Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Fascism, Conservatism & WWII
Sicily struggled to adapt to the Savoys. The old aristocracy by and large maintained their
privileges, and hopes of social reform soon dwindled.
What the island really needed was a far-reaching policy of agrarian reform, including a
redistribution of land. The partial break-up of large estates after the abolition of feudalism
still only benefited the
gabellotti
(agricultural middlemen who policed the peasants on be-
half of the aristocracy), who leased the land from the owners only to then charge prohibit-
ive ground rents to the peasants who lived and worked on it.
To assist them with their rent collections the bailiffs enlisted the help of local gangs, who
acted as intermediaries between the tenant and the owner, sorting out disputes and regulat-
ing affairs in the absence of an effective judicial system. These individuals were called
mafiosi
and were organised into small territorial gangs drawn up along family lines. They
effectively filled the vacuum that existed between the people and the state, slotting in to the
role of local power brokers.
In 1922, Benito Mussolini took power in Rome. With the growing influence of the Mafia
dons threatening his dominance in Sicily, Mussolini dispatched Cesare Mori to Palermo
with orders to crush lawlessness and insurrection in Sicily. Mori did this by ordering the
round-up of individuals suspected of involvement in 'illegal organisations'.
By the 1930s, Mussolini had bigger fish to fry - his sights were set on the colonisation of
Libya as Italy's Fourth Shore, ultimately dragging Sicily into WWII. Chosen as the spring-
board for the recapture of mainland Italy, Sicily suffered greatly from heavy Allied bomb-
ing. Ironically, the war presented the Mafia with the perfect opportunity to get back at Mus-
solini and it collaborated with the Allied forces, assisting in the capture of the island in
1943.
