First Reports on Brigandage in Molise at the End of the 18th Century
(From notes written by Mario Gramegna)
According to historical documentation, the first episodes of organized brigandage under the leadership of a recognized leader occurred shortly before the years of the French Revolution. However, the crimes committed were usually limited to livestock and agricultural product thefts, and there is no record of massacres or killings.
Around 1792, a certain Captain Landi was already active in the Trivento area, with his lieutenants being his own four sons. Their actions were characterized by temerity, malice, and disdain for the law. They committed all sorts of abuses against both wealthy and poor citizens, exercising violence without limits and dishonoring many families who were then unable to defend themselves for fear of scandal in a country where reputation was valued more than wealth.
Commerce and trade were practically halted, public and private peace was no longer secure, and the clergy were disturbed from their divine offices. Devotion waned due to the "continuous disturbances" caused by certain priests implicated in the brigands' misdeeds, often in complicity with them.
According to the testimony of Canon Gesualdo Marchetti, one evening in March 1789, Primicerio Don Antonio Lalli was visited by Canon Don Nazario Vasile and his nephew Arcangelo Quici (fully armed), who was wanted by the gendarmes. Quici slept in the priest’s house and the next day sought refuge in Michelangelo Scarano’s home, where he was arrested 10 days later.
But the most significant event was this: after the death of Bishop Paglioni, the aforementioned Don Antonio Lalli claimed the position of Vicar Capitular, publicly supported by Saverio and Samuele Quici, brothers of the brigand Arcangelo, and the infamous Paolantonio Vasile, wanted for murder. The latter publicly declared that if Lalli was not elected, "blood would flow." Consequently, Lalli was appointed Vicar Capitular, and his entrance into Trivento was preceded by the Quici brothers, habitual thieves Giuseppe and Vincenzo Scarano, and the nephews of Canon Vasile, Giacinto and Candidoro Mastroiacovo, all expressing joy with gunfire.
Installed in the Episcopal Palace, Reverend Lalli dined with these scoundrels, and according to public opinion, he shared in their spoils, colluding with Canon Don Nazario Vasile, uncle of Samuele and Arcangelo Quici, as well as Don Vitale Mastroiacovo, a known supporter of thieves. Vasile's guilt was evident when, upon the arrest of his nephew Paolantonio Vasile, a search of his house revealed several watches, whose origin the canon could not explain.
All the aforementioned characters had formed a true criminal association, using force, threats, and intimidation to lease several lands from the municipality, cutting grass and timber from common lands, and selling the proceeds to outsiders as if it were their own, causing scandal and deep indignation among the population, who dared not voice their protests because the perpetrators were protected by tax collector Don Donato Berardinelli and Don Vitale Mastroiacovo, who then regulated the course of justice. The corruption was such that two investigators into the crimes, who had irrefutable evidence and clear indications of the perpetrators, were hosted by a certain Don Anselmo Mastroiacovo, a collaborator with the brigands, who managed to "change the cards on the table," preventing the suspects from being convicted without evidence.
Not only that, but the scoundrels were also informed about those who had once had the courage to testify against them and persecuted them after being released. Many other young men, mocking the law and convinced of certain impunity, joined the gang, thereby increasing the number of thefts and acts of violence in Trivento and nearby areas, as well as in the province of Chieti. They used various disguises, sometimes masks or fake mustaches.
It is worth noting that around 1784, a Roman priest, who was reportedly later killed, was robbed of 900 Venetian zecchini by Samuele and Arcangelo Quici and the Scarano brothers (alias Marrano). At this point, another important figure enters the criminal scene, Felici Colaneri, a small but enterprising merchant from Trivento, who then took on the task of exchanging those zecchini for current currency on behalf of the brigands. For this reason, he went to Naples, and passing through Foggia, bought 30 horses for himself. On his return, he told the thieves that he had not been able to exchange the zecchini for fear of being caught and that he would pay annual interest on the sum in his hands. It is certain that from then on, Colaneri became one of the richest merchants in the district, and it is not surprising that he was murdered a few years later by the infamous Fulvio Quici, worthy scion of Saverio.
Indeed, from that time on, Saverio ceased to be a laborer and started trading, disposing of large sums of capital (evidently provided by his brothers Samuele and Arcangelo) and becoming the owner within a few years of houses, over 300 pigs, 700 sheep, and about twenty cows. He also bought and sold over 800 tomoli of grain annually. Whenever the Quici were imprisoned, they always found ways and means to regain their freedom, by corrupting the judges tasked with gathering evidence of their guilt or threatening the witnesses through accomplices they had everywhere.
In this environment of thieves and murderers, young Fulvio grew up, participating in his uncles' crimes from a young age and gaining experience to soon become a cunning and audacious leader, utterly unscrupulous and willing to commit crimes to achieve his goals. When the Campobasso courier was robbed in 1792, it was established that the culprits were the Quici brothers with their nephew Fulvio and other Trivento locals, Giovanni della Vecchia from Spinete, and other thieves from Campobasso led by the equally notorious Francesco Diodati, known as Capodicannarone. Imprisoned, each tried to exonerate themselves, and Fulvio Quici found two Trivento priests who vouched for him as an honest man. This episode also demonstrates the extent of corruption, which had not spared even the clergy and seemed to have rooted within it.
If the brigands had not found protection and collaborators among certain elements (and there were many from high-ranking ones) of the clergy, many crimes would likely not have gone unpunished, and others would never have occurred. Almost nothing is known about the period following the release of Fulvio Quici and the other bandits. When the French arrived in the Kingdom of Naples and King Ferdinand took refuge in Sicily, the situation calmed down briefly, and the troublemakers fled to the woods to escape arrest and execution. However, after the fall of the Neapolitan Republic, the towns were plunged into anarchy, and crimes of all kinds occurred in Trivento and elsewhere. The Trivento Seminary was stripped of everything and suffered such damage that it had to remain closed for several years.
During this time, the supporters of the Bourbons regained courage, while those who had plundered everything during the anarchy began to dominate again, securing with force the contracts for all the municipality's revenues and becoming, in many cases, extremely wealthy.
(From notes written by Mario Gramegna)
According to historical documentation, the first episodes of organized brigandage under the leadership of a recognized leader occurred shortly before the years of the French Revolution. However, the crimes committed were usually limited to livestock and agricultural product thefts, and there is no record of massacres or killings.
Around 1792, a certain Captain Landi was already active in the Trivento area, with his lieutenants being his own four sons. Their actions were characterized by temerity, malice, and disdain for the law. They committed all sorts of abuses against both wealthy and poor citizens, exercising violence without limits and dishonoring many families who were then unable to defend themselves for fear of scandal in a country where reputation was valued more than wealth.
Commerce and trade were practically halted, public and private peace was no longer secure, and the clergy were disturbed from their divine offices. Devotion waned due to the "continuous disturbances" caused by certain priests implicated in the brigands' misdeeds, often in complicity with them.
According to the testimony of Canon Gesualdo Marchetti, one evening in March 1789, Primicerio Don Antonio Lalli was visited by Canon Don Nazario Vasile and his nephew Arcangelo Quici (fully armed), who was wanted by the gendarmes. Quici slept in the priest’s house and the next day sought refuge in Michelangelo Scarano’s home, where he was arrested 10 days later.
But the most significant event was this: after the death of Bishop Paglioni, the aforementioned Don Antonio Lalli claimed the position of Vicar Capitular, publicly supported by Saverio and Samuele Quici, brothers of the brigand Arcangelo, and the infamous Paolantonio Vasile, wanted for murder. The latter publicly declared that if Lalli was not elected, "blood would flow." Consequently, Lalli was appointed Vicar Capitular, and his entrance into Trivento was preceded by the Quici brothers, habitual thieves Giuseppe and Vincenzo Scarano, and the nephews of Canon Vasile, Giacinto and Candidoro Mastroiacovo, all expressing joy with gunfire.
Installed in the Episcopal Palace, Reverend Lalli dined with these scoundrels, and according to public opinion, he shared in their spoils, colluding with Canon Don Nazario Vasile, uncle of Samuele and Arcangelo Quici, as well as Don Vitale Mastroiacovo, a known supporter of thieves. Vasile's guilt was evident when, upon the arrest of his nephew Paolantonio Vasile, a search of his house revealed several watches, whose origin the canon could not explain.
All the aforementioned characters had formed a true criminal association, using force, threats, and intimidation to lease several lands from the municipality, cutting grass and timber from common lands, and selling the proceeds to outsiders as if it were their own, causing scandal and deep indignation among the population, who dared not voice their protests because the perpetrators were protected by tax collector Don Donato Berardinelli and Don Vitale Mastroiacovo, who then regulated the course of justice. The corruption was such that two investigators into the crimes, who had irrefutable evidence and clear indications of the perpetrators, were hosted by a certain Don Anselmo Mastroiacovo, a collaborator with the brigands, who managed to "change the cards on the table," preventing the suspects from being convicted without evidence.
Not only that, but the scoundrels were also informed about those who had once had the courage to testify against them and persecuted them after being released. Many other young men, mocking the law and convinced of certain impunity, joined the gang, thereby increasing the number of thefts and acts of violence in Trivento and nearby areas, as well as in the province of Chieti. They used various disguises, sometimes masks or fake mustaches.
It is worth noting that around 1784, a Roman priest, who was reportedly later killed, was robbed of 900 Venetian zecchini by Samuele and Arcangelo Quici and the Scarano brothers (alias Marrano). At this point, another important figure enters the criminal scene, Felici Colaneri, a small but enterprising merchant from Trivento, who then took on the task of exchanging those zecchini for current currency on behalf of the brigands. For this reason, he went to Naples, and passing through Foggia, bought 30 horses for himself. On his return, he told the thieves that he had not been able to exchange the zecchini for fear of being caught and that he would pay annual interest on the sum in his hands. It is certain that from then on, Colaneri became one of the richest merchants in the district, and it is not surprising that he was murdered a few years later by the infamous Fulvio Quici, worthy scion of Saverio.
Indeed, from that time on, Saverio ceased to be a laborer and started trading, disposing of large sums of capital (evidently provided by his brothers Samuele and Arcangelo) and becoming the owner within a few years of houses, over 300 pigs, 700 sheep, and about twenty cows. He also bought and sold over 800 tomoli of grain annually. Whenever the Quici were imprisoned, they always found ways and means to regain their freedom, by corrupting the judges tasked with gathering evidence of their guilt or threatening the witnesses through accomplices they had everywhere.
In this environment of thieves and murderers, young Fulvio grew up, participating in his uncles' crimes from a young age and gaining experience to soon become a cunning and audacious leader, utterly unscrupulous and willing to commit crimes to achieve his goals. When the Campobasso courier was robbed in 1792, it was established that the culprits were the Quici brothers with their nephew Fulvio and other Trivento locals, Giovanni della Vecchia from Spinete, and other thieves from Campobasso led by the equally notorious Francesco Diodati, known as Capodicannarone. Imprisoned, each tried to exonerate themselves, and Fulvio Quici found two Trivento priests who vouched for him as an honest man. This episode also demonstrates the extent of corruption, which had not spared even the clergy and seemed to have rooted within it.
If the brigands had not found protection and collaborators among certain elements (and there were many from high-ranking ones) of the clergy, many crimes would likely not have gone unpunished, and others would never have occurred. Almost nothing is known about the period following the release of Fulvio Quici and the other bandits. When the French arrived in the Kingdom of Naples and King Ferdinand took refuge in Sicily, the situation calmed down briefly, and the troublemakers fled to the woods to escape arrest and execution. However, after the fall of the Neapolitan Republic, the towns were plunged into anarchy, and crimes of all kinds occurred in Trivento and elsewhere. The Trivento Seminary was stripped of everything and suffered such damage that it had to remain closed for several years.
During this time, the supporters of the Bourbons regained courage, while those who had plundered everything during the anarchy began to dominate again, securing with force the contracts for all the municipality's revenues and becoming, in many cases, extremely wealthy.