The San Luca feud or Vendetta of San Luca is a long-running conflict between two clans of the
'Ndrangheta
The 'Ndrangheta (, , ) is a prominent Italian Mafia-type organized crime syndicate and secret society, criminal society based in the peninsular and mountainous region of Calabria and dating back to the late 18th century. It is considered one of ...
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
San Luca
San Luca is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about southwest of Catanzaro and about east of Reggio Calabria. The town is situated on the eastern slopes of the Aspromonte ...
.
History
The two involved clans, the Strangio-Nirta and Pelle-Vottari-Romeo families, both belong to the
'Ndrangheta
The 'Ndrangheta (, , ) is a prominent Italian Mafia-type organized crime syndicate and secret society, criminal society based in the peninsular and mountainous region of Calabria and dating back to the late 18th century. It is considered one of ...
crime organization. During a fight at a
carnival
Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...
celebration in 1991 two young men from Strangio-Nirta were killed, leading to a series of
feud
A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...
Antonio Nirta
Antonio Nirta (April 22, 1919 – September 1, 2015) was a boss of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia-type organization in Calabria, Italy. Together with his brothers Giuseppe, Francesco and Sebastiano, he ruled San Luca, a stronghold of the 'Ndrangheta.
...
Reggio Calabria
Reggio di Calabria ( scn, label= Southern Calabrian, Riggiu; el, label= Calabrian Greek, Ρήγι, Rìji), usually referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the largest city in Calabria. It has an estimated popul ...
, which held for some time.E il boss rifiutò la tregua La Repubblica, August 19, 2007Faida, la pax targata Di Stefano Gazzetta del Sud, January 28, 2010 A truce was called in 2000.
The feud resumed after an honour killing on 5 January 2005.Lea, Concetta, Giuseppina è l'8 marzo della Calabria La Repubblica, February 29, 2012 Domenico Giorgi of the Nirta-Strangio clan killed Salvatore Favasuli a relative of the Pelle-Vottari clan, after having threatened Giorgi's girlfriend. Giorgi fled to Piedmont, but the family of Favasuli killed his brother Antonio Giorgi. The Nirta-Strangio clan reacted by shooting Francesco Pelle, "Ciccio Pakistan", while on the balcony with his newborn child. A bullet entered his back and he remained paralyzed. From his wheelchair he claimed revenge, and on Christmas Day, December 25, 2006, they attacked the house of a boss of the rival Nirta-Strangio clan, Giovanni Luca Nirta, killing his wife Maria Strangio. At the funeral of Maria Strangio, her cousin
Giovanni Strangio
Giovanni Strangio (; born January 3, 1979) is a member of the 'Ndrangheta born in Siderno, Calabria. Starting from 2007, he was included on the list of most wanted fugitives in Italy as well as in Germany,
pizzeria
A pizzeria is a restaurant focusing on pizza. As well as pizza, dishes at pizzerias can include kebab, salads and pasta.
Many pizzerias offer take-away, where the customer orders their food either in advance or at the restaurant and then t ...
near the train station of
Duisburg
Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in Nor ...
in western
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. One of the killed men, Marco Marmo, was seen as responsible for the murder of Maria Strangio. It is believed that the men had moved to Germany to escape the feud.
Giovanni Strangio
Giovanni Strangio (; born January 3, 1979) is a member of the 'Ndrangheta born in Siderno, Calabria. Starting from 2007, he was included on the list of most wanted fugitives in Italy as well as in Germany,Haftbefehl gegen Giovanni Strangio erlassen Der Spiegel, August 31, 2007 La Repubblica, August 31, 2007 The second gunman is believed to be Strangio's brother-in-law Giuseppe Nirta (born in 1973), also wanted for international cocaine trafficking.Spur nach Belgien Focus, March 3, 2008 Der Spiegel, March 3, 2008 La Repubblica, March 1, 2008
In Germany the massacre instigated the Mafia? Nein danke! movement, inspired by the example of the anti-Mafia movement
A massacre of this size had been unprecedented in the history of the 'Ndrangheta. Italian police drastically heightened security measures in San Luca as a result, and arrested over 30 'Ndrangheta members, including
Giovanni Luca Nirta Giovanni may refer to:
* Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname
* Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data
* ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...
Sanctuary of Our Lady of Polsi The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Polsi, also known as the Sanctuary of Santa Maria di Polsi or Our Lady of the Mountain, is a Christian sanctuary in the heart of the Aspromonte mountains, near San Luca in Calabria, southern Italy. It was founded by Roge ...
in
Aspromonte
The Aspromonte is a mountain massif in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria ( Calabria, southern Italy). The literal translation of the name means "rough mountain". But for others the name more likely is related to the Greek word Aspros ( Ά ...
, a traditional meeting place of the 'Ndrangheta. According to prosecutor the elite bosses of the 'Ndrangheta imposed a peace directly after the Duisburg massacre.Strage di Duisburg, un anno dopo: analisi di Nicola Gratteri , ANSA, August 9, 2008
On 12 March 2009,
Dutch police
National Police Corps ( nl, Korps Nationale Politie), colloquially in English as Dutch National Police or National Police Force, is divided in ten regional units, a central unit, the police academy, police services center, and national control ...
arrested Giovanni Strangio and his brother-in-law, Francesco Romeo, in an apartment in
Diemen
Diemen () is a town and municipality with a population of in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is located approximately 6 km (3.7 mi) southeast of Amsterdam's city centre, within the Amsterdam metropolitan area.
Etymology
The name ...
near
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
The trial against the killers started on 14 April 2010, in
Locri
Locri is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Reggio Calabria, Calabria, southern Italy. Its name derives from that of the ancient Greek region of Locris. Today it is an important administrative and cultural centre on the Ion ...
. Strangio followed the hearing via video link to his prison cell in Rome.Mutmaßlicher Drahtzieher steht vor Gericht Der Spiegel, April 14, 2010 On 12 July 2011, the Criminal Court in Locri sentenced eight people to life imprisonment for their roles in a violent feud, including Giovanni Strangio, Gianluca Nirta, Francesco Nirta (37), Giuseppe Nirta, known as 'Peppe u versu' (71), Francesco Pelle, known as 'Ciccio Pakistan' (34), Sebastiano Romeo (34), Francesco Vottari known as 'Ciccio u Frunzu' (40) and Sebastiano Vottari, known as 'il Professore' (28). Three other people were convicted and sentenced to terms ranging from nine to 12 years, while three more were acquitted. Der Spiegel, July 12, 2011
Non-involvement of main Pelle clan
Antonio Pelle
Antonio Pelle (; March 1, 1932 – November 4, 2009), also known as Ntoni Gambazza ("Tony Bad Leg"), was a historically significant and charismatic 'Ndrangheta boss from San Luca in Calabria. He was the patriarch of the San Luca '' locale'' and th ...
, also known as ''Ntoni Gambazza'', the patriarch of the San Luca locale and the 'Ndrangheta
capo crimine A capocrimine is the elected boss of the ''crimine'', an annual meeting of the 'Ndrangheta ''locali'' near the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Polsi in the municipality of San Luca during the September Feast.Paoli, ''Mafia Brotherhoods'', p. 59
At least s ...
, the titular head of the organisation, tried in every way to end the feud and make peace. However, he was only able to secure that the section of the clan he headed ("Pelle-Gambazza") was not involved in the feud that affected another element of the clan ("Pelle-Vanchelli").Morto Antonio Pelle, "patriarca" di San Luca Gazzetta del Sud, November 5, 2009
Notwithstanding his non-involvement in the facts, Antonio Pelle was indirectly involved through his son-in-law, Francesco Vottari, one the protagonists among disputing clans, who is married to his daughter Maria Pelle.Ancient feuds and new crimes Gnosis Nr. 3, 2007 In order to underline his non-involvement in the feud, he asked family members to send a letter to the ''
Gazzetta del Sud
''Gazzetta del Sud'' is an Italian language national daily newspaper for the south of Italy. The paper is published in Messina. Since 2017, it owns also the Giornale di Sicilia.
History and profile
''Gazzetta del Sud'' was founded in 1952 in Me ...
'' newspaper. The message was clear: the feud was a clash between minor elements of the clan and Gambazza was trying to reach a peace without victors, as he had done in the past, in 1991, when the conflict started.
List of 'ndrine
The 'ndrina (plural: 'ndrine) is the basic unit in the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal organization from Calabria.
Province of Catanzaro
Badolato
* Gallelli
Borgia
* Giacobbe
Curinga
* Fruci
Guardavalle
* Gallace Rache am Weihnachtsmörder ''Spiegel Online'', 16 August 2007. ''
Spiegel Online
''Der Spiegel (online)'' is a German news website. Before the renaming in January 2020, the website's name was ''Spiegel Online'' (short ''SPON'').
It was founded in 1994 as the online offshoot of the German news magazine, ''Der Spiegel'', wit ...
The Scotsman
''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its par ...
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...