Siderno ( scn, label= Calabrian, Sidernu or ; ) is a town and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' in the

Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria ( it, Città metropolitana di Reggio Calabria) is an area of local government at the level of metropolitan city in the Calabria region of the Republic of Italy. It comprises the territory of the city of Reggi ...

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, southern

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 ...

, about 3 kilometres from

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 Ionia ...

. Some notable people from Siderno are Marco stalteri, Patrizia lunch shift and Andrew Tate. Siderno Marina is the newer town located on the Ionian coast. It is a destination for both Italian and foreign

tourists Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...

and has a bathing beach. Siderno Superiore is the old town, higher up on the flank of the coastal mountain range. It has historic palaces, old buildings and very narrow streets. Its population has largely relocated to the Marina which offers more job opportunities and services.

History

The early history of the town is unknown. The old town in the hilly inland was probably founded in the 10th century by some people from

, who had fled to the area to defend themselves from Saracen incursions; in the following century it became a hamlet of the county of

Grotteria Grotteria is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about southwest of Catanzaro and about northeast of Reggio Calabria. The local economy, once based on agriculture and shepherdry, ...

and was home to various feudal lords. Siderno Marina was built along the coast after the 1783 earthquake.Siderno
(''Retrieved January 22, 2010'')

Emigration

Large-scale emigration abroad as well as to Northern Italy, which began to diminish only in the 1970s, has had a lasting effect on the demographic situation in the region. Emigrants from Siderno immigrated to the United States, Canada and Australia since the end of the 19th century to find employment. Many moved to Canada settled in

Schreiber, Ontario Schreiber is a municipal township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located on the northernmost point of Lake Superior along Highway 17. The town, with a population of approximately 1100 people, is almost completely located inside the geogr ...

due to then-ongoing construction of the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

. One of them was Cosimo Figliomeni. His good fortune and letters home lured many of his villagers to jobs in Schreiber. Half of Schreiber's 2,000 residents trace their roots to Siderno.Sons and Daughters: The Italians of Schreiber
A Scattering of Seeds – The Creation of Canada

Economy

Siderno is a tourist resort on the Ionian coast of the province of Reggio Calabria, with wide, sandy beaches, and a clear sea . The Siderno area is a center of production of

bergamot orange ''Citrus bergamia'', the bergamot orange (pronounced ), is a fragrant citrus fruit the size of an orange, with a yellow or green color similar to a lime, depending on ripeness. Genetic research into the ancestral origins of extant citrus cultiv ...

, a citrus fruit that is used as an essence and fundamental ingredient in cosmetics, for its wound healing properties in the pharmaceutical industry, and for flavouring in the food industry.

Crime

The town is home 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 ...

, a

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 ...

-type criminal organization based in Calabria. Several powerful criminal clans originate from the town. Siderno was the fiefdom of

Antonio Macrì Antonio Macrì (; – January 20, 1975), popularly known as ("Unca Tony"), was a historical and charismatic boss of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria, Italy. He was born in Siderno on the Ionian Sea, Ionian coast ...

, the undisputed local boss until his demise in January 1975. Several of the criminal clans are sometimes involved in bloody feuds.Back to the 'wolves'
National Post, July 30, 2005 The town is home to one of the 'Ndrangheta's biggest and most important clans, the

Commisso 'ndrina The Commisso 'ndrina () is a powerful clan of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organization in Calabria, Italy. The 'ndrina is based in Siderno, but also has a branch in the Greater Toronto Area in Canada as part of the Siderno Group. ...

, heavily involved in the global cocaine business and money laundering. Gratteri & Nicaso, ''Fratelli di Sangue'', p. 133 Several clans moved to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, in particular the

Greater Toronto Area The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the City of Toronto and the regional municipalities of Durham, Halton, Peel, and York. In total, the region contains 25 urban, suburban, and rural municipalities. The Greater T ...

, home to what Canadian law enforcement call the

Siderno Group The Siderno Group is a criminal association in Canada, Australia and Italy related to the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia-type organization in Calabria. The association is labelled the "Siderno Group" because its members primarily came from the town of Sidern ...

, which has been here since at least the 1950s. "The criminal minds of Siderno are in Canada", according to the Siderno police force. One of them,

Antonio Commisso The Commisso 'ndrina () is a powerful clan of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organization in Calabria, Italy. The 'ndrina is based in Siderno, but also has a branch in the Greater Toronto Area in Canada as part of the Siderno Group. ...

, was arrested in June 2005.Why Italy's scariest Mob loves Canada
, National Post, November 24, 2007 Individuals related to the so-called Siderno Group were still active in Southern Ontario in 2018.

People

(born 1956), 'Ndrangheta boss *

(1902–1975), historical 'Ndrangheta boss *

Francesco Panetta Francesco Panetta (born 10 January 1963 in Siderno) is a former Italian long-distance runner, who won several medals at international championships in the 1980s. Career Panetta's greatest achievement was the victory at the 1987 World Championsh ...

(born 1963), former long-distance runner * Nicola Zitara (born 1927), historianNicola Zitara
/ref> *

Leon Panetta Leon Edward Panetta (born June 28, 1938) is an American Democratic Party politician who has served in several different public office positions, including Secretary of Defense, CIA Director, White House Chief of Staff, Director of the Office of ...

(born 1938) – who served in the

Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...

Director of the Central Intelligence Agency The director of the Central Intelligence Agency (D/CIA) is a statutory office () that functions as the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, which in turn is a part of the United States Intelligence Community. Beginning February 2017, the D ...

from 2009 to 2011, and as

Secretary of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

from 2011 to 2013, as well as Chief of Staff in the

Clinton administration Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following a decisive election victory over Re ...

from 1994 to 1997 –, is issued from a family native from Siderno. He was responsible for the operation that led to the

Death of Osama bin Laden On May 2, 2011, Osama bin Laden, the founder and first leader of the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda, was shot several times and killed at his compound in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad, by United States Navy SEALs of the U.S. Nava ...

, the leader and founder of al-Qaeda and the mastermind of the

9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

attacks *

, Italy's most powerful organized crime syndicate has their roots in Siderno, and continue to use this city as a base of operations.

Twin cities

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population ...

Frazioni

Donisi (), Vennerello, Mirto (), Campo, Lucis, Zammariti, Pellegrina, Arona, San Filippo, Leone, Grappidaro, Gonia (), Pergola, Lamia.

References

* Gratteri, Nicola & Antonio Nicaso (2006).
Fratelli di Sangue
', Cosenza: Luigi Pellegrini Editore

External links

* Italian Wikipedia article on Siderno {{Authority control