The Sicilian Centre of Documentation ( it, Centro Siciliano di Documentazione "Giuseppe Impastato", Centro Impastato) organizes research into

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 ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

and campaigns against it. The Centre was the first study centre on the Mafia in Italy.

Mission

The Centre’s purpose is defined in terms of four main points: * Develop awareness of the Mafia and similar organizations * Develop projects aimed at fighting Mafia organizations * Encourage the promotion of cultural legality * Develop and promote democratic participation in society and government.

History and activities

Umberto Santino and Anna Puglisi founded the Sicilian Centre of Documentation in 1977. Since then, the Centre has developed an archive dedicated to research into the Mafia. As a result, the centre has made research available to the public in form of information packs. The centre continues active in education about the Mafia and other criminal organizations by visiting schools and universities throughout Italy and the world. The Centre also organizes and initiates public demonstrations, and played a key role in the murder investigation of

Giuseppe Impastato Giuseppe "Peppino" Impastato (; January 5, 1948 – May 9, 1978), was an Italians, Italian political activist who opposed Sicilian Mafia, the Mafia, which ordered his murder in 1978. Childhood Giuseppe "Peppino" Impastato was born in Cinisi, i ...

, murdered by the Mafia in May 1978. In Impastato’s honour, the Centre was renamed “The Centre of Giuseppe Impastato” in 1980. In 1998, the Centre was renamed again to “The Centre of Giuseppe Impastato – Non-profit Organization for Social Venues”. This self-financed centre carries out activities that include the research of political, sociological, economic and historical data, as well as hosting conferences, exhibitions, and seminars. The centre also assists with the publication of informational pamphlets and books. In 1979 the Centre organized the first anti-Mafia demonstration in Italian history. Over 2,000 demonstrators participated in this historic event. The Centre has also organized other demonstrations, which include peace movements, the protection of democratic participation and human rights.

Giuseppe "Peppino" Impastato and the Centre

(born 1948) was a political activist from

Cinisi Cinisi (; scn, Cìnisi ) is a town and a ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo in Sicily. As of 1 January 2022 it has a population of 11.846. Geography The town is part of the Palermo metropolitan area, borders with the municipalities ...

in Italy, murdered by the Mafia in 1978. Impastato campaigned against the Mafia by founding a journal titled “The Socialist Idea” and a self-financed radio show,

Radio Aut Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

. A particular target of Impastato was Mafia leader

Gaetano Badalamenti Gaetano Badalamenti (; 14 September 1923 – 29 April 2004) was a powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia. ''Don Tano'' Badalamenti was the capofamiglia of his hometown Cinisi, Sicily, and headed the Sicilian Mafia Commission in the 1970s. In 198 ...

, who lived near Impastato's family home. On May 8–9, 1978, Impastato was murdered. His body was discovered with a charge of TNT tied to a local railway line. At the time Impastato had been running for local elections under the

Proletarian Democracy Proletarian Democracy ( it, Democrazia Proletaria, DP) was a far-left political party in Italy. History 1970s DP was founded in 1975 as a joint electoral front of the Proletarian Unity Party (Italy), Proletarian Unity Party (PdUP), Workers Vangua ...

party. Despite his death just before the elections, Impastato was elected. The Sicilian Centre for Documentation fought for years alongside Impastato's family to produce evidence against his murderers – the Mafia, led by Gaetano Badalamenti. Thanks to the Centre’s involvement, demonstrations and research, Badalamenti was convicted of Impastato’s murder and sentenced to life in prison in 2002.

Recommended resources

* Albanese, J.A., D.K. Das and A. Verma (eds.) ''Mafia and Mafia-type Organizations in Italy''. Organized Crime. World Perspectives, Prentice-Hall, 2003. * Gambetta, Diego. ''The Sicilian Mafia: The Business of Private Protection''. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1993. * Vitale, Salvo. ''Nel Cuore Dei Coralli: Peppino Impastato, Una Vita Contro La Mafia''. Italy: Rubbetino, 1995.

External links

Centre's website
Antimafia History of the Sicilian Mafia {{Mafia