The religious dimension, in particular, appears to be a key component of mafia identity. Instances of this phenomenon include the ceremony of affiliation, where symbols derived from the Catholic tradition and numerous analogies with religious liturgies recur; the altars found in the hideouts of mafiosi; the ambiguous relationship with clergymen; and the overt religiosity displayed by mafia bosses in both private and public occasions, including religious festivals. Recurring appeals to faith and devotion are also prominent features of mafia communicative interactions, with a specific reference to written forms of communication.
A widespread belief until recently was that the Sicilian mafia is a secret society largely based on an oral tradition, with the absolute prohibition to write any information concerning the group. The discovery of the pizzini (messages) archive in Bernardo Provenzano’s hideout in April 2006 has significantly challenged this view, demonstrating the existence of an established, efficient and compartmentalised system of communication based on small type-written notes and relying on a distribution network of carefully selected messengers. There is evidence that written communication had previously been utilised in the course of mafia history. However, the extraordinary value of the novel communicative method based on the pizzini system lies in the unprecedented inside view it offers of the dynamics of power, social relations and cultural values within the organisation, without the ‘filters’ that testimony of mafia defectors might impose.
When Bernardo Provenzano assumed the leadership of Cosa Nostra in the mid-1990s, the organisation he inherited was severely damaged by years of internecine conflicts and by the unforeseen consequences of the bombing campaign against prominent antimafia figures. In addition, the phenomenon of pentitismo (‘repentance’ of former mafiosi) had consolidated, bringing an unprecedented level of exposure to Cosa Nostra. Most of all, the reaction of the Church, State and civil society had critically undermined the historical relations of Cosa Nostra with key sectors of external society. Judicial investigations and pentiti’s testimony have highlighted the prominent role of Provenzano in the rise to power of the Corleonese faction under Salvatore Riina and in the Second Mafia War (1980-1983). However, when he assumed the leadership following Riina and Leoluca Bagarella’s arrest, Provenzano opted for a ‘strategy of submersion’ aimed bringing the organisation back into contact with public institutions, regain the social consensus lost after the bombing campaign, and eventually resume control over territory while remaining well below the radar. In order to fully implement this strategy, a secure means of written communication based on the pizzini system was devised, which would allow Provenzano to establish and consolidate his leadership over Cosa Nostra while, at the same time, facilitating his role of mediation between mafia factions.
A written system of communication perfectly responded to Provenzano’s need to mediate between different parties or individuals, as it allowed him to decide on the timing and extent of the communication, to defer decisions and plan the strategy to follow. Furthermore, the pizzini did not represent a neutral form of communication, but an ideal vehicle for Provenzano to present himself under the new light of a wise, able mediator inspired by a profound religious faith and in contrast with the despotic style of his predecessor. Indeed, religious references and biblical quotations regularly appear alongside both routine instructions and business matters. For example, in a letter sent in September 1997 to Salvatore Genovese, mafia boss of San Giuseppe Jato, Provenzano wrote:
“I beg you to forgive me for the mistakes you will find in this writing and I beg forgiveness again for my answers should they not be what you had expected. […] I wish you all the goodness of this world and send you and your father my dearest, affectionate greetings. God bless and protect you all!” (Procedimento Penale nr. 1687/96 R.G.n.R. DDA)
Similarly, the conclusion of the pizzino sent to Bernardo Riina, one of the men who helped Provenzano in his last months in hiding, reads:
“Wishing you all the goodness of the world, I take this occasion to wish you all the goodness of the world. If we don’t hear from each other before the Holy Easter, then I wish all of you to spend a Good, Happy, Serene, Holy Easter. Sending you my dearest wishes, May God bless and protect you all!” (Questura di Palermo, Servizio Centrale Operativo SCO, Divisione I, Squadra Mobile ‘Gruppo Duomo’).
The copy of the Bible that police recovered from his hideout, strongly suggests that Provenzano used it to derive inspiration for the form and content of his messages. For example, in a letter sent by Pino Lipari, Provenzano’s close collaborator expressed his gratitude for the verses of the Bible that Provenzano had previously sent him and which regarded the ‘trees that can be recognised by their fruits’ (Matthew 7:17–20). Another example, the expression ‘Vi benedica il Signore e vi protegga’ (The Lord bless and keep you), that closes every pizzino, is derived from the Book of Numbers (6:24). In his pizzini, Provenzano recurrently thanked ‘Our Lord Jesus Christ’, and referred to ‘Divine Providence’ and ‘Our beloved Lord’ expressing the hope that ‘He might help us to do the right things’. More than any other expression, ‘Con il volere di Dio’ (With God’s will) recurs in the known pizzini, and more than once it appears in the same piece of communication.
From a socio-anthropological viewpoint, the patterned and repeated sequences of words and religious references in these letters reflect the same characteristics of a highly symbolic ritual of communicative interaction that has a demonstrable transformative effect on the participants involved. In particular, the pizzini can be interpreted as totems, the sacred object of a ritual in which participants can recognise themselves and the existence of their group, strengthening their solidarity and allegiance to one another. The sense of solidarity, cohesiveness, and the feelings of unity shared by the mafia communitas as a result of this process are evident in the pizzini sent by other mafiosi to Bernardo Provenzano. For example, an analogous tone to that used by Provenzano on the occasion of Easter or Christmas festivities appears in the letters written by Sandro Lo Piccolo, son of the powerful mafia boss of the San Lorenzo faction in Palermo, Salvatore Lo Piccolo:
“My dearest uncle, I truly hope that you and your family are well. I write this message to you to wish you well from the bottom of my heart, in the hope that you may spend this Holy Easter in the best and most serene way. […] Now, along with my Easter greetings, I send you infinite hugs and kisses from the bottom of my heart. Your nephew 31. I love you so much!! May God always be with you!!!” (SCO, 26 March 2006)
The recognition of Provenzano’s authority is also evident in a letter sent by Ignazio Ribisi to Provenzano regarding the role of two mafia affiliates in the province of Agrigento:
“…Before concluding, it is important for me to say this: we live for you, therefore whatever you might need we beg you not to spare us from the pleasure of serving you. In the meantime, with the highest imperishable sense of respect, I send you a paternal hug. Your most faithful, Ignazio.” (SCO, June 2005)
The ‘highest sense of imperishable respect’ expressed in this letter shows a precise need of emulating the tone of the leader in order to be in his ‘grace’, and reiterate one’s belonging this new community that was progressively being shaped. This is particularly evident in the pizzini sent by Matteo Messina Denaro who, still on the run, is considered to be one of the current leaders of Cosa Nostra. In a letter sent to Provenzano in 2004, Messina Denaro (who signed his letters as Alessio) wrote:
“I thank you for the beautiful words you used about me. I am honoured. But, humbly, I would like to say that I am not better than you. I prefer to say that I have always belonged to you. I follow a way in my life which is your way, I was born this way and I will die this way, I am certain of this. I hope this letter finds you well and those dear to you. I beg you to be careful, even though you need no recommendation because you are our master. You are always in my thoughts and heart and I hope God always helps you. I send you a big kiss and a strong hug. With unchanged esteem and the usual affection, Your nephew Alessio.” (SCO, 25 May 2004)
These examples demonstrate not only the evident attempt to emulate Provenzano in his language and style, but also a high level of deference and demeanour, rules of conduct at play within this ritual of communicative interaction. Sociologist Erving Goffman described deference precisely as a ‘mark of devotion’ that represents the ways in which an actor ‘celebrates and confirms his relation to a recipient’ (2005, 56). The more mafia members acknowledged their leader’s competence and authority, the more Provenzano’s identity was ‘allotted a kind of sacredness displayed and confirmed by symbolic acts’. Through practices of deference and demeanour at play within this written ritual of communication, Provenzano’s identity became part of a ceremonial ritual, a ‘sacred object which had to be treated with proper ritual care and in turn had to be presented in a proper light to others’. As a result, the pizzini would become not only the established means of communication for the entire organisation, but also the ideal vehicle for Provenzano to rebuild Cosa Nostra upon a solid ideological structure based on a renewed religious identity.
“The implication is that in one sense this secular world is not so irreligious as we think. Many gods have been done away with, but the individual himself might stubbornly remains as a deity of considerable importance […] In contacts between such deities there is no need for middlemen; each of these gods is able to serve as his own priest.” (Goffman 1971)