Peppinos life Realizzato da Fabio Militello Classe I

Peppino’s life Realizzato da: Fabio Militello Classe I D Docente: Dina Provenzano Anno Scolastico 2015/2016

Peppino Impastato was an actvist who fought against the Mafia. He was also a journalist and a poet. He was born in 1948 in Cinisi, in a Mafia family.

Who was Cesare Manzella and how did he die? Peppino’s uncle, Cesare Manzella was an important Mafia boss who was killed in a car bomb attack in 1963.

What was Stefano Venuti’s job? What kind of influence had he got on Peppino? Stefano Venuti was a painter and the leader of the Communist Party in Cinisi. He had pacifist ideas that he taught to Peppino.

How far was Peppino’s house from Tano Badalamenti’s? Peppino’s house was 100 steps far from Tano Badalamenti’s. This also means that the mafia was very near to Peppino’s social context.

Don Tano Badalamenti was a mafia boss linked to “Cosa Nostra”. He was in perpetual conflict with Peppino.

Write the names of Peppino’s first paper, cultural club and radio. What was their function? Peppino became a journalist and called his first newspaper “The Socialist Idea” then he started a cultural club called “Music and Culture” and finally he opened a radio, called “Radio Aut”(aut stands for authonomy). These were instruments of protest and denunciation against the Mafia, but also ways to awaken the population of Sicily where omertà reigned. In fact at that time, the idea that “who his deaf, blind and dumb, lives 100 years” was very popular.

Who was Peppino’s best friends? Peppino’s best friend was Salvo Vitale He shared his ideas and ideals and he helped and supported him several times.

How did Peppino die? Where? Why was he murdered? Peppino was killed on 9 th of May 1978 by the Mafia in a small abandoned building near the railway. Later he was filled with explosives, he was placed on the tracks and he was blown up.

What happened on the same day of his death? On the same day of his death, the Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro was murdered by the Red Brigades, so the national press disregarded the news of Peppino’s death which, however, wasn’t, , less important than Moro’ s.

WHAT WAS THE VERSION ABOUT HIS DEATH THAT WAS GIVEN BY THE POLICE AND THE MASS MEDIA? The police and the mass media said that it was a suicide or a terrorist act.

What didn’t his mother want after his death? Why? Peppino’s mother, Felicia Bartolotta, didn’t want revenge for the death of her son, although she had the opportunity, because her husband’s family was “mafiosa”. But she wanted justice

What about Peppino’s funeral? Peppino’s funeral was attended by a lot of young people from all over Sicily. They shouted their sorrow but also their determination : though Peppino wasn’t physically with them any longer, his ideas were still alive and they were ready to continue his struggle

GIVE YOUR DEFINITION OF THE WORDS “MAFIA” AND “OMERTÀ” For me, the mafia is a very serious issue in Sicily. Today it seems less violent and powerful than in the past, but it continues to oppress and scare the Sicilians who, often, do nothing to try to defeat and destroy it. Too often silence is the master of a lot of Sicilians’ lives. The mafia is the cancer of this world and the silence of omertà is the refusal to find a solution.

What do you think about this problem? I think the mafia has influenced our actions and behaviours for too long time and now it’s time to put an end to this serious and overlasting problem. We should follow the example of people like Peppino or like Piersanti Palazzolo. He is a trader from Cinisi who has refused to pay protection money imposed by the mafia, denouncing his extortioner to the police. Moreover I think that only with culture and education we can fight and defeat the mafia.