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Calogero ''Don Calò'' Vizzini (July 24, 1877 – July 10, 1954) was a historical Mafia boss of Villalba in the Province of Caltanissetta, Sicily. Vizzini was considered to be one of the most influential and legendary Mafia bosses of Sicily after World War II until his death in 1954. In the media he was often depicted as the "boss of bosses" – although such a position does not exist in the loose structure of Cosa Nostra. He was the archetype of the paternalistic "man of honour" of a rural Mafia that disappeared in the 1960s and 1970s. In those days a mafioso was seen by some as a social intermediary and a man standing for order and peace. In the first stage of his career he used violence to establish his position, but in the second phase he limited recourse to violence, turned to principally legal sources of income, and exercised his power in an open and legitimate manner. Vizzini is the central character in the history of direct Mafia support for the Allied Forces during the invasion of Sicily in 1943. After World War II he became the personification of the reinstatement of Cosa Nostra during the Allied occupation and the subsequent restoration of democracy after the repression under Fascist rule. Initially he supported the separatist movement, but changed allegiance to the Christian Democrat party, when it became clear that Sicilian independence was unfeasible. When he died in 1954, thousands of peasants dressed in black, and high ranking mafiosi, politicians and priests took part in his funeral. The funeral epitaph stated that "his 'mafia' was not criminal, but stood for respect of the law, defense of all rights, greatness of character. It was love." However, Don Calo's rise to power and persistence in power was tied with extortion, violence and murder. Vizzini’s stature as an all powerful Mafia boss rose to mythical proportions, but more recently historians have moderated his magnitude. ==Early years in Villalba== Vizzini was born in Villalba, a village in the Province of Caltanissetta, with a population of approximately 4,000 people at the time. This area in the middle of Sicily, known as the "Vallone", was a poor region where most people lived off subsistence agriculture. His father, Beniamino Vizzini, was a peasant, but managed to marry into a slightly more well-off family that owned some land. A member of his mother’s family, Giuseppe Scarlata, had risen to high eminence in the Catholic Church. Calogero’s brothers, Giovanni and Giuseppe, both became priests. Giuseppe Vizzini became the bishop of Noto.〔 (Biografia Mons. Giuseppe Maria Vizzini ) (Retrieved on 2009-01-16)〕 Calogero Vizzini, however, was semi-literate and did not finish elementary school.〔Hess, ''Mafia & Mafiosi'', (p. 49 )〕 The Mafia of Villalba was of relatively recent origin, as it did not go back to the 1860s, considered to be the period when the Mafia emerged around Palermo. It started as a form of private protection and has little to do with large estates as was the case in many other rural areas where many mafiosi started as caretakers and lease-holders (''gabelloto'' or bailiff) for absentee landlords.〔Sabetti, ''Village Politics and the Mafia in Sicily'', (p. xix )〕 In the 1890s some people – including the young Calogero Vizzini – decided to do something about the absence of peace and security in the countryside. The state police at the time was as much a danger as the brigands. The Villalba Mafia thus emerged as an alternative social regime centred on the membership in church-sponsored associations that generated considerable social capital. It later transformed into a protection racket, victimizing villagers and landowners alike through violence, intimidation and omertà.〔 Don Calò once explained how he saw the Mafia when he was interviewed by one of Italy’s most famous journalists, Indro Montanelli, for the ''Corriere della Sera'' (October 30, 1949): At one time, Vizzini’s criminal dossier included 39 murders, six attempted murders, 13 acts of private violence, 36 robberies, 37 thefts and 63 extortions.〔Servadio, ''Mafioso'', p. 71〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Calogero Vizzini」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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