Platì (; ) is a town and ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' (municipality) in the

province of Reggio Calabria The province of Reggio Calabria () was a province in the Calabria region of Italy. It was the southernmost province in mainland Italy and is separated from the island of Sicily by the Strait of Messina. The capital was the city of Reggio. It w ...

, in

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

, southern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It rises above sea level on the slope of the

Aspromonte The Aspromonte is a mountain massif in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria (Calabria, southern Italy). In Italian aspro means "rough" whereas in Greek it means "white" (wikt:άσπρος, Άσπρος), therefore the name literally translat ...

mountains and is located next to the Aspromonte National Park.

History

Platì was founded in 1505 when

Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II, also known as Ferdinand I, Ferdinand III, and Ferdinand V (10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), called Ferdinand the Catholic, was King of Aragon from 1479 until his death in 1516. As the husband and co-ruler of Queen Isabella I of ...

granted the

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

Platì and Santa Barbara to Carlo Spinelli, member of the noble Neapolitan Spinelli family, princes of Cariati. The small hamlet that was set up was named Platì in 1704. The area was apparently populated by ex-convicts from the prison of

Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria (; ), commonly and officially referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the List of cities in Italy, largest city in Calabria as well as the seat of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria. As ...

as a kind of

penal colony A penal colony or exile colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general population by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory. Although the term can be used to refer ...

. The population was mainly employed in

sheep husbandry Sheep farming or sheep husbandry is the raising and breeding of domestic sheep. It is a branch of animal husbandry. Sheep are raised principally for their meat ( lamb and mutton), milk (sheep's milk), and fiber (wool). They also yield sheepskin ...

.Un pò di storia
Istituto Comprensivo di Platì. ''Retrieved January 16, 2010''. An

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

on February 5, 1783, partially destroyed the town, killing 25 people. The area is prone to floods and landslides and was hit in 1848, 1861, 1870, 1908, 1951, 1953, 1958, 1972 and 1973. On October 16–18, 1951, the town was hit by a flood from the Careri river and landslides, partially destroying the town and leaving 18 people dead. Many people decided to leave and headed north to Turin and Milan or emigrated, in particular to Australia. In 1953 and 1958 the town was hit again by floods. Many of the migrants to Australia ended up in

Griffith, New South Wales Griffith is a major regional city in the northern Riverina region of western New South Wales, known commonly as the food bowl of Australia. It is also the seat of the City of Griffith Local government in Australia, local government area. Like ...

and made the area into an important wine-producing region.

'Ndrangheta stronghold

Platì is notorious for being a center of the powerful

'Ndrangheta The 'Ndrangheta (, , ) is a mafia-type organized crime, criminal syndicate originating from the Calabria region of Italy. Gratteri & Nicaso, ''Fratelli di Sangue'', pp. 65–68 This body, also referred to as the Commission in reference to the ...

, the Calabrian

organized crime Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a f ...

organization. The town has been called the "cradle of kidnapping" and it is suspected that kidnap victims were held within underground hide-outs. The wealth of the crime families is well hidden, and the municipality is officially the one with the lowest per capita income in Italy. In a large scale operation in the night of 13 November 2003, thousands of ''

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 poli ...

'' stormed the town, discovering hidden underground rooms and hallways and arresting 131 people.Im Schattenreich der Krake
''

Süddeutsche Zeitung The ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'' (; ), published in Munich, Bavaria, is one of the largest and most influential daily newspapers in Germany. The tone of ''SZ'' is mainly described as centre-left, liberal, social-liberal, progressive-liberal, and ...

'', February 3, 2006 The tunnels are sophisticated and in some places large enough to drive a lorry through. Most of the passages run parallel to the town's sewer system. Remote-controlled trap doors lead into houses, some of them uninhabited, enabling the 'ndranghetisti to escape from the police at a moment's notice. Some of the tunnels emerge outside the town close to woodland, while others open into animal pens and barns on local farms.Vast underground Mafia stronghold found in Calabria
The Independent, July 31, 2002 Platì is home to the Barbaro, Romeo, Marando, Papalia and Sergi 'ndrine. Seven of Platì's mayors have failed to finish their terms: two were killed while still serving, while another five were removed from office on suspicion of corruption. In July 2006, the town council was dissolved on orders from the central government and replaced by a prefectoral commissioner because it had been infiltrated by the 'Ndrangheta.Storia
, Comune di Platì official website. ''Retrieved January 16, 2010''.

Notable people

* Francesco Barbaro (1927–2018), notorious 'Ndrangheta boss known as the king of kidnapping * Tony Catanzariti (born 1949),

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n politician representing the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

* Rocco Perri (1887–unknown), an infamous bootlegger in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Platì History of the 'Ndrangheta Populated places established in 1505 1505 establishments in Italy