Niccolò Turrisi Colonna
Niccolò Turrisi Colonna (born August 10, 1817 in Palermo ; † May 13, 1889 ibid), Baron von Gorgo and Bonvicino, was a Sicilian politician from Palermo.
He was a large landowner. Even before the unification of Italy , he developed a national feeling. After the annexation of Sicily by Italy in 1860, Turrisi Colonna was appointed head of the National Guard of Palermo. He was appointed senator in 1865 and served twice as mayor of Palermo in the 1880s.
In 1864 Turrisi Colonna published a treatise entitled Pubblica sicurezza in Sicilia nel 1864 (German: Public Security in Sicily ). In this he describes a sect of thieves . This treatise is one of the earliest written descriptions of the Mafia , though he does not use the term. This “sect” has special signs by which the members can recognize themselves. In many regions there is political backing of the sect. Within the sect there is a code of loyalty and non-cooperation with the police. This code is called umirtà or omertà ("humility"). The sect is predominantly rural. It is made up of farm guards and smugglers, among other things. The sect fraternized the best young people from the rural working class and smugglers. The sect offers protection to traders. She has little or no fear of the state authorities, as she believes she can avoid prosecution.
Turrisi Colonna warned the state that tough measures against the criminals would only further alienate the population from the state. He himself was suspected of covering up influential mafiosi in Palermo. Domenico Farini , longtime president of the Senate, testified that members of parliament had told him in 1876 that Colonna himself was head of the mafia.
literature
- John Dickie: Cosa Nostra . A history of the Sicilian Mafia , Coronet, London 2004. ISBN 0-340-82435-2
- Salvatore Lupo: History of the Mafia , Columbia University Press, New York 2009. ISBN 978-0-231-13134-6
- Letizia Paoli: Mafia Brotherhoods: Organized Crime, Italian Style , Oxford University Press, New York 2003. ISBN 0-19-515724-9 ( Review by Klaus Von Lampe)
Web links
- Entry in the Senatori dell'Italia liberale database of the Historical Archives of the Italian Senate
- Entry in the Portale storico of the Camera dei deputati
- Entry in the Archivio Biografico Comunale (Palermo)
- Publications by Nicolò Turrisi Colonna in the Opac des Servizio bibliotecario nazionale (SBN)
- Standard entry in the Opac of the SBN
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Lupo, History of the Mafia , pp. 43-44
- ↑ a b Dickie, Cosa Nostra , pages 39-46
- ↑ Paoli, Mafia Brotherhoods , p. 33
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Turrisi Colonna, Niccolò |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Turrisi Colonna, Nicolò |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Sicilian politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 10, 1817 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Palermo |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 13, 1889 |
| Place of death | Palermo |