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Fasci Fascio (; plural ''fasci'') is an Italian word literally meaning "a bundle" or "a sheaf", and figuratively "league", and which was used in the late 19th century to refer to political groups of many different (and sometimes opposing) orientations ...
Siciliani , short for Fasci Siciliani dei Lavoratori (Sicilian Workers Leagues), were a popular movement of democratic and
socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
inspiration, which arose in
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
in the years between 1889 and 1894. The Fasci gained the support of the poorest and most exploited classes of the island by channeling their frustration and discontent into a coherent programme based on the establishment of new rights. Consisting of a jumble of traditionalist sentiment, religiosity, and socialist consciousness, the movement reached its apex in the summer of 1893, when new conditions were presented to the landowners and mine owners of Sicily concerning the renewal of sharecropping and rental contracts. Upon the rejection of these conditions, there was an outburst of strikes that rapidly spread throughout the island, and was marked by violent social conflict, almost rising to the point of insurrection. The leaders of the movement were not able to keep the situation from getting out of control. The proprietors and landowners asked the government to intervene, and Prime Minister Francesco Crispi declared a state of emergency in January 1894, dissolving the organizations, arresting its leaders and restoring order through the use of extreme force. Some reforms followed, including
workmen's compensation Workers' compensation or workers' comp is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her emp ...
and
pension scheme A pension (, from Latin ''pensiō'', "payment") is a fund into which a sum of money is added during an employee's employment years and from which payments are drawn to support the person's retirement from work in the form of periodic payments ...
s. The suppression of the strikes also led to an increase in
emigration Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanent ...
.


Characteristics

The Fasci movement was made up of a federation of scores of associations that developed among farm workers, tenant farmers, and small
sharecroppers Sharecropping is a legal arrangement with regard to agricultural land in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land. Sharecropping has a long history and there are a wide range ...
as well as artisans, intellectuals, and industrial workers.Bruno Cartosio, ''Sicilian Radicals in Two Worlds'', in: Debouzy, ''In the Shadow of the Statue of Liberty'', pp. 120-21 The immediate demands of the movement were fair land rents, higher wages, lower local taxes and distribution of misappropriated common land.Seton-Watson, ''Italy from liberalism to fascism'', pp. 162-63 Between 1889 and 1893 some 170 Fasci were established in Sicily. According to some sources the movement reached a membership of more than 300,000 by the end of 1893. The Fasci constituted autonomous organizations with their own insignia (red rosettes), uniforms and sometimes even musical bands, and their own local halls for reunions and congresses. They were called Fasci (''Fascio'' literally means bundle) because everyone can break a single stick, but no one can break a bundle of sticks.Il tribunale militare fu un abuso di Crispi
La Repubblica, 5 February 2009
While many of the leaders were of socialist or anarchist leanings, few of their supporters were revolutionaries. Nevertheless, the peasants who assembled into the Fasci were eager for social justice and convinced that a new world was about to be born. A
crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (Lati ...
hung beside the red flag in many of their meeting-places, and portraits of the
King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
beside those of the revolutionaries
Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, pat ...
,
Mazzini Giuseppe Mazzini (, , ; 22 June 1805 – 10 March 1872) was an Italian politician, journalist, and activist for the unification of Italy (Risorgimento) and spearhead of the Italian revolutionary movement. His efforts helped bring about the in ...
and
Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...
. Cheers for the King were often heard in their marches that almost resembled quasi- religious processions. Many of the Fasci were part of the Italian Workers' Party (''
Partito dei Lavoratori Italiani The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the longest-living parties of the country. Founded in Genoa in 1892, ...
'', the initial name of the
Italian Socialist Party The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a Socialism, socialist and later Social democracy, social-democratic List of political parties in Italy, political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the l ...
) that had been founded at a conference in
Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...
on August 14, 1892.Scolaro, ''Il movimento antimafia siciliano'', p.18 The rural Fasci in particular were a curious phenomenon: both ancient and modern. They combined
millenarian Millenarianism or millenarism (from Latin , "containing a thousand") is the belief by a religious, social, or political group or movement in a coming fundamental transformation of society, after which "all things will be changed". Millenarian ...
aspirations with urban intellectual leadership often in contact with workers’ organizations and ideas in the more industrialized Northern Italy.Clark, ''Modern Italy, 1871 to the present''
pp. 124-25
/ref> According to the Marxist historian Eric Hobsbawm, the Fasci were millenarian insofar as the socialism preached by the movement was seen by the Sicilian peasantry as a new religion, the true religion of Christ – betrayed by the priests, who were on the side of the rich – that foretold the dawn of a new world, without poverty, hunger and cold, in accordance with God’s will. The Fasci, which included many women, were encouraged by the messianic belief that the start of a new reign of justice was looming and the movement spread like an epidemic.Hobsbawm, ''Primitive rebels''
pp. 98-101
/ref>


Foundation and rapid growth

The Fasci were the result of the revolt of the Sicilian peasants against the introduction of capitalist relationships into the rural economy aggravated by the world depression in agriculture of the 1880s.Hobsbawm,
Primitive rebels
', p. 96
The agrarian crisis between 1888 and 1892 led to a steep decrease in wheat prices. The island’s main sources of wealth – wine, fruit and sulphur – suffered a heavy blow. The dominant landowning class channeled most of the economic burden on to the peasantry, in the form of higher rents and discriminatory local taxation. As social tension rose, a handful of young and hitherto quite unknown socialist intellectuals – many of them recent graduates of Palermo University – seized their opportunity. The movement grew under the first government of Prime minister Francesco Crispi (1887–1891) and coincided with unpopular tax increases and ratification of a series of laws curtailing personal freedom. The Italian economy had been sliding into a deep recession since the late 1880s. New protective tariffs had been introduced in 1887 on agricultural and industrial goods, followed by a trade war with France, which badly damaged Italian commerce and affected Italy’s agricultural exports, the only potentially dynamic economic sector of Southern Italy. Many farmers suffered severely.Seton-Watson, ''Italy from liberalism to fascism'', p. 161Duggan, ''The Force of Destiny''
p. 339
/ref> The first official ''Fascio'' was founded on May 1 ( Labour Day), 1891, in Catania by Giuseppe de Felice Giuffrida. (An earlier ''Fascio'' was set up in Messina on March 18, 1889, but was dormant after its founder,
Nicola Petrina Nicola Petrina (13 November 1861 – 28 December 1908) was an Italian socialist and politician from Sicily. He was one of the national leaders of the Fasci Siciliani (Sicilian Leagues) a popular movement of democratic and socialist inspiration fr ...
, was arrested in July of that year and not released until 1892. Another reason why the first ''Fascio'' of Messina – formed after the example of the ''
Fasci operai Fascio (; plural ''fasci'') is an Italian word literally meaning "a bundle" or "a sheaf", and figuratively "league", and which was used in the late 19th century to refer to political groups of many different (and sometimes opposing) orientations ...
'' orkers leaguesconstituted in Central and North Italy from 1871 – did not develop was that it brought together not individual workers but the workers' associations of the city, which retained their independence, their status and economic orientation.) Other leaders included
Rosario Garibaldi Bosco Rosario Garibaldi Bosco (Palermo, July 28, 1866 – Turin, December 2, 1936) was an Italian Republican-inspired socialist, politician and writer from Sicily. He was one of the leaders of the '' Fasci Siciliani'' (Sicilian Leagues), a popular move ...
in Palermo,
Nicola Barbato Nicola Barbato (Piana dei Greci, October 5, 1856 – Milan, May 23, 1923) was a Sicilian medical doctor, socialist and politician. He was one of the national leaders of the Fasci Siciliani (Sicilian Leagues) a popular movement of democratic an ...
in Piana dei Greci,
Bernardino Verro Bernardino Verro (; July 3, 1866 – November 3, 1915) was a Sicilian syndicalist and politician. He was involved in the Fasci Siciliani (Sicilian Leagues) a popular movement of democratic and socialist inspiration in 1891-1894, and became the fir ...
in Corleone, and Lorenzo Panepinto in Santo Stefano Quisquina. While the ruling elite depicted the men of the Fasci as treasonous socialists, communists and anarchists seeking to overthrow the monarchy; in fact many were devout Catholics and
monarchists Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. ...
. The movement sometimes had a messianic nature, characterised by statements such as "
Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...
was a true socialist and wanted just what the Fasci were demanding." Nicola Barbato was known as "the workers' apostle." The keenest socialist among the Fasci leaders was Garibaldi Bosco. In August 1892, he attended the Socialist Party’s congress at Genoa and on his return obediently purged his fascio of its anarchist and other non-socialist members. His ideal of a united democratic front was shared by the father of Sicilian socialism,
Napoleone Colajanni Napoleone Colajanni ( Castrogiovanni, 27 April 1847 – Castrogiovanni, 2 September 1921) was an Italian writer, journalist, criminologist, socialist and politician. In the 1880s he abandoned republicanism for socialism, and became Italy's leadin ...
. The leader in Catania, De Felice, also maintained contact with leading anarchists like Amilcare Cipriani. On these and other important issues there was much friction between Catania and Palermo. Crispi was replaced as prime minister by
Antonio Di Rudinì Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular mal ...
in February 1891, who was succeeded by Giovanni Giolitti in May 1892. On January 20, 1893, when peasants of
Caltavuturo Caltavuturo ( Sicilian: ''Caltavuturu'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, Sicily, Italy. The neighboring comunes are Polizzi Generosa, Scillato and Sclafani Bagni. History According to many scholars, the name and o ...
occupied communal land that they claimed was theirs, local authorities killed 13 and wounded 21 in the
Caltavuturo massacre The Caltavuturo massacre took place on January 20, 1893, in Caltavuturo in the Province of Palermo (Sicily), when during the celebration of Saint Sebastian, some 500 peasants returning from the symbolic occupation of 250 hectares of communal la ...
. Disturbances continued throughout the year. The Fasci started out as urban movements, animated by artisans, which evolved into a more popular and combative mass movement with the adherence of sulphur miners, and in a later stage with the involvement of peasants and sharecroppers. In the autumn of 1893, labour conflicts in the cities and the mines came together with the protests and claims of the farmers. The movement reached its greatest breadth in the manifestations against taxes, involving the lowest tiers of the city and the countryside, becoming difficult, if not impossible, to control by its leaders.


Initial success

From its initial origins in
Eastern Sicily Eastern Sicily ( it, Sicilia orientale) is an area formed by the territories of Sicily on the Ionian and Eastern Tyrrhenian coast of the isle, namely the provinces and metropolitan cities of Messina, Catania, Siracusa and Ragusa. Eastern Sicily ...
, especially in Catania, the movement got its real impetus with the establishment of the ''Fascio'' of Palermo on June 29, 1892. The Leagues rapidly radiated over all Sicily. In the spring of 1893 the leaders of the movement decided to carry their propaganda to the peasants and miners of the countryside. Between March and October the number of fasci grew from 35 to 162 with more than 200,000 members.Leoni, ''Storia dei partiti politici italiani''
p. 251
/ref> From that moment on the dynamics of the movement started to change; no longer the workers and craftsmen in the urban centres, but rather the peasants became the driving force behind the organisation. The centre of gravity moved from the city to the countryside. Renda, ''I fasci siciliani : 1892-94'', p. 10–11 On May 21–22, 1893, a congress was held in Palermo attended by 500 delegates from nearly 90 leagues and socialist circles. A Central Committee was elected, composed of nine members: Giacomo Montalto for the
province of Trapani Trapani ( it, Provincia di Trapani, scn, Pruvincia di Tràpani; officially ''Libero consorzio comunale di Trapani'') is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily, southern Italy. Following the suppression of the Sicilian provinces, it ...
,
Nicola Petrina Nicola Petrina (13 November 1861 – 28 December 1908) was an Italian socialist and politician from Sicily. He was one of the national leaders of the Fasci Siciliani (Sicilian Leagues) a popular movement of democratic and socialist inspiration fr ...
for the
province of Messina Messina (, ) was a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy. Its capital was the city of Messina. It was replaced by the Metropolitan City of Messina. Geography Territory It had an area of , which amounts to 12.6 percent ...
, Giuseppe De Felice Giuffrida for the
province of Catania The Province of Catania ( it, Provincia di Catania; scn, Pruvincia di Catania) was a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in southern Italy. Its capital was the city of Catania. It had an area of and a total population of about 1, ...
,
Luigi Leone is a fictional character featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Luigi is portrayed as the younger fraternal twin brother and sidekick of Mario, Nintendo's masc ...
for the
province of Siracusa The Province of Syracuse ( it, provincia di Siracusa; scn, pruvincia di Sarausa) was a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy. Its capital was the city of Syracuse, a town established by Greek colonists arriving from Corinth ...
,
Antonio Licata Antonio Licata (January 3, 1810 - June 27, 1892) was an Italian painter, mainly of sacred subjects and portraits. Biography Licata was born in Agrigento, Sicily. At the age of 16 years, he moved to Naples, where he planned to enroll in the milita ...
for the
province of Agrigento The Province of Agrigento ( it, Provincia di Agrigento; scn, Pruvincia di Girgenti; officially ''Libero consorzio comunale di Agrigento'') is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy, situated on its south-western coast. Follo ...
,
Agostino Lo Piano Pomar Agostino Lo Piano Pomar (Caltanissetta, August 24, 1871 – Caltanissetta, July 17, 1927) was a Sicilian lawyer, socialist and politician. He was one of the national leaders of the Fasci Siciliani (Sicilian Leagues) a popular movement of democrat ...
for the
province of Caltanissetta The Province of Caltanissetta ( it, provincia di Caltanissetta; scn, pruvincia di Nissa or ; officially ''Libero consorzio comunale di Caltanissetta'') is a province in the southern part of Sicily, Italy. Following the suppression of the Sicilia ...
,
Rosario Garibaldi Bosco Rosario Garibaldi Bosco (Palermo, July 28, 1866 – Turin, December 2, 1936) was an Italian Republican-inspired socialist, politician and writer from Sicily. He was one of the leaders of the '' Fasci Siciliani'' (Sicilian Leagues), a popular move ...
,
Nicola Barbato Nicola Barbato (Piana dei Greci, October 5, 1856 – Milan, May 23, 1923) was a Sicilian medical doctor, socialist and politician. He was one of the national leaders of the Fasci Siciliani (Sicilian Leagues) a popular movement of democratic an ...
and
Bernardino Verro Bernardino Verro (; July 3, 1866 – November 3, 1915) was a Sicilian syndicalist and politician. He was involved in the Fasci Siciliani (Sicilian Leagues) a popular movement of democratic and socialist inspiration in 1891-1894, and became the fir ...
for the
province of Palermo The Province of Palermo ( it, provincia di Palermo; Sicilian: ''pruvincia di Palermu'') was a province in the autonomous region of Sicily, a major island in Southern Italy. Its capital was the city of Palermo. On 4 August 2015, it was replaced ...
.Il «battesimo» del socialismo
La Sicilia, May 24, 2009
The Congress decided that all Leagues were obliged to join the Italian Workers' Party (''
Partito dei Lavoratori Italiani The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the longest-living parties of the country. Founded in Genoa in 1892, ...
''), the predecessor of the PSI. In July 1893 a peasant conference at Corleone drafted model agrarian contracts for labourers, sharecroppers and tenants and presented them to the landowners. When those refused to negotiate, a strike against landowners and against state taxes broke out over a large part of western Sicily. The so-called ''Patti di Corleone'' (Corleone Covenants), are considered by historians to be the first trade union collective contract in capitalist Italy.La firma dei «Patti di Corleone»
La Sicilia, September 14, 2008
In September, the state authorities intervened and some of the landowners were persuaded to capitulate. Elsewhere the strike continued until November 1893. Railwaymen of Catania and Palermo, the sulphur-miners and many other workers followed their example winning higher wages or better working conditions. In October 1893, a congress of miners was held in Grotte in the
Province of Agrigento The Province of Agrigento ( it, Provincia di Agrigento; scn, Pruvincia di Girgenti; officially ''Libero consorzio comunale di Agrigento'') is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy, situated on its south-western coast. Follo ...
which was attended by some 1,500 people, including workers and small producers. The miners demanded that the minimum age to be raised to 14 years for those who worked in the sulfur mines, the decrease of working hours and setting a minimum wage. Small producers demanded measures to avoid exploitation by large owners. The minimum-age measure was meant to improve the situation for the '' carusi'', minors that worked in conditions of near-slavery that sparked public outrage and inspired many complaints.Movimento contadino e sindacale
Umberto Santino, Narcomafie, Nr. 2, February 2005
The successful struggle convinced the Sicilian ruling elite that the "upheaval" had to be stopped. They were seized by panic and some even demanded the closing of all schools to halt the spread of subversive doctrines. Prefects and frightened local councils bombarded Rome with requests for the immediate suppression of the Fasci. Despite the heavy pressure from the King, the army and conservative circles in Rome, however, Giolitti would neither treat strikes – which were not illegal – as a crime nor dissolve the Fasci nor authorise the use of firearms against popular demonstrations.De Grand, ''The hunchback's tailor'', pp. 47-48 His policy was “to allow these economic struggles to resolve themselves through amelioration of the condition of the workers” and not to interfere in the process.


Rising tensions

Nonetheless, Giolitti acknowledged the need to stifle the agitation. From May 1893 onwards, leaders of the Fasci were arrested occasionally and police and military reinforcements were sent to Sicily. In the autumn of 1893 the leadership lost control over the Fasci and the popular agitation got out of hand. Peasant squatters seized land, violent crowds demonstrated for work and against local misgovernment, tax offices were burnt down and clashes with the police grew more frequent and bloody. The violent social conflict almost rose to the point of
insurrection Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
. The proprietors and landowners asked the government to intervene. However, his attitude could not be maintained. Landowners were infuriated by the unwillingness of the government to use force, while the peasants were annoyed by the unwillingness to redistribute land from the
latifundia A ''latifundium'' (Latin: ''latus'', "spacious" and ''fundus'', "farm, estate") is a very extensive parcel of privately owned land. The latifundia of Roman history were great landed estates specializing in agriculture destined for export: grain, o ...
. Landowners matched the strike with a
lockout Lockout may refer to: * Lockout (industry), a type of work stoppage **Dublin Lockout, a major industrial dispute between approximately 20,000 workers and 300 employers 1913 - 1914 * Lockout (sports), lockout in sports leagues **MLB lockout, lock ...
, and many peasants, probably a majority in the strike centres, were left without tenancies when the planting season ended in mid-December.Alcorn, ''Revolutionary Mafiosi.'' In December 1893, the failure of the Giolitti government to restore public order gave rise to a general demand that Crispi should return to power. Giolitti had to resign on November 24, 1893, as a result of the
Banca Romana scandal The ''Banca Romana'' scandal surfaced in January 1893 in Italy over the bankruptcy of the ''Banca Romana'', one of the six national banks authorised at the time to issue currency. The scandal was the first of many Italian corruption scandals, and ...
. In addition to the unrest in Sicily, a wave of rioting spread through Italy in August 1893, triggered by the killing of a number of migrant workers in the salt pans of Aigues Mortes in southern France escalated into a more generalized working-class revolt supported by anarchists and violent riots in Rome and Naples. Italy seemed to be slipping to a revolution. By the time Crispi returned to power in December 1893, Italy appeared to many to be on the brink of collapse.Duggan, ''The Force of Destiny''
p. 340
/ref> Crispi promised important measures of land reform for the near future. He was not blind to the misery and the need for social reform. Before 1891 he had been the patron of the Sicilian working-class and many of their associations had been named after him. Colajanni, the chief architect of Giolitti’s fall by exposing the ''Banca Romana'' scandal, was first offered the Ministry of Agriculture, which he refused, then sent to Sicily on a mission of appeasement.Seton-Watson, ''Italy from liberalism to fascism'', pp. 165-67 Crispi’s good intentions got lost in the outcry for strong measures. In the three weeks of uncertainty before the government was formed, the rapid spread of violence drove many local authorities to defy Giolitti’s ban on the use of firearms. In December 1893, 92 peasants lost their lives in clashes with the police and army. Government building were burned as well as flour mills and bakeries that refused to lower their prices when taxes were lowered or abolished. Eleven people were killed on December 10, 1893, in
Giardinello Giardinello ( Sicilian: ''Jardineddu'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Palermo in the Italian region Sicily, located about west of Palermo. As of December 2010, it had a population of 2,260 and an area of .All demograp ...
after a rally that asked for the abolition of taxes on food and disbandment of the local field guards (''guardie campestri''). The protestors carried the portrait of the King taken from the municipality and burned tax files. On December 17, 1893, many people were wounded when troops fired on a manifestation in Monreale. Another 11 protestors were killed in
Lercara Friddi Lercara Friddi is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Palermo in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo. Founded in 1595 by local feudataries, it is on the slopes of Madore Hill, between the valleys o ...
on December 25.La strage di Giardinello
La Sicilia, December 11, 2011
Colajanni,

', pp. 178-79
Scolaro,
Il movimento antimafia siciliano
', p. 57
On January 1, 1894, 20 people were killed and many wounded in
Gibellina Gibellina ( Sicilian: ''Jibbiddina'', Arabic: "little mount" - جبل صغير) is a small city and ''comune'' in the Province of Trapani, the mountains of central Sicily, Italy. It was destroyed by the 1968 Belice earthquake. The new city, G ...
and Pietraperzia. On January 2, there two dead in
Belmonte Mezzagno Belmonte Mezzagno ( Sicilian: ''Bellumunti'' but more properly ''U Mizzagnu'' in the local version of the Sicilian language) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Palermo in the Italian region Sicily, located about south o ...
and the next day 18 dead and many wounded in
Marineo Marineo ( Sicilian: ''Marineu'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Palermo in the Italian region Sicily, located about south of Palermo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 6,885 and an area of .All demographi ...
. Two days after, on January 5, thirteen dead and many wounded closed the series in Santa Caterina.Sicily Under Mob Control; A Series of Antitax Riots in the Island
The New York Times, January 3, 1894
The disorders were not the product of a revolutionary plot, but Crispi chose to believe otherwise. On the basis of dubious documents and reports, Crispi claimed that there was an organised conspiracy to separate Sicily from Italy; the leaders of the Fasci conspired with the clerics and were financed by French gold, and war and invasion were looming.Duggan, ''The Force of Destiny''
p. 342
/ref>


Crackdown

On January 3, 1894, Crispi declared a
state of siege A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...
throughout Sicily. Army reservists were recalled and General
Roberto Morra di Lavriano The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
was dispatched with 40,000 troops. The old order was restored through the use of extreme force, including
summary executions may refer to: * Abstract (summary), shortening a passage or a write-up without changing its meaning but by using different words and sentences * Epitome, a summary or miniature form * Abridgement, the act of reducing a written work into a sho ...
. The Fasci were outlawed, the army and the police killed scores of protesters, and wounded hundreds. Thousands of militants, including all the leaders, were put in jail or sent into internal exile. Some 1,000 persons were deported to the penal islands without trial. All working-class societies and cooperatives were dissolved and the freedom of the press, meeting and
association Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...
were suspended. A solidarity revolt of anarchists and republicans in the
Lunigiana The Lunigiana () is a historical territory of Italy, which today falls within the provinces of Massa Carrara, Tuscany, and La Spezia, Liguria. Its borders derive from the ancient Roman settlement, later the medieval diocese of Luni, which no long ...
was crushed as well. The government also seized the opportunity to 'revise' the
electoral register An electoral roll (variously called an electoral register, voters roll, poll book or other description) is a compilation that lists persons who are entitled to vote for particular elections in a particular jurisdiction. The list is usually broke ...
s. In Catania 5,000 of the 9,000 electors were struck off.Clark, ''Modern Italy, 1871 to the present'', p. 126 In the early days of January, 1894 a meeting of the Central Committee of the Fasci took place in Palermo to discuss the position of the movement. Two sharply contrasting positions emerged. De Felice Giuffrida, known for his anarchist tendencies, supported the need to take advantage of the situation of unrest to provoke a revolution on the island. However, the majority took an opposite view, arguing the need to proceed peacefully. A revolt was not only inappropriate, but it would be detrimental to the movement. The meeting condemned the violent incidents in various parts of the island, and launched an appeal to stay calm and not to retaliate. In the end De Felice Giuffrida accepted the position of the majority. But the die was cast for the authorities to arrest De Felice, Montalto, Petrina, and others. Garibaldi Bosco, Barbato and Verro were arrested on board the steamship ''Bagnara'' that was about to leave for
Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...
.I Fasci dei lavoratori in Sicilia
, by Pietro Siino, Società Siciliana per l'Amicizia fra i Popoli
On February 28, 1894, Crispi presented the "evidence" for a widespread
conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agre ...
in
parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
: the so-called "International Treaty of
Bisacquino Bisacquino ( Sicilian: ''Busacchinu'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo in Sicily, Italy. It is located from Agrigento and has approximately 4,500 inhabitants. The small town rises on an inner hill zone and is above s ...
", signed by the
French Government The Government of France (French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who i ...
, the
Czar of Russia This is a list of all reigning monarchs in the history of Russia. It includes the princes of medieval Rus′ state (both centralised, known as Kievan Rus′ and feudal, when the political center moved northeast to Vladimir and finally to Mo ...
, Giuseppe De Felice, the anarchists and the
Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
, with the goal to detach Sicily from the rest of the country and put it under a Franco-Russian protectorate.I contadini in ginocchio
La Sicilia, January 8, 2012
The Radical deputy
Felice Cavallotti Felice Cavallotti (6 November 1842 – 6 March 1898) was an Italian politician, poet and dramatic author. Biography Early career Born in Milan, Cavallotti fought with the Garibaldian Corps in their 1860 and 1866 campaigns during the Italian ...
ridiculed the conspiracy of Crispi, poking fun at "the famous treaty between the Emperor of Russia, the President of the French Republic, and Mr De Felice". The so-called "Treaty of Bisacquino" was so named not because it was signed in the Sicilian town, but because it had been invented by the Director of Public Safety of Bisacquino, the Neapolitan Sessi.Crispi sciolse i Fasci contadini
La Sicilia, January 7, 2011


Trial in Palermo

The trials of the central committee of the Fasci, that took place in Palermo in April and May 1894, were the final blow to the movement. In spite of an eloquent defence, which turned the Court into a political platform and thrilled every socialist in the country, they were condemned to heavy sentences of imprisonment. On May 30, 1894, the leaders of the movement received their sentence: Giuseppe de Felice Giuffrida to 18 years and Rosario Bosco, Nicola Barbato and Bernardino Verro to 12 years in jail. “In front of you,” Barbato told the judges, “we provided the documents and evidence of our innocence. My friends thought it necessary to support their defence legally; I will not do so. Not because I have no confidence in you, but it is the law that does not concern me. So I do not defend myself. You have to sentence: we are the elements that destroy your sacred institutions. You have to sentence: it is logical, human. I will always pay tribute to your loyalty. But we say to our friends outside: do not ask for pardon, do not ask for amnesty. Socialist civilization should not begin with an act of cowardice. We demand a condemnation, we do not ask for mercy. Martyrs are more useful to the holy cause than any propaganda. Condemn us!” Il «manifesto» di Nicola Barbato
La Sicilia, January 10, 2010
The heavy sentence aroused strong reactions in Italy and in the United States. In Palermo, a group of students went to the Teatro Bellini and asked the orchestra to perform the hymn of
Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, pat ...
. And the theatre applauded. In March 1896, after Crispi had to resign due to the humiliating defeat of the Italian army at
Battle of Adwa The Battle of Adwa (; ti, ውግእ ዓድዋ; , also spelled ''Adowa'') was the climactic battle of the First Italo-Ethiopian War. The Ethiopian forces defeated the Italian invading force on Sunday 1 March 1896, near the town of Adwa. The de ...
in Ethiopia during
First Italo-Ethiopian War The First Italo-Ethiopian War, lit. ''Abyssinian War'' was fought between Italy and Ethiopia from 1895 to 1896. It originated from the disputed Treaty of Wuchale, which the Italians claimed turned Ethiopia into an Italian protectorate. Full-sc ...
, the new government under Prime Minister
Antonio Di Rudinì Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular mal ...
recognized the excessive brutality of the repression. Many Fasci members were pardoned and released from jail. Di Rudinì made it clear though that a reorganization of the Fasci would not be tolerated.Seton-Watson, ''Italy from liberalism to fascism'', pp. 185-86 After their release, De Felice, Barbato and Bosco were met by a large crowd of supporters in Rome, who released the horses form their carriage and dragged them to the hotel, cheering for socialism and denouncing Crispi.


Aftermath

The brutal repression backfired to some extent. The Fasci leaders used the military tribunals to make impassioned and well-reported speeches in their defence. The tribunals were too repressive and revolted the Liberal consciences of many Northern Italians. In an attempt to regain his former 'left wing', Crispi introduced a bill in July 1894 to take over large estates and uncultivated land. The idea was to rent out the land on long leases in medium-sized holdings and leaseholders would be given reduced credit and tax concessions. While the bill failed to convince the Radicals and democrats of Crispi's good intentions, it angered the Sicilian landowners. After the suppression of the Fasci those were now unwilling to make any concessions. Under the leadership of Di Rudiní, they battled against the bill. When Crispi fell from power after Adwa in March 1896, their proponent Di Rudiní became Prime Minister and the Sicilian landowners were safe. Nevertheless, the revolt inspired social reforms. In 1898, two measures of social legislation were passed by the minister of the treasury of Di Rudini’s cabinet,
Luigi Luzzatti Luigi Luzzatti (11 March 1841 – 29 March 1927) was an Italian financier, political economist, social philosopher, and jurist. He served as the 20th prime minister of Italy between 1910 and 1911. Luzzatti came from a wealthy and cultured Jewis ...
. The industrial workmen’s compensation scheme from 1883 was made obligatory with the employer bearing all costs; and a voluntary fund for contributory disability and old age pensions was created. Many former adherents of the Fasci left Sicily. Life had grown hard and employment difficult to find because of their involvement with the movement. For those in Sicily who wanted to change their life for the better in those days, there were only two alternatives: rebel or emigrate. After the failure of the rebellion many peasants had no choice but to vote with their feet and opted for emigration. Others remained, and a year later, in 1895, protests against unjust taxes and about the issue of communal land resumed in many towns in Sicily. The disbandment of troop had to be postponed. According to Hobsbawm, the Fasci were a prime example of primitive agrarian movement that became modern by aligning itself with socialism and communism. Many of its leaders continued in the Socialist Party and continued the struggle for land rights and land reform once they were released. Despite the 1894 defeat, permanent movements were set up in some areas of Sicily using modern socialist models of organisation.Hobsbawm,
Primitive rebels
', pp. 101-105
With the dissolution of the Fasci, the unrest on Sicily did not subside. In January 1898, peasants demanding work and bread ransacked the town hall in
Siculiana Siculiana is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Agrigento, Sicily, southern Italy, west of the provincial capital Agrigento. Geography Siculiana’s long coast line is largely unspoiled; a protected Regional Nature Reserve has been e ...
.Gravi fatti in Sicilia
La Stampa, January 3, 1898
In the fall of 1901, Sicilian peasants – following the example of numerous agrarian strikes that were affecting the whole of Italy – again set off a wave of agrarian unrest, conscious of the fact that in a way they resumed "the march abruptly interrupted in 1894 by the repression of the Fasci." Just as the Fasci movement, one of the main goals of the 1901 strikes and was a revision of the land leases to undermine the economic power of the gabellotti. Scolaro, ''Il movimento antimafia siciliano''
pp. 89-92
/ref> After the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
the communist movement In Sicily built on the incipient organisational structures of the Fasci, such as during the
Biennio Rosso The Biennio Rosso (English: "Red Biennium" or "Two Red Years") was a two-year period, between 1919 and 1920, of intense social conflict in Italy, following the First World War.Brunella Dalla Casa, ''Composizione di classe, rivendicazioni e prof ...
. The Fasci inspired social struggle in Sicily well into the 1950s.


The role of women

The role of women in the Fasci Siciliani was substantial,Hobsbawm, ''Primitive rebels''
p. 99
/ref> but is regularly overlooked in historical accounts.
La Repubblica, 9 March 2010
Women were often at the forefront of demonstrations and strikes, speaking in public meetings and conferences. During municipal elections they made sure that men were going to vote (women did not have the right to vote at the time). They patrolled the taverns to prevent the men from betraying the duty of militancy with bottles of wine. They also took care of many organizational aspects and were particularly active in proselytizing for the movement, decorating the stage of the rallies, preparing ceremonies such as the inauguration opening of the flag of the Fasci, and welcoming the leaders who came to the towns with flowers. Scolaro, ''Il movimento antimafia siciliano'',
pp. 31-34
/ref> Women were among the most ardent. In some municipalities the women organized themselves into women's sections and in others even in exclusively female Fasci.Guglielmo, ''Living the Revolution''
pp. 36-39
/ref> The strongest and most numerous presence of women was in the Fascio of Piana degli Albanesi, where over a thousand of the 3,500 members were women in a town of 9,000 inhabitants. The female ''Fascio delle lavoratrici'' had their own meeting hall where they held their own meetings; they carried their own banner when participating in protest marches.Fracchia, Joseph (2010). ''"Hora": Social Conflicts and Collective Memories in Piana degli Albanesi''. Past & Present, Volume 209, Issue 1, November 2010, Pages 181–222, https://doi.org/10.1093/pastj/gtq030 For the Fasci the women abandoned the Church, but not the religious sentiment, to protest against the priests, who had tried to frighten them and isolate them with the threat of excommunication. In Piana the women organised a boycott of annual religious procession in protest of the priest’s opposition to the movement in 1893.Donne ribelli nella Sicilia dei Fasci
La Sicilia, February 6, 2012
At the congress in Palermo in May 1893 where the union of all the Fasci in Sicily was decided, Maria Cammarata, of the Fascio of Piana, urged the audience to ensure the registration of women. The presence and political sophistication of the female representatives at the congress surprised the editor of the ''Giornale di Sicilia'': "I could not believe it myself. They spoke loudly and clearly, with ease and astonishing courage." One of the most prominent women was Marietta De Felice Giuffrida, the daughter of Giuseppe de Felice Giuffrida – one of the founders of the movement. Only 14 years old, she accompanied her father throughout Sicily to help him setting up Fasci in the interior. She was "extraordinarily animated by the spirit of socialism, who spoke to the people with a fervour of a missionary, and because of her sex and age, she commanded the fascination of the masses." The authorities watched the Fasci closely and in a report to the government in Rome noticed that the female Fasci in Piana,
Belmonte Mezzagno Belmonte Mezzagno ( Sicilian: ''Bellumunti'' but more properly ''U Mizzagnu'' in the local version of the Sicilian language) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Palermo in the Italian region Sicily, located about south o ...
and San Giuseppe Jato should be considered as dangerous. The women had developed "highly successful propaganda activities and revolutionary agendas, through which they exercised considerable influence on the other fasci in the region."


Mafia involvement

Some historians emphasize that the leagues were engaged in class struggle against a coalition of landowners and mafiosi and ignore evidence of strategic alliances between the Fasci and
the Mafia "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...
. The leagues were not only led by socialists and anarchists; some were run by local gentry and mafiosi. The Mafia bosses Vito Cascioferro and Nunzio Giaimo led the Fasci in
Bisacquino Bisacquino ( Sicilian: ''Busacchinu'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo in Sicily, Italy. It is located from Agrigento and has approximately 4,500 inhabitants. The small town rises on an inner hill zone and is above s ...
in alliance with Verro. The Mafia was sometimes needed to enforce flying pickets with credible threats of violence and to make the strike costly to landowners by destroying their property. In order to give the strike teeth and to protect himself from harm, Verro became a member of a Mafia group in Corleone, the ''Fratuzzi'' (Little Brothers). However, during the great strike of the Fasci in September 1893, the ''Fratuzzi'' mobilized to boycott it, providing the necessary manpower to work on the lands that the peasants refused to cultivate. After that, Verro broke away from the mafiosi, and – according to police reports – became their most bitter enemy. He was killed by the Mafia in 1915 when he was the mayor of Corleone.Verro, una vita contro la mafia
Città Nuova di Corleone, November 3, 2004


In literature and film

*
Luigi Pirandello Luigi Pirandello (; 28 June 1867 – 10 December 1936) was an Italian dramatist, novelist, poet, and short story writer whose greatest contributions were his plays. He was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature for "his almost magical power ...
's 1913 novel ''I vecchi e i giovani'' (The Old and the Young) retraces the history of the failure and repression of the Fasci Siciliani in the period from 1893-94. Although Pirandello was not an active member of this movement, he had close ties of friendship with some of its leading ideologists: Rosario Garibaldi Bosco, Enrico La Loggia, Giuseppe De Felice Giuffrida and Francesco De Luca.Biografia di Luigi Pirandello
, Biblioteca dei Classici italiani di Giuseppe Bonghi (Accessed November 2, 2010)
* The film ''
Il giorno di San Sebastiano Il giorno di San Sebastiano (Saint Sebastian Day) is an Italian film written and directed by Pasquale Scimeca.Pasquale Scimeca, is based on the Caltavuturo massacre on January 20, 1893, when during the celebration of
Saint Sebastian Saint Sebastian (in Latin: ''Sebastianus''; Narbo, Gallia Narbonensis, Roman Empire c. AD 255 – Rome, Italia, Roman Empire c. AD 288) was an early Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocle ...
, a firing squad killed 15 peasants who claimed their right to state-owned land. It won a Golden Globe and was presented at the
Venice film festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...
. The play, a monologue depicting a peasant woman whose husband was killed in the events at Caltavuturo, was written by
Rosario Garibaldi Bosco Rosario Garibaldi Bosco (Palermo, July 28, 1866 – Turin, December 2, 1936) was an Italian Republican-inspired socialist, politician and writer from Sicily. He was one of the leaders of the '' Fasci Siciliani'' (Sicilian Leagues), a popular move ...
and first performed on February 2, 1893, in Palermo to raise money for the victims.Il drammaturgo della rivoluzione
La Repubblica (Palermo edition), February 19, 2008


References


Sources

*Alcorn, John (2004).
Revolutionary Mafiosi: Voice and Exit in the 1890s
', in: Paolo Viola & Titti Morello (eds.), ''L’associazionismo a Corleone: Un’inchiesta storica e sociologica'' (Istituto Gramsci Siciliano, Palermo, 2004) * Clark, Martin (2008).
Modern Italy, 1871 to the present
', Harlow: Pearson Education, * Cody, Gabrielle H. & Evert Sprinchorn (2007).
The Columbia encyclopedia of modern drama, Volume 2
', New York: Columbia University Press, * Colajanni, Napoleone (1895).

', Palermo: Remo Sandron Editore * Debouzy, Marianne (1992).
In the Shadow of the Statue of Liberty: Immigrants, Workers, and Citizens in the American Republic, 1880-1920
', Champaign (IL): University of Illinois Press, * De Grand, Alexander J. (2001).
The hunchback's tailor: Giovanni Giolitti and liberal Italy from the challenge of mass politics to the rise of fascism, 1882-1922
', Greenwood Publishing Group, * Duggan, Christopher (2008).
The Force of Destiny: A History of Italy Since 1796
', Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, * Guglielmo, Jennifer (2010).
Living the Revolution: Italian Women's Resistance and Radicalism in New York City, 1880-1945
', University of North Carolina Press, * Hobsbawm, Eric J. (1959/1971).
Primitive rebels; studies in archaic forms of social movement in the 19th and 20th centuries
', Manchester: Manchester University Press, * Leoni, Francesco (2001).
Storia dei partiti politici italiani
', Naples: Guida Editori, * Renda, Francesco (1977). ''I fasci siciliani : 1892-94'', Turin: Einaudi. * Scolaro, Gabriella (2008),
Il movimento antimafia siciliano: Dai Fasci dei lavoratori all'omicidio di Carmelo Battaglia
', Lulu.com, * Seton-Watson, Christopher (1967).
Italy from liberalism to fascism, 1870-1925
', New York: Taylor & Francis, {{Authority control 1891 in Italy 1892 in Italy 1893 in Italy 1894 in Italy 19th century in Sicily Politics of Italy Modern history of Italy Socialism Socialism in Italy Syndicalism Riots and civil disorder in Italy Sicilian rebellions