Giuseppe de Felice Giuffrida

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Giuseppe de Felice Giuffrida (born April 11, 1859 in Catania , † July 19, 1920 ibid) was a Sicilian politician and journalist. He is considered to be one of the founders of the Fasci Siciliani , a socialist- oriented popular movement.

Life

He was born in Catania in the simplest of circumstances and spent his childhood in a children's home. His father was shot dead in a robbery by Carabinieri in 1868 , while his mother "lived in immoral conditions" according to an official report. After his release from the children's home, he found work in the archives of the city administration. In 1880 he founded the political weekly magazine Lo staffile ("The Whip"), whose constant attacks against city authorities led to his resignation from his position in the archives. For his livelihood he carried out various activities: he became a wine seller, a sewing machine representative, a printer and a tuba player. At the same time he completed a law degree at the University of Catania , but never worked as a lawyer. He had married when he was 17 and had four daughters in a short time. As a result of his turbulent way of life, his wife broke off contact with him, his love life remained moved and quite disordered as a result.

In 1890 he convened the first congress of workers' associations in Sicily, but the event was banned on the orders of Prime Minister Francesco Crispi . On May 1, 1891, he founded the first Sicilian workers' union in his hometown , which was followed by similar associations in Palermo and other cities and villages in Sicily over the next two years . For the construction work of the Fasci he undertook extensive trips through Sicily, often accompanied by his then 14-year-old daughter Marietta, who knew how to inspire the masses with her fiery speeches. In November 1892 he was elected as the only Sicilian socialist member of the Italian parliament .

After the resignation of Prime Minister Giovanni Giolitti in November 1893, strikes and bloody disputes with the law enforcement officers, Prime Minister Crispi declared a state of emergency in all of Sicily on January 4, 1894 . De Felice was arrested the same day and sentenced to 18 years in prison in a trial in Palermo at the end of May. In March 1896 he was released early as part of a general amnesty and when he returned to Catania he was enthusiastically welcomed by the people. During his time in prison, he was re-elected twice as a MP.

In spring 1897 he volunteered in the Greco-Turkish War for the liberation of Crete , together with his comrade Nicola Barbato and the anarchist Amilcare Cipriani . In 1897 he was re-elected to parliament and remained a member of parliament until his death in 1920.

Due to revolutionary activities in Italy, the conservative government under Luigi Pelloux decided on June 30, 1899, measures to restrict the freedom of the press. There was a riot at the vote that followed. De Felice, Leonida Bissolati and another MP threw the ballot box off the table, parliament was closed for three months and the three rioters were written out for arrest. De Felice fled abroad until he was pardoned in October 1899. During this time he also worked as a journalist and reported from Paris for Avanti! and Il Secolo on the Dreyfus Trial . An article about the relationship between the Mafia and the political rulers in Sicily in the Avanti! In October 1900 he was tried for defamation and sentenced to 13 months in prison, six of which were released.

In 1902 he was elected as the first socialist mayor of Catania and held this office until 1914. In 1914 he was elected President of the Province of Catania and remained so until his death. In 1912 he resigned from the Italian Socialist Party . He advocated the Italian invasion of Libya and saw the colonization of this country as a way out of poverty in southern Italy. He joined the Socialist Reform Party of Ivanoe Bonomi and Leonida Bissolati and volunteered in the First World War .

When he died unexpectedly on July 19, 1920, the funeral procession in Catania was followed by around two thousand mourners. At his death he had only six lire .

De Felice was a controversial and charismatic leader and gifted public speaker, viewed by some as a populist demagogue .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Martial Law Proclaimed in Sicily The New York Times , January 5, 1894

literature

Web links

  • Entry in the Portale storico of the Camera dei deputati
personal data
SURNAME De Felice Giuffrida, Giuseppe
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian politician and journalist
DATE OF BIRTH April 11, 1859
PLACE OF BIRTH Catania
DATE OF DEATH July 19, 1920
Place of death Catania