This year is the 20th anniversary of the deaths of Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, two brave men who fought against the mafia, convicting more than 300 criminals. The two Palermo prosecutors were childhood friends who grew up to risk their lives bringing the members of the notorious Cosa Nostra to justice. This photograph was taken just months before their murders, in a moment of calm framed by the immense pressure of their situation. This image is now in almost every Italian judicial office, and in many schools and city halls throughout Sicily; reflecting just how influential and inspirational they were.
On the 23rd of May 1992, Giovanni Falcone, together with his wife Francesco Morvillo and three of their bodyguards, were tragically killed on highway 29, between Palermo and the airport. The mafia had planted the bomb to end the life of the man who had jailed so many in the maxi-trials. Falcone had been one of the first to follow the 'money trail' of the mobsters and was a major part of the exposure of massive heroin trade that was disguised by the front of pizza parlours.
Just months after the assassination of his friend Falcone, on the 19th of July, Borsellino and five policemen were killed by a car bomb in Via D'Amelio, near his mother's home. Borsellino left behind his wife, Angela Piraino Letto, one son, and two daughters.
A week after Borsellino's death, on the 26th of July, Rita Atria committed suicide. Atria was a young woman born into a Mafia family who had broken the code of omertà, working closely with Borsellino as she named the men of the rival Mafia who had killed her father and brother. Although she was aiming to bring their murderers to justice, Atria's own mother disowned her; for to her, like to many Mafia families, the police are always the enemy. With her brother's widow, Piera Aiello, and the help of Borsellino, Atria testified against the Mafiosi; and in doing so, endangered her own life, leading to her relocation to a hidden position in Rome. Abandoned by her family, Borsellino had been her father figure, supporting her in her ordeal. But when he was killed, Atria felt overwhelmingly terrified and unprotected; throwing herself out of her apartment window. She was only seventeen.
Salvatore Riina, the godfather of the Corleonesi Mafia was sentenced for life imprisonment for sanctioning the murders of Falcone and Borsellino, alongside numerous other crimes.
'È normale che esista la paura, in ogni uomo, l'importante è che sia accompagnata dal coraggio. Non bisogna lasciarsi sopraffare dalla paura, altrimenti diventa un ostacolo che impedisce di andare avanti.'
'It is normal that there is fear, in every man, the important thing is that it is accompanied by courage. We must not be overwhelmed by fear, otherwise it becomes an obstacle to moving forward.'
- Paolo Borsellino
