Salvatore Giuliano (; Sicilian: Turiddu or Sarvaturi Giulianu; 16 November 1922 – 5 July 1950) was a Sicilian brigand, who rose to prominence in the disorder that followed the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943. In September of that year, Giuliano became an outlaw after shooting and killing a police officer who tried to arrest him for black market food smuggling, at a time when 70 per cent of Sicily's food supply was provided by the black market. He maintained a band of subordinates for most of his career. He was a flamboyant, high-profile criminal, attacking the police at least as often as they sought him. In addition, he was a local power-broker in Sicilian politics between 1945 and 1948, including his role as a nominal colonel for the Movement for the Independence of Sicily. He and his band were held legally responsible for the Portella della Ginestra massacre, though there is some doubt about their role in the numerous deaths which occurred.
The widespread international press coverage he attracted made him an embarrassment to the Italian government, and throughout his banditry, up to 2,000 police and soldiers were deployed against him. He was murdered on 5 July 1950. The historian Eric Hobsbawm described him as the last of the "people's bandits" (à la Robin Hood) and the first to be covered in real time by modern mass media.Hobsbawm, Robin Hoodo, p. 12
Biography
Early life Giuliano was born on 16 November 1922, in Montelepre, a rural village in western Sicily, the fourth and youngest child of Salvatore Giuliano, Sr. and Maria Lombardo. His parents were landed peasants who had spent some of their earlier lives in the United States where they had earned the money to buy their farmland.Chandler, p. 7
Giuliano—also known as Turi or Turridu, to distinguish him from his father—attended primary school in the village from the age of 10 to 13. Although he was a good student,Maxwell, p. 42 when his older brother Giuseppe was drafted into the Italian armed forces in 1935, he left school to help his father cultivate the family farm. He soon tired of the drudgery of farm work, hired a substitute from the village to take his place, and began trading in olive oil, which brought additional income to the family. Later in life, he claimed that he quit school as much from youthful impulsiveness as from economic necessity.
The outbreak of World War II brought him opportunities in the form of jobs installing road barriers and telephone infrastructure. He performed well, but was dismissed from both jobs after disputes with his bosses. At the time of the Allied Invasion of Sicily in July 1943, Giuliano was once again trading in olive oil.
Outlaw career The most immediate trouble caused by the Allied invasion was the breakdown of government structures and the legal distribution of food. Especially in the cities, up to 70% of the food was supplied through the black market, including small-scale operators to large-scale, well-financed and well-organized operations. With a horse brought home from the war by his brother and a Beretta handgun for protection, Giuliano was soon a participant in the black market.Chandler, pp. 5–7
The Allied Military Government for Occupied Territories (AMGOT) used the remnants of the previous fascist government, especially the Polizia and Carabinieri, to suppress the black market. Since their pay was irregular and most of their income was bribes from major black marketeers, they focused their attention on minor operators. On 2 September 1943, Giuliano was caught at a Carabinieri checkpoint transporting two sacks of black market grain. While trying to negotiate his release in return for surrendering the grain, Giuliano drew his gun when another black marketeer was apprehended. When one of the officers raised his weapon, Giuliano shot and killed him. He was shot in the back as he fled. After the escape and an operation arranged by his family, he hid out in the family home.Chandler, pp. 8–10
On Christmas Eve 1943, the Carabinieri moved into Montelepre to apprehend Giuliano. The operation included mass arrests—a dragnet. He escaped, but angered by the dragnet, he shot and killed another officer.Chandler, pp. 10–11 Benefitting from his intimate knowledge of the surrounding mountainous terrain Giulano was able to evade the authorities, while visiting his family occasionally. On 30 January 1944, he helped the escape of eight fellow villagers from the jail in Monreale. Six of them joined him and formed a band that was able to expand operations.Chandler, pp. 10–11, 140
With no income and outside of the law, Giuliano turned to banditry, and later extortion and kidnapping. His exclusive target was the wealthy, partly from identification with poor peasants, but mostly for efficiency—the rich had more money. Thanks to Sicily's omerta tradition, local peasants were reluctant to cooperate with law enforcement, and Giuliano made them his allies and effective co-conspirators. Throughout his career, he paid up to ten times the going market rate for his supplies to the locals. They became good sources of intelligence about rich targets for his crimes, as well as law enforcement activity.Chandler, pp. 15–16 While Giuliano's core band was never larger than 20 men,Chandler, p. 72 peasants from Montelepre and nearby Giardinello would join him in the mountains temporarily for the excellent pay the bandit offered. This pattern continued until the last few beleaguered months of his career.Chandler, p. 140
The bandit also won allegiance by enforcing rough justice in the area he came to dominate. On at least one occasion, he killed a rogue bandit committing crimes in his name.Chandler, p. 17 He shot Montelepre's postmaster for stealing parcels from America. Storekeeper Giuseppe Terranova was executed for extortionate prices and usury. He intervened with a local gabelotto, an estate manager, to lease land to farmers from Montelepre.Chandler, p. 21Murray, p. 24
If benevolence failed, Giuliano killed informers and enemies ruthlessly.Chandler, p. 14Chandler, pp. 64–65Chandler, pp. 142–143 Whenever possible they were allowed a minute to pray before death and a note of responsibility was left; to warn other spies, and to make sure that neither Giuliano nor other bandits would be accused of crimes they didn't commit.Chandler, pp. 14–15 From time to time, he and his men would attack Carabinieri and Polizia outposts and patrols, often killing lawmen. They killed 87 Carabinieri and 33 Polizia from 1943–49.Chandler, pp. 17, 166
Giuliano was admired for his bravery and resistance. But even more because he routinely prevailed in contests of power. In Sicilian culture, a person's value is often judged by how independent they are and whether they can defend themselves and deal with their own poblems.
The bandit's most famous exploit occurred early in his career in 1944—the robbery of the Duchess of Pratameno. He and his men sneaked into her estate unnoticed, and Giuliano was in her salon before she knew what was occurring. He kissed her hand and showed respect for her noble status, but then demanded all of her jewellery. When she refused, Giuliano threatened to kidnap her children. After she handed the loot over, he took a diamond ring from her hand, which he wore for the rest of his life, and borrowed John Steinbeck's In Dubious Battle from her library before leaving (which was returned with a respectful note a week later). By mid-1945, Giuliano's daring, good looks, and theatrical flair were the talk of Sicily, and soon beyond.Chandler, pp. 16, 20
MIS, EVIS, kidnapping and extortion
In April 1945 venturing onto the larger stage of politics, Giuliano issued a public declaration of his support for MIS, the Movement for the Independence of Sicily (also referred to as Separatism).Chandler, p. 48 Separatism coalesced in the aftermath of the invasion, drawing on long-simmering anger at Sicily's neglect by the central government, and the sudden fluidity of the political situation. The movement was dealt a severe blow when, for political and war strategy reasons, the Allies, who had courted, if not encouraged, separatist leaders, handed control of Sicily to the Badoglio government in Rome in February 1944. Strong sentiment for independence still existed in Sicily, but the three main Italian political parties of post-war Italy, Christian Democratic, Communist, and Socialist—were all opposed to Sicilian independence. After a government-enabled campaign of violent repression, the MIS decided to augment its political campaign with armed resistance.Chandler, pp. 24–32Finkelstein, p. 178 Their small armed contingent, the EVIS, operated in Catania Province in eastern Sicily. To strengthen their forces and divert attention from their army, the leaders of MIS and EVIS enlisted Giuliano, who, after negotiating for substantial funding, accepted the rank of Colonel and agreed to conduct an armed campaign in his zone. He recruited 40–60 young men (in addition to his regular band), provided them with uniforms, ranks, and weapons, and trained them.Chandler, pp. 48–57 Among the recruits was Gaspare Pisciotta, nicknamed Aspanu. He and Giuliano would be virtually inseparable friends for the rest of Giuliano's life, and by the end of the MIS military campaign, Pisciotta would become his second-in-command, also for the rest of the chieftain's life. Contrary to many reports, the Montelepre native was neither a cousin nor a close childhood friend of Giuliano.Chandler, pp. 190–191
On 27 December 1945, Giuliano launched his insurrection with an attack on a Carabinieri outpost—two days before the MIS army was put out of existence at San Mauro. Their campaign, the most publicly spectacular of the bandits' career, created havoc for the police forces and government. Martial law was declared in Montelepre and the surrounding region on 13 January 1946, and continued for 126 days—at times incorporating army units. Giuliano's campaign was so effective that up to 500 police officers and soldiers were deployed against him. During the MIS campaign, the national Minister of the Interior Giuseppe Romita offered 800,000 lire for the capture of Giuliano—who responded with a 2 million lire reward for the capture of Romita.Chandler, pp. 57–63 The chieftain and his men eventually realized the political hopelessness of their situation, and the revolt dissolved, as the new recruits went back to their ordinary lives. Giuliano helped at least 2 of his men to emigrate to the U.S.Chandler, pp. 64–65, 73–74 The EVIS campaign drew widespread news coverage, and made the bandit an international figure.Finkelstein, p. 181
After the revolt, the MIS resumed its political campaign, which was plagued by poor organization. Through surrogates, Giuliano campaigned for the MIS in the towns where he was the major power. On 2 June 1946 Giardinello, Monreale, and Montelepre voted heavily for the Separatists, but island-wide, they received only 9% of the vote.Chandler, pp. 65–68
For the rest of 1946 and until his death, Giuliano's main activity and source of revenue was kidnapping, often carried out by the squad of Antonio Terranova, the bandit's most formidable and resourceful operative. Giuliano and his men treated their captives well—almost chivalrously—often giving them favourite foods, reading to them to alleviate boredom, and providing necessary medicines. Negotiations were usually conducted through various mafiosi. More than one kidnap victim remembered time with Giuliano in a positive light, despite its hardships. Giuliano also used the threat of kidnapping to extort money from wealthy Sicilians—some preferred kidnapping because the bandit stuck to his own rule that no one would be kidnapped twice, while the number of extortions had no limit.Chandler, pp. 75–81
Portella della Ginestra