Calogero Vizzini | |
|---|---|
 Vizzini in a 1935 mugshot | |
| Born | 24 July 1877 |
| Died | 10 July 1954 (aged 76) Villalba, Sicily, Italy |
| Other names | Don Calò |
| Allegiance | Cosa Nostra |
Calogero Vizzini (Italian: [kaˈlɔːdʒero vitˈtsiːni]; 24 July 1877 – 10 July 1954), also commonly known as "Don Calò", was a Sicilian Mafia boss of Villalba in the province of Caltanissetta, Sicily. He 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, Don Calò was often depicted as the "boss of bosses" – although such a position does not exist in the loose structure of Cosa Nostra.
Vizzini 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. During the first stage of his career, he used violence to establish his position; the second stage of his career saw him limit his use of violence, turn to principally legal sources of income, and exercise 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 re-instatement 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 Vizzini died in 1954, thousands of peasants dressed in black and his funeral was attended by high-ranking mafiosi, politicians, and priests. The funeral epitaph stated, "His 'mafia' was not criminal, but stood for respect of the law, defense of all rights, greatness of character. It was love." His rise to power and persistence in power was nevertheless tied to extortion, violence, and murder. His stature as an all-powerful Mafia boss rose to mythical proportions, but historians from the 1990s onwards would assert that his magnitude was exaggerated.