Placido Rizzotto (; 2 January 1914 – 10 March 1948) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

partisan Partisan may refer to: Military * Partisan (weapon), a pole weapon * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line Films * ''Partisan'' (film), a 2015 Australian film * ''Hell River'', a 1974 Yugoslavian film also know ...

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 e ...

peasant and

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

leader from

Corleone Corleone (; scn, Cunigghiuni or ) is an Italian town and ''comune'' of roughly 11,158 inhabitants in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, in Sicily. Several Mafia bosses have come from Corleone, including Tommy Gagliano, Gaetano Reina, Jack Dragn ...

, who was kidnapped and murdered by

Sicilian Mafia The Sicilian Mafia, also simply known as the Mafia and frequently referred to as Cosa nostra (, ; "our thing") by its members, is an Italian Mafia-terrorist-type organized crime syndicate and criminal society originating in the region of Sicily a ...

boss

Luciano Leggio Luciano Leggio (; 6 January 1925 – 15 November 1993) was an Italian criminal and leading figure of the Sicilian Mafia. He was the head of the Corleonesi, the Mafia faction that originated in the town of Corleone. He is universally known with th ...

on 10 March 1948. Before he was killed, Rizzotto was performing activist work with farm laborers, trying to help them take over unfarmed land on large estates in the area. A 12-year-old

shepherd A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' 'herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, i ...

, Giuseppe Letizia, witnessed Rizzotto's murder and was killed the following day with a lethal injection, made by a Mafia doctor named

Michele Navarra Michele Navarra (; 5 January 1905 – 2 August 1958) was an Italian member of the Sicilian Mafia. He was a qualified physician and headed the Mafia family from the town of Corleone in Sicily. He was known as u patri nostru'' (our father) ...

.Ritrovati i resti di Placido Rizzotto sindacalista ucciso dalla mafia nel '48
/ref> In the 1960s, Leggio was acquitted twice of Rizzotto's murder due to lack of evidence.

Discovery of body and aftermath

Over 60 years after his death, remains were found on 7 July 2009, on a cliff in

Rocca Busambra Rocca Busambra is the highest peak in the Monti Sicani, in western Sicily, southern Italy. It has an elevation of . Geography The mount has the appearance of a flat, isolated ridge, with the Bosco della Ficuzza wood occupying its slopes. It is ...

near Corleone, and on 9 March 2012, a

DNA test Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...

, compared with one extracted from his father Carmelo Rizzotto, long dead and exhumed for this purpose, confirmed the identity of remains as being that of Placido Rizzotto following a long and difficult investigation conducted by the

State Police State police, provincial police or regional police are a type of sub-national territorial police force found in nations organized as federations, typically in North America, South Asia, and Oceania. These forces typically have jurisdiction o ...

at the service of the PS Commissariat of Corleone.Identificati dopo 64 anni i resti di Rizzotto il sindacalista che combatteva la mafia di Liggio
/ref> On 16 March 2012, the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

announced a

State Funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

would be held for Rizzotto, which took place in Corleone on 24 May 2012, attended by Italian President

Giorgio Napolitano Giorgio Napolitano (; born 29 June 1925) is an Italian politician who served as president of Italy from 2006 to 2015, the first Italian president to be re-elected to the presidency. Due to his dominant position in Italian politics, some critics ...

. A

biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...

of Placido Rizzotto was made by

Pasquale Scimeca Pasquale Scimeca is an Italian film director and producer. Filmography * ''Il giorno di San Sebastiano'' (Saint Sebastian's Day) (1993) * ''Placido Rizzotto Placido Rizzotto (; 2 January 1914 – 10 March 1948) was an Italian partisan, s ...

, released in 2000.Placido Rizzotto (2000)
at IMDB

References

1914 births 1940s missing person cases 1948 deaths Antimafia Formerly missing people Italian resistance movement members Missing person cases in Italy People murdered by the Corleonesi {{activist-stub

Discovery of body and aftermath

See also

References