L’ultimo canto del cigno
Il delitto Notarbartolo a Firenze (un processo di mafia)
Contributor(s)
De Troja, Elisabetta (editor)
Language
ItalianAbstract
The murder of Emanuele Notarbartolo, former director of the Banco di Palermo, at the hands of the Sicilian Mafia in 1893 represents a controversial and obscure event in Italian history. There were three trials (Milan, Bologna, Florence), which also involved a Sicilian deputy: Raffaele Palizzolo. Anna Franchi's documentation work takes place in the Assize court of Florence: she attended every hearing, and observed relentlessly both the 'Mafia' phenomenon and the actual theatre of testimonies, confessions, retractions and false tracks characterising the trial in Florence (1903-1904). It was possible to widely integrate Franchi's account after the discovery of the entire folder relating to the process in the State Archives of Florence: about 1500 handwritten pages by the various chancellors dealing with the trial. The trial ended in a general acquittal for principals and executors for lack of evidence. For some, Sicily’s honour was safe, but for many others, the truth was forever covered up.