

in a run-down farm in the countryside that belon-

ged to Antonino Mangano, near Palermo.

The Pentito Salvatore Grigoli revealed that,

adding that he had learned this later, while he

was involved in the processing of explosive mix-

tures that were used on successive occasions (at

the Olympic Stadium and against Mr Contorno).

So the Mafiosi talked about it among themsel-

ves, without fear.

“I am an expert in fabricating explosive mixtu-

res, I have prepared lots!”

“Oh? And when?... Really? Would you teach

me please? It’s my first time, you see, even thou-

gh I have already done ...”

“And what about you?”

61

Saverio Tommasi

“I am ...”

And so on and so forth.

They called it ‘Dash’, like the detergent, be-

cause according to Mr Grigoli it was a flaky

powdery mixture and looked like Dash. And

he added that it had been retrieved some

time earlier from the bottom of the sea, from

sunken wrecks dating back to World War II.

But not all of the components of the mixture

had been retrieved from the sea-bed, and cer-

tainly not the T4, which could only have been

found amongst military supplies.

From the run-down farm near Palermo the

explosive was divided into four packages: two

larger, two smaller, all wrapped up and sealed

with scotch tape and loaded onto an Ape (a three-

62


wheeler motor-van used by smalltime building

firms). The packages were covered with fishing

nets. The Ape drove all the way to the ware-

houses of Coprora Srl. There the explosive was

unloaded and hidden in a secret compartment,

especially prepared beneath the floor of a truck

semi-trailer and loaded onto the “Freccia Rossa”

ferry that sailed from Palermo to Livorno, on 25

May 1993 at 1.34 p.m.

The semi-trailer truck on which the explosi-

ve was loaded is the same vehicle that reached

the Cemetery of Galciana (in the municipality of

Prato). From there the explosives were loaded

into Antonino Messana’s Fiat Uno car (remember

Messana? the base is in his house) and driven all

the way to his garage. Uncle Antonino turned out

to be very hospitable.

63

Saverio Tommasi

The 250 kilos of dynamite would leave the ga-

rage on the night of the massacre, in a white Fiat

Fiorino van.

I was forgetting: Antonino Messana, in order

to ensure that his friends and relations did not get

bored, bought a TV set. With their money. Ho-

spitable and criminal, indeed ... but not stupid!

A Seleco colour TV, 14 inches, for 380,000 Lire.

THE ACTOR STOMPS ON THE GROUND, JUMPS AND FALLS NOISILY TO THE GROUND.HE CONTINUES HIS STORY

That night Cosimo Lo Nigro and Giuliano dro-

ve a Fiat Fiorino (stolen only four and a half hours

earlier) to the street at the foot of the Pulci Tower.

Giuliano followed Lo Nigro in a Fiat Uno. Before le-

aving, Lo Nigro asked Messana for a cigar. Which

Messana gave him. The cigar was to be used to

light the fuse that set off the bomb at 1.04 a.m.

64


on the morning of 27 May 1993: it was the me-

ans used by the Mafia to carry out the worst act

of war perpetrated in Italy after World War II.

250 kilos of explosive, made up of a mixture

of pentrite, T4, dynamite and small parts of nitro-

glycerine, connecting up the blocks of explosive

wth a very accurately made triggering system.

Severe damage was caused to the artistic he-

ritage: apart from the Uffizi Gallery, also dama-

ged were Palazzo Vecchio, the Church of Santo

Stefano e Cecilia near the Ponte Vecchio and the

Science Museum and Institute.

48 people were injured. Some more, some

less severly. Five people were killed. Cateri-

na and Nadia Nencioni, their mother Ange-

la Fiume and their father Fabrizio Nencioni.

They lived in the Pulci Tower: the tower collap-

65

Saverio Tommasi

sed and buried the entire family in the rubble.

So now you know who they were.

And Dario Capolicchio also died in the attack.

He lived in Via dei Georgofili, opposite the Aca-

demy of the same name where the documents

relating to the Pontine Marshes, drained by Mus-

solini, were kept.

HANDS ON HIPS, DECLAMATORY TONE (DECREASING AFTER THE FIRST WORDS)

The pride of Fascism, the Pontine Marshes

drained and the construction of a new city, Litto-

ria - today’s Latina – all achieved in a mere five

months. Where Mussolini himself, the Duce, had

himself filmed wearing sunglasses and a white

cap, bare-chested, as he harvested wheat. On

the cine-newsreel. Remember that image?

I mentioned this since not everyone believes

66


in the version “bomb at the Uffizi”. And in any

case it wasn’t the Uffizi, or Dario would still be

alive. No, he lived at number three, on the third

floor, with his friend Diego and his girlfriend Fran-

cesca (known as Checca). That night he was still

awake, he was still studying for an exam the fol-

lowing morning, 27 May, an exam in his Architec-

ture degree course. He and Francesca were both

architecture students: they shared their studies

as well their private lives.

MUSIC

THE ACTOR TAKES ANOTHER GLASS AND PLACES IT NEXT TO THE FIRST ONE, FILLING IT WITH SAME AMOUNT OF WINE

At 1.04 a.m. ... the blast. An explosion so

strong that the flames travelled so quickly that

not even paper burned. True, but Dario burned,

and yet no in-depth technical investigation.

67

Saverio Tommasi

Strange. Strange how Officer (Marshall) Amo-

roso on 7 June 1997, giving evidence in the top

security Court room at Santa Verdiana, remem-

bered having handed over to the explosives’ ex-

perts in charge of the investigations “a sort of”

(his words) “large, probably 5-litre, metal contai-

ner, in tin or iron, dentellated at the top.” No ex-

pert examination. The Marshal, in Court, expres-

sed a very simple opinion. The pieces of metal, or

iron, that turned into projectiles at the moment of

the blast, were from objects that had been lying

around. Road signs, pieces of the Fiat Fiorino it-

self, and so on. But that piece, that strange pie-

ce which he found, did not appear to belong to

anything of the sort. And, in fact, Marshal Amo-

roso declared that it was unpainted, not chro-

med, and he called it “raw material”. He found

it in front of the small alleyway called Vicolo delle

68


Carrozze, on the Uffizi side of Via dei Georgofili.

A second bomb in Via dei Georgofili? We don’t

know. Yet, one thing we do know: in this type

of blast, where there is practically no open flame

effect due to power of the blast, Dario Capolicchio

burned alive.

And this is not just a turn of phrase. They exa-

mined his lungs.

There was not enough carbon monoxide to al-

low him to faint, because he (his body) was the

only thing burning, on the third floor of Via dei Ge-

orgofili, from the flames that burst up through the

stairwell. It was from his body in flames that the fire

spread. And his body was consumed by the flames.

It was a terror attack.

(DRUMBEAT)

69

Saverio Tommasi

They confirmed it at 11 a.m. on 27 May, after

the city policemen identified the bomb crater, th-

ree meters wide by two deep.

(DRUMBEAT)

Prime Minister Ciampi, President of the Senate

Spadolini, and a multitude of Ministers and politi-

cians rushed to Florence. The day of the funeral

was declared a day of general mourning in the en-

tire city. Friday morning Florence was a closed city,

white sheets hanging from the windowsills, the of-

ficial Banners of all the cities in Tuscany. People in

the streets. Crowds of people in the streets. Cleri-

cal workers, shopkeepers who closed their shops,

more than 2000 students, including some from

Bologna (a sister city in having already been struck

by a terror attack), the workers from the factori-

es, the Partisans from Resistance in World War II.

70


Draped across the facade of Santa Croce

was a white sheet on which someone had writ-

ten “Who did this?” This was the question the

hundred thousand people in the streets were all

asking themselves.

Who did this? Certainly the Mafia, and the

trials have handed down sentences on this.

And who else? And someone else.

Three days after the massacre, at the

foot of the memorial to Lando Conti, a docu-

ment was found: it was full of names and dra-

wings, almost like a riddle to be solved, signed

“European Extreme Right Armed Phalanx”.

Lando Conti had been the Mayor of Florence

when, in 1986, the Red Brigades gunned him

71

Saverio Tommasi

down, accusing him of being involved in the arms

trade.

On 27 May 1997, on the fifth anniversary, a

hand grenade (pineapple type) was found in the

morning in Borgo Santi Apostoli. Someone had

put it there so it would be found on the anniver-

sary of the bomb attack. It bore the label of an

important arms factory. This gesture was later

claimed by a mysterious message: “We are the

ones who wanted the bomb in Via dei Georgofili

– Signed BR, Red Brigades.”

What was the name of the factory? I can say

this, can’t I? (THE ACTOR LOOKS AT THE AUDIENCE WITH A QUESTIONING LOOK, AND IRONICALLY ASKS FOR THEIR CONFIRMATION.)

This, at least, is not a secret: Oto Melara is the

factory. Just for your information, Oto Melara is

72


world leader in artillery for armoured vehicles, in

naval munitions and anti-aircraft systems. They

boast of this on their website. Its products are

used in about 60 countries on all five continents.

For twenty years now, Oto Melara has been desi-

gning, developing and producing tanks and com-

bat vehicles – very successfully, the world over!

And they market their products through a highly

efficient partnership with Iveco, a company of the

Fiat Group. (Congratulations!)

In this case, too, no evidence emerged. After

all, we must remember that our history is full of

diversionary manouvres, of deliberately mislea-

ding trails.

One can’t help but think of Giuseppe Ferro –

one of those found guilty and convicted – who

73

Saverio Tommasi

collaborated with the investigation, as a Pentito,

when he said: (IN A HISSING VOICE) “We in the Ma-

fia were not interested in those massacres.”

We don’t believe that they “were of

no interest to the Mafia”, but rather that

they were of interest to others as well.

Let’s move on. Another Pentito.

At the end of a statement in which he had

just mentioned the involvement of the Venerable

Grand Master of Palazzo Giustiniani, the Grand

Orient Lodge (we are talking about Free Masons),

the Grand United Lodge of England and the Duke

of Kent, Gioacchino Pennino confirmed the invol-

vement of the Free Masons but added, “not only

the Masons, but also other international sectors

and circuits.”

On 14 April 2005 Vigna took part in a public

74


meeting on justice collaborators and their role in

the fight against the Mafia. On that occasion he re-

ported that the Prosecutors investigating the 1993

massacres also collected the statement of a right-

wing extremist, convicted and serving his senten-

ce in jail, who said that the purpose of the 1993

massacres was to cover up the motives behind all

the previous massacres, starting from Piazza Fon-

tana (1969). Prosecutor Piero Luigi Vigna descri-

bed this person as “educated and well informed.”

That there was something amiss was imme-

diately clear. The declarations that I shall now

read to you date from 1993, late July, after the

bombs in Milan and Rome on 27 and 28 July.

“A powerful enemy who has not been identi-

fied,” Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, Prime Minister, 29 July;

“No trail will be neglected, either domestic or

international,” Nicola Mancino, Minister of the In-

75

Saverio Tommasi

terior, 29 July.

ROCK MUSIC, VOLUME INCREASING, TILL THE END OF THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH: THE ACTOR, HAVING TO RAISE HIS VOICE TO BE HEARD ABOVE THE MUSIC, WILL END UP SHOUTING THE LAST WORDS

“I was never convinced by the Mafia, and Ma-

fia only, theory: these were acts so full of symbo-

lic value that my mind goes to out-of-control of-

fshoots of the clandestine and occult elements of

the old system, who still refuse to accept the fact

of their collapse,” Giuseppe Ayala, former Prose-

cutor of the big Palermo Mafia trial, known as the

Maxi-processo, 29 July;

“Obscure aspects and elements difficult to in-

terpret are accumulating,” Bettino Craxi, 29 July;

“There are many forces whose interest

it is to oppose change. The Mafia is one of

them. But we also need to investigate other

forces,” Ugo Pecchioli, President of the Se-

76


cret Service Control Committee, 29 July;

“I would not rule out the role of men who

were in the past in our secret services,” Nico-

la Mancino, 5 August; and Bruno Siclari, Na-

tional Anti-Mafia Prosecutor, on 31 July said:

“I am very much convinced that this massa-

cre is also the work of the Mafia. But not only.”

Our story is coming to an end. We hope that

the search for the criminal minds behind the mas-

sacre does not end. At all levels. Politicians, Free

Masons. Because the difference between he who

shoots and he who orders someone to shoot ... in

some cases, is little more than a rhetorical artifice.

I would like to conclude with the words of Zo-

ran Music, an artist who depicted Nazi deporta-

tions. Zoran believed that to commemorate was

77

Saverio Tommasi

acceptable only in the noble sense of the word, as

summed up in the title he gave to an exhibition of

some of his clandestine drawings, done during his

internment in Dachau. The exhibition was called

“We are not the last.”

It does not mean that “after us, there will be

more,” but rather that “we are not doing enough

to ensure that there are no others after us.”

MUSIC

THE ACTOR TAKES THE GLASSES, JOINS THEM TOGETHER AND POURS THE CONTENT OF BOTH BACK INTO THE BOT-TLE, THEN CLEANS THEM WITH A WHITE HANDKERCHIEF AND SETS THEM DOWN OFF STAGE

In any case, a massacre, like a war crime, is

not subject to statute of limitations. We are late,

but we are moving. We shall not stop.

78


There is no justice, without truth. There is no

peace, without truth.

I bid “Good memory” to all. May you conduct

a good struggle.

Keep your applause, you will need all your

energies.

79

This is the story of the massacre of Via dei Georgofi li in Florence. A detailed and tragic story of one of the seven massacres that were carried out in 1993 and 1994, after the murders of Judges Falcone and Borsellino. It is the story of bombings, of the Mafi a, of the trials, of the accomplices, of the perpetra-tors already in jail and those who have not yet been identifi ed. It is an attempt to uncover the truth.

“The massacre of Via dei Georgofi li was the bloodiest act ofwar in Florence since the end of the Second World War.”

Gabriele Chelazzi - Public Prosecutor

Saverio Tommasi is an actor, a writer and at least a hundredother things, not all of which interesting.Read more about him at www.saveriotommasi.it.

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