Bernardo Provenzano: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Italian crime boss and member of the Sicilian Mafia}}

[[Image:Provenzano_1.jpg|thumb|Provenzano on the day of his arrest, [[April 11]], [[2006]], aged 73]]

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}

'''Bernardo Provenzano''' (born [[January 31]], [[1933]]) is a member of the [[Sicily|Sicilian]] [[Mafia]] (''[[Cosa Nostra]]'') and is suspected of being the head of the [[Corleonesi]], a Mafia faction that originated in the village of [[Corleone]], and de facto ''[[capo di tutti capi]]'' (boss of bosses) of the entire Sicilian Mafia until his arrest in [[2006]] after more than four decades on the run.

{{Infobox criminal

| name = Bernardo Provenzano

| image = Bernardo Provenzano.jpg

| caption = Provenzano in 1959

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1933|1|31|df=y}}

| birth_place = [[Corleone]], [[Sicily]], Kingdom of Italy

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2016|7|13|1933|1|31|df=y}}

| death_place = [[Milan]], Italy

| alias = ''"Binnu u tratturi"'' (Bernie the tractor) <br> ''"Zio Binnu"'' (Uncle Bernie) <br> ''"Il ragioniere"'' (The accountant)

| allegiance = [[Corleonesi]]

| charge = [[Mafia association]]<br>[[Murder|multiple murders]]

| conviction = Mafia association<br>multiple murder

| conviction_penalty = 12 life sentences

| conviction_status = Deceased<br>(imprisoned from 2006)

| occupation = [[Mafia boss]]

| children = 2

}}

'''Bernardo Provenzano''' ({{IPA|it|berˈnardo provenˈtsaːno}}; 31 January 1933 – 13 July 2016)<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36782555|title=Italian mafia boss 'The Tractor' dies|date=2016-07-13|access-date=2020-01-06|language=en-GB|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808200931/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36782555|archive-date=8 August 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> was an Italian [[Gangster|mobster]] and chief of the [[Sicilian Mafia]] clan known as the [[Corleonesi Mafia clan|Corleonesi]], a Mafia faction that originated in the town of [[Corleone]], and ''de facto'' the boss of bosses ("''il [[capo dei capi]]''"). His nickname was ''Binnu u tratturi'' ([[Sicilian language|Sicilian]] for "Bernie the tractor") because, in the words of one [[informant]], "he mows people down".<ref name=bbcprofile>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4899512.stm Profile: Bernardo Provenzano] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929215058/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4899512.stm |date=29 September 2019 }}, BBC News, 11 April 2006.</ref> Another nickname was ''il ragioniere'' ("the accountant"), due to his apparently subtle and low-key approach to running his crime empire, at least in contrast to some of his more violent predecessors.<ref name=bbcprofile/><ref name=time290804>[http://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/article/0,13005,901040906-689399,00.html Sicily's Invisible Man] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050915131228/http://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/article/0,13005,901040906-689399,00.html |date=15 September 2005 }}, ''Time Europe Magazine'', 29 August 2004.</ref>

His nickname is ''Binnu u tratturi'' ([[Sicilian language|Sicilian]] for "Bennie the tractor") because, in the words of one [[informant]], 'he mows people down'. Another nickname is ''The Accountant'' due to his apparently subtle and low-key approach to running his crime empire, at least in contrast to some of his more violent predecessors.

Provenzano was part of the [[Corleonesi Mafia clan]] who backed mob boss [[Luciano Leggio]] in the ambush and murder of [[Michele Navarra]] in the late 1950s. In 1963, Provenzano became a fugitive after a failed hit. Provenzano also participated in the [[Viale Lazio massacre]] in the late 1960s. [[Salvatore Riina]] succeeded Leggio in the mid-1970s, and Provenzano became the second-in-command of the Corleonesi. Provenzano took the reins after Riina and [[Leoluca Bagarella|Bagarella]]'s arrests, but the three had already been sentenced to life ''[[trial in absentia|in absentia]]'' in the late 1980s as part of the [[Maxi Trial]] and in the 1990s for the two high-profile bombings (the [[Capaci bombing|Capaci massacre]] and [[Via D'Amelio bombing|Via D'Amelio massacre]]) that killed prosecutors [[Giovanni Falcone]] and [[Paolo Borsellino]]. After 43 years living as a fugitive, he was captured in 2006, and subjected to the stringent [[Article 41-bis prison regime]] until his death on 13 July 2016.

===Early years===

==Early years==

He was raised in Corleone and joined the [[Mafia]] in his late teens. At the time, [[Michele Navarra]] was the head of the Mafia Family of Corleone, but Provenzano became close to [[Luciano Leggio]], a young and ambitious mobster. Navarra and Leggio went to war against each other in the mid-1950s.

Provenzano was born the third of seven children on 31 January 1933, in [[Corleone]], Sicily, to farmers Angelo Provenzano and Giovanna Rigoglioso.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_ZoUezxtU6kC|title=L'altra mafia: biografia di Bernardo Provenzano|author1=Ernesto Oliva|author2=Salvo Palazzolo|year=2001|publisher=Rubbettino Editore |isbn=9788849801071}}</ref> It was during this period that a series of illegal activities began, especially [[cattle raiding]] and the theft of foodstuffs. In August 1958, Provenzano was one of the 14 gunmen who backed mob boss [[Luciano Leggio]] in the ambush and murder of [[Michele Navarra]].<ref name=bbcprofile/><ref name=time290804/> Leggio subsequently became the head of the Family. Over the next five years, Provenzano helped Leggio hunt down and kill many of Navarra's surviving supporters. In September 1963, Provenzano became a fugitive after the failed killing of one of Navarra's men – at this point, he was not running from the police but from a Mafia vendetta. Leggio said of Provenzano: "He shoots like an angel but has the brains of a chicken".<ref name=gua240401>"[https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2001/apr/24/features11.g2 Gangster No 1] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826013432/https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2001/apr/24/features11.g2 |date=26 August 2016 }}". ''The Guardian''. 24 April 2001.</ref><ref name=longrigg152>Longrigg, ''Boss of Bosses'', p. 152.</ref> On 10 September 1963, an arrest warrant was issued against Provenzano for the murder of one of Navarra's men.<ref name=gua240401/>

Provenzano participated in the [[Viale Lazio massacre]] on 10 December 1969: the killing of [[Michele Cavataio]] for his role in the [[First Mafia War]]. The attack nearly went wrong, as Cavataio was able to shoot to death [[Calogero Bagarella]] before Provenzano killed him with a [[Beretta Model 38|Beretta 38/A]] submachine gun and earned himself a reputation as a Mafia killer with the attack.<ref>{{in lang|it}} [http://www.repubblica.it/2006/04/sezioni/cronaca/provenzano2/provenzano2/provenzano2.html La vera storia di Provenzano. Siino: "Sparava come un dio"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071031055434/http://www.repubblica.it/2006/04/sezioni/cronaca/provenzano2/provenzano2/provenzano2.html |date=31 October 2007 }}. ''[[La Repubblica]]'', 14 April 2006.</ref> However, according to [[Gaetano Grado]], one of the participants who turned government witness later, it was Provenzano who botched the attack, shooting too early.<ref>{{in lang|it}} [http://espresso.repubblica.it/dettaglio-local/Processo-per-strage-dopo-37-anni/1626670 Processo per strage dopo 37 anni] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017223859/http://espresso.repubblica.it/dettaglio-local/Processo-per-strage-dopo-37-anni/1626670 |date=2007-10-17 }}, ''La Repubblica''. 29 May 2007.</ref>

In September 1958, Provenzano was one of the fourteen (14) gunmen who backed up Leggio in the ambush and murder of Michele Navarra. Leggio subsequently became the head of the Family. Over the next five years, Provenzano helped Leggio hunt down and kill many of Navarra's surviving supporters. On [[September 10]], [[1963]] an arrest warrant was issued against Provenzano for the murder of one of Navarra's men. Provenzano went on the run along with most of the rest of the ''Corleonesi''.

Leggio went to prison for murder in 1974, effectively leaving [[Totò Riina]] in charge. Provenzano became the second in command of the [[Corleonesi]], Riina's right-hand-man.

[[Image:bprovenzano.jpg|right|frame|Bernardo Provenzano in 1959, aged 26.]]During Riina's time as godfather, Provenzano was believed to operate behind the scenes, dealing with the financial side of the criminal enterprises that he and Riina orchestrated, particularly [[heroin]] trafficking. It is not known to what extent that he participated in the Mafia war of 1981/82, initiated by Riina, which left over a thousand Mafiosi dead and resulted in the [[Corleonesi]] becoming the dominant Mafia faction in Sicily.

Leggio was captured by police in 1974, and [[Salvatore Riina]] was effectively left in charge.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unionesarda.it/fotogallery/fotogallery/2018/05/16/accaddeoggi-16-maggio-1974-arrestato-a-milano-luciano-liggio-la-p-18-729061.html|title=#AccaddeOggi: 16 maggio 1974, arrestato a Milano Luciano Liggio, la|date=16 May 2018|website=L'Unione Sarda.it|access-date=30 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180516074228/http://www.unionesarda.it/fotogallery/fotogallery/2018/05/16/accaddeoggi-16-maggio-1974-arrestato-a-milano-luciano-liggio-la-p-18-729061.html|archive-date=16 May 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Provenzano became the second-in-command of the [[Corleonesi Mafia clan|Corleonesi]], Riina's right-hand man.<ref name=bbcprofile/><ref name=time290804/>

===Elevation to Godfather===

==Fugitive and later years==

[[Salvatore Riina]] was arrested in [[January]] [[1993]] and subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment for ordering dozens of murders, including the two high-profile bombings that killed prosecutors [[Giovanni Falcone]] and [[Paolo Borsellino]]. Falcone and Borsellino had been in charge of the [[Maxi Trial]] in the mid-1980's. Provenzano was also convicted of the same murders, in absentia.

In 1981, Provenzano and Riina unleashed the so-called [[Second Mafia War]], with which they eliminated rival bosses and established a new "[[Sicilian Mafia Commission|Commission]]", composed only of [[Mandamento (Sicilian Mafia)|capomandamenti]];<ref name="autogenerato4">{{Cite web|url=http://archiviopiolatorre.camera.it/img-repo/fondo_zupo/Sez._I_serie_0004_Vol_011.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180820234824/http://archiviopiolatorre.camera.it/img-repo/fondo_zupo/Sez._I_serie_0004_Vol_011.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=2018-08-20|title=Ordinanza contro Michele Greco+18 per gli omicidi Reina-Mattarella-La Torre|language=it}}</ref> during the meetings of the "Commission", Provenzano participated in the decisions and the organization of numerous murders as an influential exponent of the district of Corleone<ref name="GIUFFRE">{{Cite web|url=http://www.ipezzimancanti.it/download/giuffre.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022232514/http://www.ipezzimancanti.it/download/giuffre.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 October 2018|title=PROCEDIMENTO PENALE N. 124/97 R.G. A CARICO DI: BIONDOLILLO GIUSEPPE + ALTRI|publisher=TRIBUNALE DI TERMINI IMERESE|date=16 October 2002|language=it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1993/12/08/ecco-chi-uccise-chinnici-lima-pentiti-svelano.html

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304200726/https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1993/12/08/ecco-chi-uccise-chinnici-lima-pentiti-svelano.html

|url-status=dead

|archive-date=4 March 2016

|title=ECCO CHI UCCISE CHINNICI E LIMA I PENTITI SVELANO I NOMI DEI KILLER|author=Attilio Bolzoni|publisher=la Repubblica|date=8 December 1993|language=it}}</ref> and repeatedly protected, with intimidation, the political career of Vito Ciancimino, the main political referent of the Corleonesi.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1995/12/16/il-medico-mafioso-cugini-salvo-lo.html|title=IL MEDICO MAFIOSO ' I CUGINI SALVO E LO ZIO GIULIO ...|publisher=La Repubblica.It|language=it|access-date=7 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191207200300/https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1995/12/16/il-medico-mafioso-cugini-salvo-lo.html|archive-date=7 December 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web

|url=https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2002/11/20/morto-vito-ciancimino-la-dc-ai.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428092023/https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2002/11/20/morto-vito-ciancimino-la-dc-ai.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 April 2019|title=è morto Vito Ciancimino la Dc ai tempi dei Corleonesi|author=Attilio Bolzoni |publisher=la Repubblica|date=20 November 2002|language=it}}</ref><ref name="giuffre">{{in lang|it}} [http://www.repubblica.it/2005/j/sezioni/cronaca/grassodenu/giuffre/giuffre.html "Provenzano confidente dei carabinieri"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070224224412/http://www.repubblica.it/2005/j/sezioni/cronaca/grassodenu/giuffre/giuffre.html |date=24 February 2007 }}. ''La Repubblica''. 22 October 2005.</ref>

In 1993 after Riina's arrest, in a meeting at Villabate, it was decided that both Bernardo Provenzano and [[Leoluca Bagarella]] would take charge of holding Corleone's mandate together. But Bagarella and Provenzano had rifts because Bagarella wanted to continue with the slaughter strategy while Provenzano wanted to stop the slaughters.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://youtube.com/watch?v=8sLeD4biWe8&feature=share | title=Bagarella non sopportava il modo di fare di Provenzano Giovanni Brusca processo Giovanni Mercadante | website=[[YouTube]] }}</ref> After [[Leoluca Bagarella|Bagarella]]'s arrest in 1995, Provenzano took the reins of the Corleonesi and all of Cosa Nostra; however, he had already been sentenced to [[life imprisonment|life]] ''[[trial in absentia|in absentia]]'' in 1987 at the [[Maxi Trial]].<ref name=autogenerato1>{{Cite news|url=http://www.parlamento.it/application/xmanager/projects/parlamento/Reso.steno.26.3.2012Int..pdf|title=Audizione del procuratore Sergio Lari dinanzi alla Commissione Parlamentare Antimafia - XVI LEGISLATURA|language=it|access-date=14 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331070025/http://www.parlamento.it/application/xmanager/projects/parlamento/Reso.steno.26.3.2012Int..pdf|archive-date=31 March 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

It was not immediately clear that Provenzano had succeeded Riina. He hadn't been publicly seen since 1963, and when his wife and two grown sons came out from hiding in 1992, many then suspected that Provenzano was dead, from natural causes or otherwise. Informants subsequently claimed otherwise, saying that after Riina's arrest in 1993, Provenzano became the boss of the [[Corleonesi]]. It is said that two other mobsters, [[Leoluca Bagarella]] and [[Giovanni Brusca]], challenged his leadership, but, even if they succeeded, they were both captured and imprisoned in 1995 and 1996 respectively.

In 1997 and 1999 respectively, Provenzano was given life sentences for the 1992 murders of anti-mafia magistrates Falcone and Borsellino.<ref name=erg>{{Cite web |url=http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1997/09/27/strage-di-capaci-24-ergastoli.html?ref=search |title=STRAGE DI CAPACI, 24 ERGASTOLI - La Repubblica.it<!-- Titolo generato automaticamente --> |date=27 September 1997 |access-date=2017-07-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304133658/http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1997/09/27/strage-di-capaci-24-ergastoli.html?ref=search |archive-date=2016-03-04 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=antimafia/><ref name=borsbis>{{cite web|url=https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1999/02/14/borsellino-bis-sette-ergastoli-credibile-il-pentito.html?ref=search|title=Borsellino bis, sette ergastoli Credibile il pentito Scarantino|publisher=repubblica.it|date=14 February 1999|access-date=11 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211010833/https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1999/02/14/borsellino-bis-sette-ergastoli-credibile-il-pentito.html%3Fref%3Dsearch|archive-date=11 December 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

Under Provenzano leadership, the Mafia became less bloodthirsty and more efficient. Provenzano is reported to have tried to arbitrate between rival mafia factions competing for business, and steered away from the attacks on high-profile figures that were hardening public opinion against the Mafia and provoking police to respond. He was a careful operator, who took few overt risks, revealing his whereabouts to only a handful of associates. He shunned the telephone and issued orders and communications (even to his family) through small, hand-delivered notes— ''"[[pizzini]]"''.

==Evasion and capture==

Curiously many of the notes from Provenzano that police have intercepted sign off with religious blessings, such as one that concluded "May the Lord bless and protect you." Coincidentally, according to mob godmother-turned-informant [[Giuseppina Vitale]], Provenzano then appeared at a 1992 [[Cosa Nostra]] summit meeting dressed in the purple robes of a [[Catholic]] [[bishop]].<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/italy/story/0,12576,1485478,00.html "Mafia's boss may dress as bishop"], Guardian Unlimited, May 17, 2005</ref>

[[File:Provenzanophotofit.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Comparison between the last photofit, performed in 2005, and a photo taken after his capture in 2006]]

Provenzano frowned upon the use of telephones, and issued orders and communications (even to his family) through small, hand-delivered notes called ''[[Pizzino|pizzini]]''.<ref name=time290804/><ref>{{Cite news|author=Palazzolo, Salvo|date=13 November 2007|title=Palermo, nei "pizzini" del boss Lo Piccolo i nomi dei "soldati" delle cosche (Palermo, "pizzini" of boss Lo Piccolo name the "soldiers" of the mafia clan)|newspaper=La Repubblica|___location=Rome, Italy|language=it|url=http://www.repubblica.it/2007/11/sezioni/cronaca/arrestati-lo-piccolo/vertici-boss/vertici-boss.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080623234420/http://www.repubblica.it/2007/11/sezioni/cronaca/arrestati-lo-piccolo/vertici-boss/vertici-boss.html|archive-date=23 June 2008|url-status=live}}</ref> Many of the notes from Provenzano that police have intercepted sign off with religious blessings, such as one that concluded "May the Lord bless and protect you".<ref name=time290804/> According to mob godmother-turned-informant Giuseppina Vitale, Provenzano had appeared at a 1992 Cosa Nostra summit meeting dressed in the purple robes of a [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] [[bishop]].<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/italy/story/0,12576,1485478,00.html "Mafia's boss may dress as bishop"], Guardian Unlimited, 17 May 2005.</ref>

Religious behaviour and language progressively became the prominent features of Provenzano's figure. For example, Provenzano systematically underlined verses from the Bible and took notes of relevant passages to be threaded in his ''pizzini'' through otherwise routine instructions regarding daily business matters. He also recurrently thanked 'Our Lord Jesus Christ', and referred to 'The Divine Providence' and 'Our beloved Lord', expressing the hope that 'He might help us to do the right things'. In particular, the expression ''Con il volere di Dio'' (With God's will), to date has been counted 43 times, and it often appears more than once in the same piece of communication.<ref name=rossella>{{cite journal|last=Merlino|first=Rossella|title='Con il volere di Dio': Bernardo Provenzano and religious symbolic ritual|journal=Modern Italy|year=2012|volume=17|issue=3|pages=365–381|doi=10.1080/13532944.2011.611492|s2cid=145302589}}</ref>

Provenzano used a version of the [[Caesar cypher]], used by [[Julius Caesar]] in wartime communications.<ref name="Lorenzi"/> The Caesar code involves shifting each letter of the alphabet forward three places; Provenzano's ''pizzini'' code did the same, then replaced letters with numbers indicating their position in the alphabet.<ref name="Lorenzi">{{cite web|url=http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20060417/mafiaboss_tec.html|title=Mafia Boss's Encrypted Messages Deciphered|last=Lorenzi|first=Rossella|date=2006-04-17|work=Discovery News|publisher=Discovery Channel|access-date=26 June 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060421164832/http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20060417/mafiaboss_tec.html|archive-date=2006-04-21}}</ref> For example, one reported note by Provenzano read "I met 512151522 191212154 and we agreed that we will see each other after the holidays...". This name was decoded as "Binnu Riina".<ref name="Lorenzi"/>

== Evasion and Capture ==

In October 2003, Provenzano was driven to France, allegedly by [[Villabate]] mobster Salvatore Troia, to undergo [[prostate]] surgery at a private clinic near [[Marseille]].<ref name=tel270205>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160317060945/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/1484524/Mafia-boss-flees-Sicily-to-have-prostate-surgery-in-France.html Mafia boss flees Sicily to have prostate surgery in France], ''The Telegraph'', 27 February 2005.</ref> Provenzano was also provided with fake travel and medical records, under the name of Salvatore Troia's father, Gaspare Troia, a Sicilian baker.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2005/02/23/provenzano-il-boss-operato-in-francia.html?ref=search|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113201310/https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2005/02/23/provenzano-il-boss-operato-in-francia.html?ref=search|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 November 2013|title=Provenzano, il boss operato in Francia|author=Attilio Bolzoni|author2=Francesco Viviano |publisher=la Repubblica|date=23 February 2005|language=it}}</ref> Mario Cusimano, another Villabate mobster who was later arrested, began to collaborate with police in 2005, and revealed to the investigators that the identity card used by Provenzano to go to Marseille had been stamped by Francesco Campanella, former president of the municipal council of Villabate,<ref>{{Cite web

Provenzano was a fugitive from the law from the time of his indictment for murder in 1963 until his arrest in 2006. It is theorized that he was on the run longer than any other criminal, an unparalleled 43 years. Until his arrest, the only known photographs of him were taken during the 1950s. The authorities had reportedly been 'close' to capturing him for the last decade of his time on the run, though those who believed it was impossible for one man to remain undetected for such a long time under normal circumstances, especially on a relatively small island like Sicily, theorized that 'Uncle Bernie', as he is known to his friends, had a tacit understanding with the Italian authorities, under which he was not harassed. Indeed, the fact that his predecessor, [[Totò Riina]], was finally arrested at his home address after supposedly being 'on the run' for nearly twenty years, lent credence to this theory.

|url=https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2005/02/18/io-fedelissimo-di-provenzano-vi-racconto-segreti.html?ref=search |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113201216/https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2005/02/18/io-fedelissimo-di-provenzano-vi-racconto-segreti.html?ref=search |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 November 2013 |title=Io, fedelissimo di Provenzano vi racconto i segreti del boss|author=Salvo Palazzolo|publisher=la Repubblica|date=18 February 2005|language=it}}</ref> and in September 2005, Campanella also began to collaborate with police who confirmed that he was the one who had stamped the document.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2005/09/23/mafia-politica-un-nuovo-pentito.html?ref=search |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113201213/https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2005/09/23/mafia-politica-un-nuovo-pentito.html?ref=search |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 November 2013 |title=Mafia e politica, un nuovo pentito|author=Alessandra Ziniti|publisher=la Repubblica|date=23 September 2005|language=it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2005/11/12/mafia-blitz-nel-feudo-di-provenzano.html?ref=search|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113201128/https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2005/11/12/mafia-blitz-nel-feudo-di-provenzano.html?ref=search|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 November 2013|title=Mafia, blitz nel feudo di Provenzano|author=Francesco Viviano|publisher=la Repubblica|date=12 November 2005|language=it}}</ref> The [[Polizia di Stato|Italian State Police]] were able to create a [[Facial composite|photofit]] of Provenzano based on the descriptions of informants, as well as doctors and nurses at the Marseilles clinic where Provenzano was admitted for surgery.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.poliziadistato.it/articolo/605|title=Ricostruito dalla Scientifica il volto del boss Provenzano|publisher=poliziadistato.it|date=11 April 2006|language=it|access-date=7 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191006075632/https://www.poliziadistato.it/articolo/605|archive-date=6 October 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 25 January 2005, police raided various homes in Sicily and arrested 46 Mafia suspects believed to be helping Provenzano elude the authorities.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4205361.stm "Anti-mafia raids net 46 suspects"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060523112700/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4205361.stm |date=23 May 2006 }}, BBC News, 25 January 2005.</ref> Although they did not catch the elusive Mafia boss himself, investigators nonetheless unearthed evidence that the 72-year-old Provenzano was still very much alive and in control of the Mafia, in the form of his cryptic handwritten notes, his preferred method of giving orders to his men. Two months later, another raid took place. It resulted in the capture of over 80 Mafiosi, though Provenzano was not one of them.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/03/08/umafia.xml&sSheet=/portal/2005/03/08/ixportaltop.html "Sicilian police arrest 84 Mafiosi in raids on capital"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071224051337/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2005%2F03%2F08%2Fumafia.xml&sSheet=%2Fportal%2F2005%2F03%2F08%2Fixportaltop.html |date=24 December 2007 }}, ''The Telegraph'', 8 March 2005.</ref>

There is proof that in [[2002]] he traveled to France, despite being a fugitive, and underwent a surgical operation in [[Marseille]] for a prostate tumor, even being reimbursed by the [[Italian National Health Care system]]. [[DNA]] evidence subsequently confirmed his presence at the surgery in question.

Provenzano had been a fugitive from the law since 1963.<ref name="corriere25aprile2006">{{Cite news|url=http://www.corriere.it/Primo_Piano/Cronache/2006/04_Aprile/11/provenzano.shtml|title=Arrestato Provenzano, era ricercato dal 1963|publisher=[[Corriere della Sera]]|date=25 April 2006|language=it|access-date=14 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180904153826/https://www.corriere.it/Primo_Piano/Cronache/2006/04_Aprile/11/provenzano.shtml|archive-date=4 September 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Until his arrest, the only known photographs of him were taken during the 1950s; the last known photo was taken in 1959: a serious youth with greased hair wearing a suit for a saint's festival.<ref name=gua240401/> Provenzano was finally captured on 11 April 2006, by the Italian police near his home town, [[Corleone]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4898930.stm "'Top Mafia boss' caught in Italy"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060425025424/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4898930.stm |date=25 April 2006 }}, BBC News, 11 April 2006.</ref> A spokesman for the Palermo police, Agent Daniele Macaluso, said Provenzano had been arrested during the morning near Corleone, 60&nbsp;km south of Palermo and was being driven back to the Sicilian capital.<ref name=bbcprofile/><ref>[http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article357127.ece "Italy's 'top Mafia boss' is arrested"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060517065235/http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article357127.ece |date=17 May 2006 }}, Independent Online Edition, 11 April 2006.</ref><ref>{{in lang|it}} [http://www.poliziadistato.it/pds/primapagina/provenzano/index.htm Arrestato il boss della mafia Bernardo Provenzano] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060412183657/http://www.poliziadistato.it/pds/primapagina/provenzano/index.htm |date=12 April 2006 }}, Polizia di Stato, 11 April 2006.</ref> The police were able to pinpoint Provenzano's exact ___location by the simplest of connections; they tracked a delivery of clean laundry from his family to his farmhouse hide-out.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.corriere.it/Primo_Piano/Cronache/2006/04_Aprile/13/pacco.shtml|title=Pochi metri al giorno, così arrivò il pacco – Corriere della Sera|website=www.corriere.it|access-date=1 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060414113310/https://www.corriere.it/Primo_Piano/Cronache/2006/04_Aprile/13/pacco.shtml|archive-date=14 April 2006|url-status=live}}</ref>

On [[January 25]], [[2005]], police raided various homes in Sicily and arrested forty-six Mafia suspects believed to be helping Provenzano elude the authorities.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4205361.stm "Anti-mafia raids net 46 suspects"], BBC News, January 25, 2005</ref> Although they did not catch the elusive Mafia boss himself, investigators nonetheless unearthed evidence that 72-year-old Provenzano was still very much alive and in control of the Mafia, in the form of his cryptic handwritten notes, his preferred method of giving orders to his men. Two months later another raid, which netted over eighty Mafiosi took place, although yet again Provenzano was not amongst those captured.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/03/08/umafia.xml&sSheet=/portal/2005/03/08/ixportaltop.html "Sicilian police arrest 84 Mafiosi in raids on capital"], Telegraph, March 8, 2005</ref>

However, Mafia informers said Provenzano moved between farmhouses in the region every two or three nights to evade capture. Tracing him was difficult because the authorities did not have an up-to-date photograph with which to identify him. The nearest likeness in their possession was a computer-generated image that attempted to predict the effects of aging on a photograph of Provenzano as a younger man.

==After his arrest==

Provenzano was finally captured on [[April 11]], [[2006]] by the Italian police near his home town, [[Corleone]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4898930.stm "'Top Mafia boss' caught in Italy"], BBC News, April 11, 2006</ref> A spokesman for the Palermo police, Agent Daniele Macaluso, said Provenzano had been arrested during the morning near Corleone, 37 miles south of Palermo and was being driven back to the Sicilian capital.<ref>[http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article357127.ece "Italy's 'top Mafia boss' is arrested"], Independent Online Edition, April 11, 2006</ref> <ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4899512.stm "Profile: Bernardo Provenzano"], BBC News, April 11, 2006</ref> <ref>{{it icon}} [http://www.poliziadistato.it/pds/primapagina/provenzano/index.htm Arrestato il boss della mafia Bernardo Provenzano], Polizia di Stato, April 11, 2006</ref> The police were able to pinpoint Provezano's exact ___location by the simplest of connections; they tracked a delivery of clean laundry from his family to the farmhouse he was hiding out in. His arrest briefly pushed the climax of [[Italian general election, 2006|Italy's general election]] from the main headlines on Italian news stations.

After his arrest, he was held at the maximum security prison in [[Terni]], and subjected to the [[Article 41-bis prison regime]].<ref name="corriere15aprile2007">{{Cite news|author=Giovanni Bianconi|url=http://www.corriere.it/Primo_Piano/Cronache/2007/04_Aprile/15/bianconi_provenzano_traduzione_cella.shtml|title=Provenzano cambia carcere – "Una torta e troppe attenzioni"|publisher=Corriere della Sera|date=15 April 2007|language=it|access-date=7 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304110123/http://www.corriere.it/Primo_Piano/Cronache/2007/04_Aprile/15/bianconi_provenzano_traduzione_cella.shtml|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> After one year, he was transferred to a prison in [[Novara]] where he tried several times to communicate through ''pizzini''.<ref name="repubblica12gennaio2008">{{Cite news|author=Alessandra Ziniti|url=https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2008/01/12/provenzano-pizzini-dal-carcere.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114125457/https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2008/01/12/provenzano-pizzini-dal-carcere.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 January 2012|title=Provenzano, pizzini dal carcere|publisher=la Repubblica|date=12 January 2008|language=it}}</ref><ref name="repubblicaPizziniCarcere">{{Cite news|url=http://www.repubblica.it/2006/05/gallerie/cronaca/provenzano-impotenza/1.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130720230019/http://www.repubblica.it/2006/05/gallerie/cronaca/provenzano-impotenza/1.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-07-20|title=Provenzano, i pizzini per curare l'impotenza|publisher=la Repubblica|language=it}}</ref> The [[Ministry of Justice (Italy)|Ministry of Justice]] then decided to apply "special surveillance" on Provenzano.<ref name="repubblica12gennaio2008"/>

In total, Provenzano was given 20 life sentences plus 49 years and one month, and solitary confinement for 33 years and six months.<ref name="Sentences Provenzano Bagarella">{{Cite web|url=http://palermo.repubblica.it/cronaca/2014/03/25/news/calcolate_le_pene_complessive_di_provenzano_e_bagarella_insieme_hanno_collezionano_33_ergastoli-81854325/|title=Calcolate le pene di Provenzano e Bagarella: insieme hanno collezionano 33 ergastoli|date=25 March 2014|website=Repubblica.it|access-date=6 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200328200754/https://palermo.repubblica.it/cronaca/2014/03/25/news/calcolate_le_pene_complessive_di_provenzano_e_bagarella_insieme_hanno_collezionano_33_ergastoli-81854325/|archive-date=28 March 2020|url-status=live}}</ref>

After initially denying it, Provenzano admitted his identity, but has reportedly said little else since his arrest. A [[trial]] is not necessary as he has already been convincted ''in absentia'' of many murders, including those of Falcone and Borsellino, and has many life sentences to serve.

After the arrest of Provenzano, [[Salvatore Lo Piccolo]] and [[Matteo Messina Denaro]] were thought to be the new leaders of [[Sicilian Mafia|Cosa Nostra]].<ref name=pd>{{in lang|it}} [http://www.poliziaedemocrazia.it/live/index.php?___domain=archivio&action=articolo&idArticolo=81La Mafia cerca il confronto con lo Stato] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171005052001/http://www.poliziaedemocrazia.it/live/index.php?___domain=archivio&action=articolo&idArticolo=81La |date=5 October 2017 }}, Sebastiano Gulisano, Polizia e democrazia, September 2001</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/italy/story/0,,1752727,00.html Prosecutors fear capture of mafia boss will spark bloody war of succession], by John Hooper, The Guardian, 13 April 2006</ref> However, about 350 ''pizzini'' were found at Provenzano's hide-out,<ref name="Lorenzi"/> some of which had indicated that Provenzano's joint deputies in Palermo were Salvatore Lo Piccolo and [[Antonio Rotolo]], [[Mandamento (Sicilian Mafia)|capomandamento]] of [[Pagliarelli Prison|Pagliarelli]], a Corleonesi loyalist in the days of Totò Riina. In a message referring to an important decision for Cosa Nostra, Provenzano told Rotolo: "''It's up to you, me and Lo Piccolo to decide this thing''."<ref name=Hooper2>[https://www.theguardian.com/frontpage/story/0,,1802482,00.html Police strike at heart of mafia averts bloody power struggle] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080108131734/http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,1802482,00.html |date=8 January 2008 }}, by John Hooper, The Guardian, 21 June 2006.</ref>

In [[May 2]], [[2006]], he appeared via a video-link from his jail in a trial concerning Mafia murders committed in Italy in the 1980s. He was being held in isolation at a high security jail in [[Terni]], central Italy. Provenzano was shown on screen in the court alongside the man accused of being his predecessor as Mafia boss, Toto "The Beast" Riina. As part of the tough prison regime reserved for Mafia convicts, he is under constant video surveillance and is only allowed contact with his lawyer.

Anti-Mafia prosecutor [[Antonio Ingroia]] of the [[Direzione distrettuale antimafia]] (DDA) of Palermo said that it was unlikely that there would be an all-out war over who would fill Provenzano's shoes. "Right now I don't think that's probable," he said. Of the two possible successors, Ingroia thought Lo Piccolo was the more likely heir to the Mafia throne. "He's from Palermo, and that's still the most powerful Mafia stronghold", Ingroia said.<ref>[http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/04/12/news/mafia.php In Sicily, the end of 'Pax Mafiosa'?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080217060553/http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/04/12/news/mafia.php |date=17 February 2008 }}, International Herald Tribune, 13 April 2006</ref>

==Provenzano's new Mafia==

Provenzano proposed a new less violent Mafia strategy instead of the terrorist bombing campaign in 1993 against the state to get them to back off in their crackdown against the Mafia after the murders on Anti-mafia prosecutors [[Giovanni Falcone]] and [[Paolo Borsellino]]. Following the months after Riina's arrest, there were a series of bombings by the Corleonesi against several tourist spots on the Italian mainland – the Via dei Georgofili in [[Florence]], Via Palestro in [[Milan]] and the Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano and Via San Teodoro in [[Rome]], which left 10 people dead and 93 injured as well as severe damage to centres of cultural heritage such as the [[Uffizi]] Gallery.

Two months after Provenzano's arrest, on 20 June 2006, authorities issued 52 arrest warrants against the top echelon of Cosa Nostra in the city of Palermo (Operation Gotha). In November 2009, Massimo Ciancimino, the son of a former mayor of Palermo [[Vito Ciancimino]], said that Provenzano had betrayed the whereabouts of Riina. Police sent Vito Ciancimino maps of Palermo. One of the maps was delivered to Provenzano, then a Mafia fugitive. Ciancimino said the map was returned by Provenzano who indicated the precise ___location of Riina's hiding place.<ref name=ansa051109>[http://www.ansa.it/web/notizie/rubriche/english/2009/11/05/visualizza_new.html_994173998.html Boss Riina 'betrayed' by Provenzano] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605052510/http://www.ansa.it/web/notizie/rubriche/english/2009/11/05/visualizza_new.html_994173998.html |date=5 June 2011 }}, ANSA, 5 November 2009.</ref><ref name=aki051109>[http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=3.0.3955391781 Italy: Top Mafia fugitive 'betrayed' by boss] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110920115353/http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=3.0.3955391781 |date=20 September 2011 }}, Adnkronos International, 5 November 2009.</ref>

Provenzano's new guidelines were patience, compartmentalisation, coexistence with state institutions, and systematic infiltration of public finance. The diplomatic Provenzano tried to stem the flow of [[pentito|pentiti]] by not targeting their families, only using violence in case of absolute necessity. Provenzano reportedly re-established the old Mafia rules that had been abolished by [[Salvatore Riina|Totò Riina]] under his very eyes when, together with Riina and [[Leoluca Bagarella]], he was ruling the Corleonesi faction.

On 19 March 2011, it was confirmed that Provenzano was suffering from bladder cancer, and he was transferred from Novara to a prison in [[Parma]]; on 9 May 2012, he attempted [[suicide]] by putting his head in a plastic bag, with the aim of suffocation, but was foiled when it was observed by a prison police officer.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2012/05/10/provenzano-tenta-suicidio-carcere-salvato-dagli-agenti-della-penitenziaria/226092/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120511230015/https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2012/05/10/provenzano-tenta-suicidio-carcere-salvato-dagli-agenti-della-penitenziaria/226092/|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 May 2012|title=Provenzano tenta il suicidio in carcere, ma il Dap sospetta una simulazione|publisher=il Fatto Quotidiano|date=10 May 2012|language=it}}</ref>

[[Giovanni Brusca]] – one of Riina's hitmen who personally detonated the bomb that killed Falcone, and later became an informant after his [[1996]] arrest – has offered a controversial version of the [[Salvatore Riina#Controversy about Riina's arrest|capture of Totò Riina]]: a secret deal between [[Carabinieri]] officers, secret agents and Cosa Nostra bosses tired of the dictatorship of the Corleonesi. According to Brusca, Provenzano "sold" Riina in exchange for the valuable archive of compromising material that Riina held in his apartment in Via Bernini 52 in Palermo.

On 9 April 2014, he was admitted into the San Paolo Hospital in [[Milan]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2015/09/24/mafia-provenzano-resta-al-41-bis-cassazione-carcere-duro-serve-per-farlo-sopravvivere/2065772/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929063124/https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2015/09/24/mafia-provenzano-resta-al-41-bis-cassazione-carcere-duro-serve-per-farlo-sopravvivere/2065772/|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 September 2015|title=Mafia, Provenzano resta al 41 bis Cassazione: "Tutela sua salute"|publisher=il Fatto Quotidiano|date=24 September 2015|language=it}}</ref>

Apparently, the Sicilian Mafia at present is divided between those bosses who support a hard line against the Italian state – mainly bosses currently in jail such as [[Totò Riina|Salvatore 'Totò' Riina]] and [[Leoluca Bagarella]] – and those who support the more moderate strategy of Provenzano. The incarcerated bosses are currently subjected to harsh controls on their contact with the outside world, limiting their ability to run their operations from behind bars under the Italian law [[41 bis]]. (The human-rights group [[Amnesty International]] has expressed concern that the 41-bis regime could in some circumstances amount to "cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment" for prisoners.)

==List of trials==

[[Antonino Giuffrè]] – a close confidant of Provenzano, turned [[pentito]] shortly after his capture in April 2002 – alleges that in 1993, [[Cosa Nostra]] had direct contact with representatives of former Prime Minister [[Silvio Berlusconi]] while he was planning the birth of [[Forza Italia]]. The deal that he says was alleged to have been made was a repeal of 41 bis, among other anti-Mafia laws in return for delivering electoral gains in Sicily. Giuffrè's declarations have not been confirmed.

* In 1987, in the [[Maxi Trial]], Provenzano was sentenced ''[[Trial in absentia|in absentia]]'' to life imprisonment together with [[Salvatore Riina]] and 17 other mob bosses.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1987/12/17/giudici-hanno-creduto-buscetta.html|title=I GIUDICI HANNO CREDUTO A BUSCETTA|publisher=repubblica.it|date=17 December 1987|language=Italian}}</ref>

* In 1995, in the trial for the murder of Lieutenant Colonel Giuseppe Russo, Provenzano was sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment together with Salvatore Riina, [[Michele Greco]] and Leoluca Bagarella.<ref name=timeline>{{cite web|url=https://www.camera.it/_bicamerali/leg15/commbicantimafia/cronologiamafieantimafia/schedabase.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071214175116/https://www.camera.it/_bicamerali/leg15/commbicantimafia/cronologiamafieantimafia/schedabase.asp|url-status=dead|archive-date=2007-12-14|title=Cronologia su mafia e antimafia|publisher=camera.it|language=it}}</ref>

* The same year, in the trial for the murders of the commissioners [[Beppe Montana]] and [[Ninni Cassarà|Antonino Cassarà]], he was also sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment together with Michele Greco, Bernardo Brusca, [[Francesco Madonia]] and Salvatore Riina.<ref name=timeline/>

* The same year, in the trial for the murders of [[Piersanti Mattarella]], [[Pio La Torre]], [[Rosario di Salvo]] and [[Michele Reina]], in which he was given a further life sentence in absentia together with Michele Greco, Bernardo Brusca, Salvatore Riina, [[Giuseppe Calò]], Francesco Madonia and [[Nenè Geraci]].<ref name=timeline/>

* The same year, in the trial for the murder of General [[Carlo Alberto dalla Chiesa]], [[Boris Giuliano]], and [[Paolo Giaccone]], Provenzano was sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia together with Salvatore Riina, Giuseppe Calò, Bernardo Brusca, Francesco Madonia, Nenè Geraci and [[Francesco Spadaro]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/1995/marzo/18/Delitto_Dalla_Chiesa_ottavo_ergastolo_co_0_95031816119.shtml |title=Delitto Dalla Chiesa: ottavo ergastolo a Riina<!-- Titolo generato automaticamente --> |access-date=9 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151003004355/http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/1995/marzo/18/Delitto_Dalla_Chiesa_ottavo_ergastolo_co_0_95031816119.shtml |archive-date=3 October 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>

* In 1997, in the trial for the [[Capaci bombing|Capaci massacre]] in which the judge [[Giovanni Falcone]], his wife [[Francesca Morvillo]] and their escort of Antonio Montinaro, Vito Schifani and Rocco Di Cillo, lost their lives, Provenzano was sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia together with the bosses Salvatore Riina, [[Pietro Aglieri]], Bernardo Brusca, Giuseppe Calò, [[Raffaele Ganci]], Nenè Geraci, [[Benedetto Spera]], [[Benedetto Santapaola|Nitto Santapaola]], [[Salvatore Montalto]], [[Giuseppe Graviano]], [[Matteo Motisi]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130613062857/http://www.fondazionefalcone.it/a_documenti/c_ergast.htm Sentenza Strage – CONDANNE ALL'ERGASTOLO]</ref>

* The same year, in the trial for the murder of Judge [[Cesare Terranova]], Provenzano received another life sentence in absentia along with Michele Greco, Bernardo Brusca, Giuseppe Calò, Nenè Geraci, Francesco Madonia and Salvatore Riina.<ref name=cds040697>{{in lang|it}} [http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/1997/giugno/04/Ecco_chi_uccise_Terranova_co_0_97060411073.shtml Ecco chi uccise Terranova] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151003015653/http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/1997/giugno/04/Ecco_chi_uccise_Terranova_co_0_97060411073.shtml |date=3 October 2015 }}, Corriere della Sera, 4 June 1997</ref>

* In 1999, Provenzano was sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia in the trial against those responsible for the [[Via D'Amelio bombing|Via D'Amelio massacre]], in which the judge Paolo Borsellino and five of his escort men lost their lives; together with him the bosses Giuseppe "Piddu" Madonia, Nitto Santapaola, Giuseppe Calò, Giuseppe Farinella, Raffaele Ganci, Nino Giuffrè, Filippo Graviano, Michelangelo La Barbera, Giuseppe Montalto, Salvatore Montalto, Matteo Motisi, Salvatore Biondo, Cristoforo Cannella, Domenico Ganci and Stefano Ganci.<ref name=PeDem>{{cite web|title=Via D'Amelio, 19 luglio 1992|url=http://www.poliziaedemocrazia.it/live/index.php?___domain=archivio&action=articolo&idArticolo=286|work=Polizia e Democrazia website|access-date=23 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921061137/http://www.poliziaedemocrazia.it/live/index.php?___domain=archivio&action=articolo&idArticolo=286|archive-date=21 September 2013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=antimafia>[http://www.antimafiaduemila.com/2011103134396/sistemi-criminali/nuovi-processi-per-la-strage-di-via-damelio.html Nuovi processi per la strage di via D'Amelio] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714121929/http://www.antimafiaduemila.com/2011103134396/sistemi-criminali/nuovi-processi-per-la-strage-di-via-damelio.html|date=14 July 2014|data=14 luglio 2014}} Antimafiaduemila.com</ref>

* In 2000, he was sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment together with [[Giuseppe Graviano]], Leoluca Bagarella and Salvatore Riina for the 1993 bombings including [[Via dei Georgofili bombing|Via dei Georgofili]], in Florence, Milan and Rome.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2000/01/22/ergastolo-toto-riina-per-la-strage.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408222433/https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2000/01/22/ergastolo-toto-riina-per-la-strage.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 April 2014|author=Gianluca Monastra|publisher=la Repubblica|date=22 January 2000|language=it|title=Ergastolo a Totò Riina per la strage}}</ref>

* In 2002, Provenzano was sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment for the murder of judge [[Rocco Chinnici]] together with the bosses Salvatore Riina, Raffaele Ganci, Antonino Madonia, Salvatore Buscemi, Nenè Geraci, Giuseppe Calò, Francesco Madonia, Salvatore and Giuseppe Montalto, Stefano Ganci and Vincenzo Galatolo.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2002/06/26/strage-chinnici-12-ergastoli-assolti-boss-motisi.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005012342/https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2002/06/26/strage-chinnici-12-ergastoli-assolti-boss-motisi.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 October 2013 |title=Strage Chinnici, 12 ergastoli assolti i boss Motisi e Farinella|publisher=la Repubblica|date=26 June 2002|language=it}}</ref>

* In 2003, Provenzano was sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment for the murder of [[Mario Francese]].<ref name=mario>{{in lang|it}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20130130140031/http://www.fondazionefrancese.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=46&Itemid=53 Biografia Mario Francese], Fondazione Francese</ref>

* In 2009, he received another life sentence together with Salvatore Riina for the Viale Lazio massacre and the death of [[Michele Cavataio]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2009/04/29/strage-di-viale-lazio-ergastolo-riina-provenzano.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408221640/https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2009/04/29/strage-di-viale-lazio-ergastolo-riina-provenzano.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 April 2014 |title=Strage di viale Lazio, ergastolo a Riina e Provenzano|author=Salvo Palazzolo |publisher=la Repubblica|date=29 April 2009|language=it}}</ref>

==Family==

During a court appearance in July 2002, [[Leoluca Bagarella]] suggested unnamed politicians had failed to maintain agreements with the Mafia over prison conditions. "We are tired of being exploited, humiliated, harassed and used as merchandise by political factions," he said. Nevertheless, the Italian Parliament, with the support of [[Forza Italia]], subsequently prolonged the enforcement of 41 bis, which was to expire in 2002, for another four years and extended it to other crimes such as terrorism. However, according to one of Italy’s leading magazines, [[L’Espresso]], 119 mafiosi – one-fifth of those incarcerated under the 41-bis regime – have been released on an individual basis.<ref name="hotel">{{it icon}} [http://lnx.casertasette.com/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=4988 Hotel a cinque stelle], L'Espresso, January 16, 2006.</ref>

Provenzano had been romantically linked to Saveria Benedetta Palazzolo, a woman from a Mafia family from [[Cinisi]]; the couple had two children, Angelo Provenzano and Francesco Paolo Provenzano.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.centroimpastato.it/publ/online/signoraprovenzano.php3|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090713012151/http://www.centroimpastato.it/publ/online/signoraprovenzano.php3|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 July 2009|title=La signora Provenzano|date=13 July 2009}}</ref> Palazzolo and her children lived in hiding until 1992; then, in the spring of that year, they suddenly returned to Corleone.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.repubblica.it/2008/12/sezioni/cronaca/provenzano-figlio-parla/provenzano-figlio-parla/provenzano-figlio-parla.html|title="Io e mio padre Provenzano così faccio i conti con la mafia" – cronaca – Repubblica.it|website=www.repubblica.it|access-date=1 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191001010306/https://www.repubblica.it/2008/12/sezioni/cronaca/provenzano-figlio-parla/provenzano-figlio-parla/provenzano-figlio-parla.html|archive-date=1 October 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

Angelo had been a tour guide in Palermo, speaking about Sicilian Mafia history.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/29/mafia-victims-criticise-godfather-tours-by-son-of-infamous-sicily-boss|title=Mafia victims criticise Godfather tours by son of infamous Sicily boss|first=Rosie|last=Scammell|newspaper=The Guardian |date=29 March 2015|via=www.theguardian.com|access-date=1 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191001005802/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/29/mafia-victims-criticise-godfather-tours-by-son-of-infamous-sicily-boss|archive-date=1 October 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Francesco Paolo graduated in 2005 with a doctorate in Modern Languages and Cultures at the [[University of Palermo]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.corriere.it/Primo_Piano/Cronache/2005/03_Marzo/23/provenzano.shtml|title=Corriere della Sera – Il figlio di Provenzano diventa dottore|website=www.corriere.it|access-date=1 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180416192355/http://www.corriere.it/Primo_Piano/Cronache/2005/03_Marzo/23/provenzano.shtml|archive-date=16 April 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Division within Cosa Nostra==

In 2002 a rift within Cosa Nostra became clear. On the one hand there were the hardline "Corleonesi" in jail – led by [[Salvatore Riina|Totò Riina]] and [[Leoluca Bagarella]] – and on the other the more moderate "Palermitani" – led by Provenzano and [[Antonino Giuffrè]], [[Salvatore Lo Piccolo]] and [[Matteo Messina Denaro]]. Apparently the arrest of Giuffrè in April 2002 was made possible by an anonymous phone call that seems to have been made by loyalists to the Mafia hardliners Riina and Bagarella. The purpose was to send a message to Provenzano. The incarcerated bosses wanted something to be done about the harsh prison conditions (in particular the relaxation of the 41-bis incarceration regime) – and were believed to be orchestrating a return to violence while serving multiple life sentences.

==Death==

Targets were to have been [[Marcello Dell'Utri]] and former Defence Minister [[Cesare Previti]], both close advisors of then Prime Minister [[Silvio Berlusconi]], according to a leaked report of the intelligence service SISDE. Riina and Bagarella felt betrayed by political allies in Rome, who had promised to help pass laws to ease prison conditions and reduce sentences for its jailed members in exchange for Mafia support at the polls. The SISDE report says they believed that hits on either of the two embattled members of Berlusconi's [[Forza Italia]] party — each under separate criminal indictments — would have been less likely to provoke the kind of public outrage and police crackdown that followed the 1992 murders of the widely admired Sicilian prosecutors [[Giovanni Falcone]] and [[Paolo Borsellino]].<ref name="sisde">[http://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/article/0,13005,901020930-353520,00.html Are Mob Hits Bad for Business?] Time Europe Magazine, September 30, 2002; and {{it icon}} [http://www.repubblica.it/online/cronaca/carcereduro/uccidere/uccidere.html "Previti e Dell'Utri nel mirino"], La Repubblica, September 7, 2002.</ref>

On 13 July 2016, Provenzano died aged 83 at San Paolo Hospital in [[Milan]] from complications from bladder cancer.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36782555|title=Italian mafia boss Bernardo Provenzano, 83, dies in jail|work=bbc.co.uk|access-date=13 July 2016|date=2016-07-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160713120211/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36782555|archive-date=13 July 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Refused a public funeral by the church and the Palermo police chief,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.secoloditalia.it/2016/07/per-provenzano-funerali-vietati-ce-si-indigna-non-fa-vendette/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160714163011/https://www.secoloditalia.it/2016/07/per-provenzano-funerali-vietati-ce-si-indigna-non-fa-vendette/|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 July 2016|publisher=Secolo d'Italia|date=13 July 2016|language=it|title=Per Provenzano funerali vietati. Ma c'è chi si indigna: lo Stato non-fa vendette}}</ref> Provenzano was [[Cremation|cremated]] in Milan, and on 18 July his ashes were buried in his family tomb in a cemetery in his hometown of Corleone.<ref>{{Cite web|author=Salvo Palazzolo|url=http://palermo.repubblica.it/cronaca/2016/07/18/news/corleone_cimitero_blindato_per_due_ore_arriva_l_urna_con_le_ceneri_di_provenzano-144355654/|title=Corleone, al cimitero le ceneri di Provenzano. Messa per il boss condannato per le stragi|publisher=La Repubblica|date=18 July 2016|language=it|access-date=11 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403095015/https://palermo.repubblica.it/cronaca/2016/07/18/news/corleone_cimitero_blindato_per_due_ore_arriva_l_urna_con_le_ceneri_di_provenzano-144355654/|archive-date=3 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

==In popular culture==

When Provenzano was moved to the high security prison in [[Terni]], Totò Riina’s son [[Giovanni Riina]], who has been sentenced to life imprisonment for three murders, yelled that Provenzano was a "sbirro" – a popular Italian pejorative expression for a police officer – when Provenzano entered the cell block. The pentito [[Antonino Giuffrè]] has said in October 2005 that there had been rumours within Cosa Nostra that Provenzano was an informer for the Carabinieri while he was on the run.<ref name="giuffre">{{it icon}} [http://www.repubblica.it/2005/j/sezioni/cronaca/grassodenu/giuffre/giuffre.html "Provenzano confidente dei carabinieri"], La Repubblica, October 22, 2005.</ref>

* ''Il fantasma di Corleone'', a 2006 film by [[Marco Amenta]];

* ''L'ultimo dei Corleonesi'', a 2007 film by [[Alberto Negrin]] where Provenzano is played by David Coco;

==Succession==

* ''Scacco al re - La cattura di Provenzano'', a 2007 documentary series;

* ''[[Il Capo dei Capi]]'', a 2007 TV series by [[Enzo Monteleone]] and Alexis Sweet, where Provenzano is played by Salvatore Lazzaro;

After the arrest of Bernardo Provenzano on [[April 11]], [[2006]], several mafiosi were mentioned as his successor. Among the rivals were [[Matteo Messina Denaro]] (from [[Castelvetrano]] and the province of Trapani), [[Salvatore Lo Piccolo]] (boss of Tommaso Natale area and the [[mandamento]] of [[San Lorenzo]] in Palermo), and [[Domenico Raccuglia]] from [[Altofonte]]. Provenzano allegedly nominated Messina Denaro in one of his [[pizzini]] – small slips of paper used to communicate with other mafiosi to avoid phone conversations, found at Provenzano's hide out.

* ''L'ultimo padrino'', a 2008 two-part television miniseries by [[Marco Risi]], where Provenzano is played by [[Michele Placido]].

* [[Cacciatore: The Hunter|''Il cacciatore'']] (''Cacciatore: The Hunter'' in English) is an Italian television series (2018– ) based on the autobiographical book ''Cacciatore di mafiosi'' by magistrate Alfonso Sabella, in which Provenzano is one of the main Mafia targets.

This presupposes that Provenzano has the power to nominate a successor, which is not unanimously accepted among Mafia observers. "The Mafia today is more of a federation and less of an authoritarian state," according to anti-Mafia prosecutor Antonio Ingroia of the [[Direzione distrettuale antimafia]] (DDA) of Palermo, referring to the previous period of authoritarian rule under [[Salvatore Riina]]. Provenzano "established a kind of directorate of about four to seven people who met very infrequently, only when necessary, when there were strategic decisions to make." <ref name="Ingroia">[http://www.redorbit.com/news/international/467681/the_mafia_after_provenzanopeace_or_allout_war/index.html The Mafia after Provenzano-peace or all-out war?] by Philip Pullella, Reuters, April 12, 2006.</ref>

According to Ingroia "in an organization like the Mafia, a boss has to be one step above the others otherwise it all falls apart. It all depends on if he can manage consensus and if the others agree or rebel." Provenzano "guaranteed a measure of stability because he had the authority to quash internal disputes." Among the members of the directorate were [[Salvatore Lo Piccolo]]; [[Antonino Giuffrè]] from [[Caccamo]]; [[Benedetto Spera]] from Belmonte Mezzagno; [[Salvatore Rinella]] from [[Trabia]]; [[Giuseppe Balsano]] from [[Monreale]]; [[Matteo Messina Denaro]] from [[Castelvetrano]]; [[Vincenzo Virga]] from [[Trapani]]; and [[Andrea Mangiaracina]] from [[Mazara del Vallo]].

After the arrests of Benedetto Spera, Vincenzo Virga (both in 2001) and Antonino Giuffrè in 2002 (who decided to cooperate with the authorities), the leadership of Cosa Nostra was in the hands of the fugitives Bernardo Provenzano, Salvatore Lo Piccolo and Matteo Messina Denaro.

Two months after Provenzano’s arrest, on [[June 20]], [[2006]], authorities issued 52 arrest warrants against the top echelon of Cosa Nostra in the city of Palermo (Operation Gotha). Study of the [[pizzini]] showed that Provenzano’s joint deputies in Palermo were Salvatore Lo Piccolo and [[Antonio Rotolo]], capo-mandamento of [[Pagliarelli]]. In a message referring to an important decision for Cosa Nostra, Provenzano told Rotolo: "It's up to you, me and Lo Piccolo to decide this thing." <ref name="Rotolo">[http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,1802482,00.html Police strike at heart of mafia averts bloody power struggle], by John Hooper, The Guardian, June 21, 2006.</ref>

The investigations showed that Rotolo had built a kind of federation within the mafia, comprising 13 families grouped in four clans. His right-hand men were [[Antonio Cinà]] – who used to be the personal physician of [[Salvatore Riina]] and Provenzano – and the builder [[Francesco Bonura]]. The city of Palermo was ruled by this triumvirate replacing the Commission whose members are all in jail.

What emerged as well was that the position of Salvatore Lo Piccolo was not undisputed. Authorities said they avoided the outbreak of a genuine war inside Cosa Nostra. The first clash would have been between Rotolo and Lo Piccolo. What sparked off the crisis was a request from the Inzerillo family, one of the clans whose leaders – among them [[Salvatore Inzerillo]] – were killed by the Corleonesi during the Second Mafia War in the 1980s and which are now in exile in the United States. Rotolo had passed a death sentence on Lo Piccolo and his son, Sandro, even before Provenzano's arrest – and even procured the barrels of acid that are used to dissolve the bodies of slain rivals.

==See also==

* ''[[Mani pulite]]''

* [[Maxi Trial]]

==References==

{{Reflist|30em}}

<references/>

==FurtherExternal readinglinks==

{{Commons category-inline}}

* Dickie, John (2004). ''Cosa Nostra. A history of the Sicilian Mafia'', London: Coronet, {{ISBN|0-340-82435-2}}

* Jamieson, Alison (2000). ''The Antimafia. Italy's fight against organized crime'', London: MacMillan Press Ltd {{ISBN|0-333-80158-X}} <!-- Also ISBN 0-312-22911-9 & ISBN 0-333-71900-X -->

* Longrigg, Clare (2009), ''Boss of Bosses: How One Man Saved The Sicilian Mafia'', London: John Murray, {{ISBN|978-0-7195-6958-6}}

* {{in lang|it}} Oliva, Ernesto & Salvo Palazzolo (2001). ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20080112215655/http://www.capitanoultimo.it/d/mafialibro8.htm L’altra mafia: Biografia di Bernardo Provenzano]'', Soveria Mannelli (CZ): Rubbettino Editore.

* [[Alexander Stille|Stille, Alexander]] (1995).''Excellent Cadavers. The Mafia and the Death of the First Italian Republic'', New York: Vintage {{ISBN|0-09-959491-9}}

* {{in lang|it}} [http://www.bernardoprovenzano.net A biography of Provenzano]

* [https://www.theguardian.com/g2/story/0,,477367,00.html The Guardian: ''Gangster No 1''], 24 April 2001

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050409080213/http://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/article/0,13005,901040906-689399,00.html Time Europe Magazine: ''Sicily's Invisible Man''], 29 August 2004

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4899512.stm Profile from the BBC], 11 April 2006

* [http://www.ericjlyman.com/usaprovenzano.html Experts: Provenzano capture not the end of the Sicilian mob], by Eric J. Lyman, ''USA Today'', 12 April 2006

* [https://www.theguardian.com/italy/story/0,,1752727,00.html Prosecutors fear capture of mafia boss will spark bloody war of succession], by John Hooper, The Guardian, 13 April 2006

* [https://archive.today/20070208073730/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,6-2133886,00.html The Sopranos? No, the Shepherds], by Federico Varese, ''The Times'', 14 April 2006

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930220342/http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article622650.ece In search of the real Godfather], by Peter Popham, ''The Independent'', 4 June 2006

* Short clip from {{YouTube|rsonbfXXD00|"Scacco al Re"}} from RAI TV.

{{Mafia}}

*''Excellent Cadavers. The Mafia and the Death of the First Italian Republic'' (1995) Alexander Stille, Vintage ISBN 0-09-959491-9

*''The Antimafia. Italy's fight against organized crime'' (2000) Alison Jamieson, MacMillan Press Ltd ISBN 0-333-80158-X <!-- Also ISBN 0312229119 & ISBN 033371900X -->

*''Cosa Nostra. A history of the Sicilian Mafia'' (2004) John Dickie, Coronet, ISBN 0-340-82435-2

==External links==

* {{it icon}} [http://www.bernardoprovenzano.net A biography of Provenzano]

* [http://gangstersinc.tripod.com/BernardoProvenzano.html Provenzano at Gangsters Inc.]

* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,477367,00.html The Guardian: ''Gangster No 1''], April 24, 2001

* [http://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/article/0,13005,901040906-689399,00.html Time Europe Magazine: ''Sicily's Invisible Man''], August 29, 2004

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4899512.stm Profile from the BBC], April 11, 2006

* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/italy/story/0,,1752727,00.html Prosecutors fear capture of mafia boss will spark bloody war of succession], by John Hooper, The Guardian, April 13, 2006

* [http://www.corriere.it/english/articoli/2006/06_Giugno/21/pizzini.shtml “Pizzini” Notes Reveal New Mafia Bosses], by Felice Cavallaro, Corriere delle Sera, June 21, 2006

* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,1802482,00.html Police strike at heart of mafia averts bloody power struggle], by John Hooper, The Guardian, June 21, 2006

* [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,6-2133886,00.html The Sopranos? No, the Shepherds], by Federico Varese, The Times, April 14, 2006

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