Giuseppe Musolino (24 September 1876 – 22 January 1956), also known as the "Brigante Musolino" or the "King of Aspromonte", was an Italian
brigand
Brigandage is the life and practice of highway robbery and plunder. It is practiced by a brigand, a person who usually lives in a gang and lives by pillage and robbery.Oxford English Dictionary second edition, 1989. "Brigand.2" first recorded us ...
and
folk hero
A folk hero or national hero is a type of hero – real, fictional or mythological – with their name, personality and deeds embedded in the popular consciousness of a people, mentioned frequently in folk songs, folk tales and other folklore; a ...
.
Biography
Musolino was born in
Santo Stefano in Aspromonte
Santo Stefano in Aspromonte 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. As of 31 December 2004, it had a populat ...
, in a rugged area of
Calabria, in southern Italy.
He worked as a woodcutter in the
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 ...
area of Calabria, an isolated and mountainous region near the "toe" of the Italian "boot". On 24 September 1898, at the trial before the Assize Court of Reggio Calabria, despite the evidence brought by Musolino, the false testimonies of Rocco Zoccali and Stefano Crea, had helped sentence Musolino on 28 September to 21 years in prison for attempted murder. On 9 January 1899 he escaped from jail.
Musolino was captured by
Carabinieri
The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign polic ...
while heading to seek pardon from
Victor Emmanuel III of Italy
Victor Emmanuel III (Vittorio Emanuele Ferdinando Maria Gennaro di Savoia; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. He also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia (1936–1941) and ...
on 22 October 1901 in
Acqualagna
Acqualagna () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pesaro e Urbino in the Italian region Marche, located about west of Ancona and about southwest of Pesaro. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 4,304 and an area of .All de ...
, near
Urbino
Urbino ( ; ; Romagnol: ''Urbìn'') is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of F ...
,
[Italian Brigand Musolino Captured]
The New York Times, October 17, 1901 He was tried and sent to life in prison on 11 July 1902. He remained in prison until 1946 when he developed mental illness, and was transferred to an asylum in
Reggio Calabria where he died on 22 January 1956.
[''Dopo l'arresto di Musolino'' – Il Mattino 20–21 ottobre 1902.]
Musolino as legend
It can be said that Musolino was seen by his countrymen as a symbol of the injustice Calabria was facing at the time. As an elusive fugitive, always managing to escape traps, Musolino stirred the imagination of many people in Italy and in short order he became a
legend
A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...
throughout Italy and abroad. He became the subject of many Calabrian folk tales and popular songs. The 1950 film ''
Il Brigante Musolino
''Il Brigante Musolino'' (Italian: ''The Brigand Musolino''), released in the US as ''Outlaw Girl'', is a 1950 Italian crime drama film inspired by the life of the Calabrian outlaw Giuseppe Musolino. It was directed and written by Mario Camerini ...
'', by
Mario Camerini
Mario Camerini (6 February 1895 – 4 February 1981) was an Italian film director and screenwriter.
The cousin of Augusto Genina, he made the most well-known films in Italy during the 1930s, most of them comedies starring Vittorio De Sica. H ...
, was based on his life. His real life events were also the subject of the concept-album ''Il Brigante Musolino'' by
Otello Profazio
Otello Profazio (26 December 1934 – 23 July 2023) was an Italian cantastorie, folk singer-songwriter, and author.
Biography
Born Otello Ermanno Profazio in Rende, Province of Cosenza, Profazio debuted in 1953, participating at the radio mus ...
.
See also
*
Eric Hobsbawm's concept of the
social bandit
Social banditry or social crime is a form of lower class social resistance involving behavior that by law is illegal but is supported by wider "oppressed" society as being moral and acceptable. The term ''social bandit'' was invented by the Marx ...
(see also Hobsbawm, ''Primitive Rebels'', 1959)
*
Cesare Lombroso's "The Last Brigand" (1902)
* Dan Possumato's book (paperback edition) ''King of the Mountains. The Remarkable Story of Giuseppe Musolino, Italy's Most Famous Outlaw'' (2013) Kindle edition (2012), Audiobook Edition, read by Italian actor Edoardo Camponeschi (2014)
References
External links
"Musolino and the Law" from Old Calabria (1915) by
Norman Douglas
George Norman Douglas (8 December 1868 – 7 February 1952) was a British writer, now best known for his 1917 novel '' South Wind''. His travel books, such as ''Old Calabria'' (1915), were also appreciated for the quality of their writing.
...
Arrestato il famoso e temutissimo brigante Musolino La Domenica del Corriere del 27 ottobre 1901
La Domenica del Corriere del 4 maggio 1902
La Tribuna Illustrata del 4 maggio 1902
{{DEFAULTSORT:Musolino, Giuseppe
1876 births
1956 deaths
People from the Province of Reggio Calabria
Italian brigandage
Italian folklore