Brigandage in Molise

 

Brigandage is a phenomenon that began at the end of the 18th century as an attempt at revolt by small minorities, eventually becoming a widespread mass movement during the post-unification years. After 1861, Italy, and particularly the South, faced what has been termed the "Southern Question," stemming from the significant disparity between the industrialized North and the agricultural South. During the early years of the Historical Right government, the problem of the so-called "Piedmontization" of the Kingdom of Italy arose in Southern Italy. This was because the Southern institutions were standardized to those of the North, despite having a more backward system. This discontent precisely fueled the phenomenon of brigandage: the peasant masses saw their aspirations for land ownership thwarted once again, so initially, brigandage appeared positively as an attempt at revolt by the peasant classes. However, on the other hand, brigandage can also be seen as a prototype of what we today call "organized crime." While usually significant phenomena never reached the depths of our lands, brigandage almost exclusively affected the South, and thus Molise as well. Indeed, there were many bands that terrorized the people of Molise.
Even today, Roccamandolfi is remembered as the homeland of brigands. In truth, the town was affected by several brigandage phenomena, facilitated by the characteristics of the territory that offered a safe refuge. Already at the end of the 18th century, episodes of social revolts involved some citizens of Rocca.
One of the brigand figures surrounded by an aura of legend is that of Sabatino Lombardi, known as "Il Maligno" (The Evil One). Poor Maligno was not born a brigand; he became one in reaction to a series of injustices he suffered. His story begins in 1804 with his escape from the prisons of Capua, where he had been imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. He joined other brigands and organized numerous raids; his ferocity was mainly directed against the Cimino family, responsible for his misfortunes, including the death of his mother. He was killed in 1812 in the locality of "Colle Castrilli," and it is said that his corpse was dragged through the streets of the town. His head, separated from the body, was placed in a cage and hung from the bell tower, where it remained until 1843.
After the deaths of Cecchino and Cimino, brigandage lost the political motivations that had characterized it, degenerating into a phenomenon of common and marginal criminality. However, this did not make their successors any less famous for their raids. The band, divided into two, was led by the new leaders "Pace" (Peace) and "Guerra" (War), and lastly by Domenico Fuoco, who with a few companions lived for eleven years in the countryside and became feared in Molise.
Recently, a multimedia museum documenting Brigandage was inaugurated in Roccamandolfi, which recounts this segment of our past through the 3D projection of an engaging film and the exhibition of traditional brigand and brigandess costumes.
By Marco Lupisella and Francesco Cristofano