Living Under the Shadows of the Mafia
Across the southern tip of the Italian boot lies the fabled island of Sicily. The island derived its name from the Sicels, who inhabited its eastern part during the Iron Age, underscoring its long, rich, colorful, and fabled history. Its strategic location at the heart of the Mediterranean Sea—it is the largest island in the Mediterranean—has made it a crossroads of history, a pawn of conquest and empire, and a melting pot of a dozen or more ethnic groups whose warriors and merchants sought its shores. By around 750 BC, the island had three Phoenician and around twelve Greek colonies along its coasts. It thus became one of the centers of Magna Graecia. Syracuse (Siracusa) emerged as one of the most important Greek city-states on the island. In the 3rd century BCE, Sicily became the first Roman province, marking the beginning of the island’s long history of being passed from one empire to another.
Before becoming part of the Roman Empire, the island was under Carthaginian rule, with the Punic Wars eventually resulting in Sicily’s annexation by Rome. Sicily played a vital role in the history of the Roman Empire. Following the fall of the Roman Empire, the island was briefly ruled by the Byzantine Empire before once again falling into the hands of North African rulers. The Norman conquest of southern Italy led to the creation of the County of Sicily in 1071, which was succeeded by the Kingdom of Sicily in 1130. The arrival of the 19th century marked the advent of calls for liberation, with Sicily becoming a major center of revolutionary movements. In 1860, Giuseppe Garibaldi’s Expedition of the Thousand resulted in the island’s liberation from the Bourbons, who had governed Sicily since the 18th century. A year later, the island was incorporated once again into the newly unified Kingdom of Italy.
The mid-19th-century revolutions also coincided with the rise of one of the most notorious names in modern Italian history. The Sicilian Mafia, or Cosa Nostra, commonly referred to simply as the Mafia, is a secretive criminal society and organization that originated on the island of Sicily. It initially emerged as a form of local protection and control over land and agriculture. Over time, the Mafia gradually evolved into a powerful and influential criminal network that spread across Italy. A century later, it had infiltrated politics, construction, and finance. It subsequently expanded into drug trafficking, money laundering, and other serious crimes. At its core, the organization engages in protection racketeering. It arbitrates disputes between criminals while organizing and overseeing illegal agreements and transactions. Growing in prominence over the years, the Mafia has crossed national borders and established itself in other parts of the world.
With seeming nonchalance, looking around as if they were trying to gauge the proper distance from which to admire the belfry, they drifted off towards the sides of the square and, after a last look around, scuttled into alley-ways.
Leonardo Sciascia, The Day of the Owl
Due to the power and influence it wields, the Mafia has also been a prominent subject in literature. The first literary title often associated with the crime organization is Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, published in 1969. It is more than just a Mafia novel, as it is also among the most prominent literary works of the contemporary period. Returning to the Mafia’s homeland, one of the earliest literary works to capture the influence of the Sicilian Mafia on modern Italian society is Leonardo Sciascia’s Il giorno della civetta. Originally published in 1961, the novel was translated into English in 1963 as The Day of the Owl. In the small Sicilian town of Montelusa, the solitude of one Saturday morning was disrupted by an unexpected and ominous sound that pervaded the air. In the small piazza, a bus was about to depart for the marketplace in a nearby town. A gunshot rang out across the small plaza as a man running for the bus was shot twice in the back.
The murdered man was Salvatore Colasberna, a small-scale construction contractor. Curiously, those at the crime scene claimed not to have seen anything untoward. No witnesses came forward. Meanwhile, some of the passengers disappeared after the incident. The only clue to the crime was a lupara, a sawn-off shotgun commonly associated with Sicilian Mafia killings. Tasked with investigating the crime was Captain Bellodi, a Carabinieri officer from Parma; the Carabinieri are Italy’s national military police. He immediately saw through the shroud of silence that had descended over the prospective witnesses, especially as some of the bus passengers fled the scene even before the Carabinieri arrived. As the witnesses feigned ignorance or denied seeing anything, including the murderer, the Captain quickly recognized omertà, the code of silence.
A former Civil War partisan, Bellodi is an outsider and is unfamiliar with the deep-rooted presence of the Mafia. Nevertheless, he is determined to uncover the truth. It is evident to him that the crime is tied to the local criminal organization. His hunch intensifies as he encounters an unyielding wall of silence from the locals. His interrogation begins with the bus driver, Pizzuco, and the passenger, Mariano Arena, who both offer vague, contradictory, or false testimonies. They claim to have been distracted, although they had a clear view of the scene. Bellodi’s frustration only grows as he encounters the complicity of the locals. However, beyond this facade, something deeper is at work. With every inquiry, Bellodi is led further into a tangled culture of fear. This culture of fear silences those who might otherwise speak. As such, the Captain is met with indifference and confusion.
As Bellodi investigates further, he learns that Colasberna recently refused to purchase materials from a specific supplier. This suggests a Mafia protection racket. Bellodi deduces that the most likely motive for the crime was this refusal. Furthermore, Colasberna was a member of a cooperative, which was in conflict with established Mafia operations. Ironically, even those closest to the victim refuse to cooperate. They are reluctant to get involved. As Bellodi pursues the case, further complications arise. His determination to uncover the truth ruffles the feathers of his contemporaries and colleagues alike. He is slowly drawn into a complex web of crime and deceit, taking him deeper into the underbelly of Sicilian society. As he encounters obstacles at every turn, will Bellodi succeed in getting to the bottom of the case?
The informer had never, could never have, believed that the law was definitely codified and the same for all; for him between rich and poor, between wise and ignorant, stood the guardians of the law who only used the strong arm on the poor; the rich they protected and defended. It was like a barbed wire entanglement, a wall.
Leonardo Sciascia, The Day of the Owl
The Day of the Owl vividly captures the Mafia’s pervasiveness. Bellodi’s investigation reveals how deeply ingrained the organization is in modern Sicilian society. The mere mention of it strikes fear into those who encounter it. Bellodi learns the hard way how the Mafia operates. Through a brutal blend of intimidation and loyalty, it has infiltrated every level of Sicilian society. It is more than a typical criminal gang; its reach extends into the everyday lives of ordinary people. The fear it inspires renders many unwilling to collaborate with law enforcement. It becomes evident to Bellodi that Colasberna’s murder is no isolated incident. The more he uncovers, the more he encounters the organization’s interference, both subtly and overtly. Its connections and influence extend far beyond what appears on the surface.
As the Mafia’s stranglehold over Sicilian society becomes apparent, Bellodi finds himself in a virtual impasse, particularly as the murder investigation spirals out of control. An anonymous letter from an informant reaches him. Despite the confidence with which the information is received, the witness, Paolo Nicolosi, who saw the murder and knew the murderer, is silenced by the Mafia. His body is soon found in a nearby lime kiln, shot dead. It is yet another demonstration of the organization’s far reach, extending well beyond the immediate crime scene. Behind the scenes, it is actively working to obstruct Bellodi’s investigation. The Captain is up against a sophisticated criminal network with the resources to eliminate potential threats.
Colasberna is more than just a statistic, a number to be chalked up. His death becomes a catalyst for exposing the larger systemic corruption that permeates Sicilian society. What starts as a whodunit becomes a whydunit and a howdunit. The various eureka moments that seize Bellodi make him realize that the stakes have been raised. The organization penetrates everyday Sicilian life. Soon, Bellodi discovers a link that extends beyond Sicily to Rome, further underscoring the breadth of its reach. His relentless pursuit of justice captures the attention of the local Mafia boss, Don Mariano Arena, who mobilizes his network. Ironically, Don Mariano is a respectable figure who operates behind the scenes. Like the typical mob boss, he pulls strings to influence various levels of society and government.
To cast doubt on Bellodi’s investigation, the Mafia begins circulating rumors that erode the credibility of the witnesses. Its campaign eventually hits Bellodi closer to home as questions are raised about his methodology. Worse, political pressure begins to mount. Through Don Mariano’s connections, Bellodi’s superiors subtly discourage his enthusiastic pursuit of the case. Will Bellodi fold under the pressure? The Mafia thrives because its culture of impunity is sustained by corruption within political and judicial institutions. Its members can influence high-ranking officials, who then authorize the release of arrested suspects. More than violence, the organization’s strength lies in its ability to infiltrate, manipulate, and influence legitimate institutions.
The truth is at the bottom of a well: look into it and you see the sun or the moon; but if you throw yourself in, there’s no more sun or moon: just truth.
Leonardo Sciascia, The Day of the Owl
The corruption of the political and judicial systems encapsulates the nonexistence of justice where impunity prevails. Justice can be bought, twisted, or outright denied, especially when powerful figures are involved. Bellodi becomes the personification of justice, law, and order. On the other side of the spectrum is the Mafia, which operates beyond the constraints of the law and wields a kind of power that the Captain does not possess. While Bellodi relies on logic and evidence to solve the case, these are rendered almost useless by the organization’s ability to manipulate political structures and instill fear. With the judicial system and the law rendered virtually ineffective by a small group of amoral men, ordinary people are left vulnerable. They have no safety net or protection from the Mafia and its reign of terror. The common Sicilian consequently resorts to omertà, which also becomes a primary barrier to obtaining justice.
Omertà exposes yet another dimension of the Mafia’s hold over ordinary Sicilians. Through the culture of fear it has cultivated, the organization has gained psychological and social control over the community. The code of silence keeps the truth hidden. It is a barrier to justice, but also a safety net for those who fear the consequences of speaking out. Justice lies with the few and the powerful. Bellodi, from Parma in northern Italy, is an outsider to the Sicilian context. His initial naivete about the Mafia’s true power allows readers to experience the frustrating reality of going up against such an organization. His perspective also highlights the cultural differences and historical factors that have allowed the Mafia to remain so resilient.
Inspired by the 1947 assassination of communist trade unionist Accursio Miraglia in Sciacca, The Day of the Owl is no mere work of crime fiction. It is widely regarded as one of the earliest works to confront the Mafia openly and portray its influence on Sicilian society. Sciascia offers an intimate portrait of a community distorted by the power of a small group of immoral but influential men. They operate according to their own code of honor while exploiting the weaknesses of legitimate institutions. Ultimately, The Day of the Owl is not simply about a murder or even the Mafia. It examines what happens when fear, silence, corruption, and impunity become embedded in the institutions and daily life of a community. The murder investigation thus becomes a broader indictment of the social and political maladies afflicting modern Italy. Deceptively slender yet remarkably incisive, The Day of the Owl is a compelling exploration of power, justice, and the difficult pursuit of truth when the law does not always prevail.
To the informant the law was not a rational thing born of reason, but something depending on a man, on the thoughts and the mood of this man here, on the cut he gave himself shaving or the cup of coffee he has just drunk.
Leonardo Sciascia, The Day of the Owl
Book Specs
Author: Leonardo Sciascia
Translators (from Italian): Archibald Colquhoun and Arthur Oliver
Publisher: The New York Review of Books
Publication Date: 2003 (1961)
No. of Pages: 120
Genre: Historical, Literary, Mystery
Synopsis
A man is shot dead as he runs to catch the bus in the piazza of a small Sicilian town. Captain Bellodi, the detective on the case, is new to his job and determined to prove himself. Bellodi suspects the Mafia, and his suspicions grow when he finds himself against an apparently unbreachable wall of silence. A surprise turn puts him on the track of a series of nasty crimes. But all the while Bellodi’s investigation is being carefully monitored by a host of observers, near and far. They share a single concern: to keep the truth from coming out.
This short, beautifully paced novel is a mesmerizing description of the Mafia at work.
About the Author
Leonardo Sciascia was born on January 8, 1921, in Racalmuto, near Agrigento, Italy. In 1935, his family moved to Caltanissetta, where Sciascia studied at the Istituto Magistrale (Magistrale Institute) under Vitaliano Brancati. Brancati would become his model in writing. He also introduced him to French novelists. From Giuseppe Granata, a future Communist member of the Italian Senate, Sciascia learned about the French Enlightenment and American literature. After receiving his teacher’s diploma, Sciascia taught at an elementary school in Caltanissetta from 1949 to 1957. In 1957, he moved to Palermo, where he taught until his writing enabled him to live on his literary earnings.
While teaching, Sciascia pursued writing on the sly. His first work, Favole della dittatura (Fables of the Dictatorship), was published in 1950. This was followed in 1952 by La Sicilia, il suo cuore (Sicily, its Heart), his first and only poetry collection. The following year Sciascia won the Premio Pirandello, awarded by the Sicilian Region, for his essay Pirandello e il pirandellismo (Pirandello and Pirandellism). His first significant novel, however, was Le parrocchie di Regalpetra (1956; Salt in the Wound). He further examined sicilitudine (“Sicilian-ness”) in the four stories of Gli zii di Sicilia (1958; Sicilian Uncles). Sicilian life and attitudes were leitmotifs of his writing. 1961 marked a remarkable shift in his literary career as he discovered his favorite vehicle, the mystery novel. The publication in 1961 of Il giorno della civetta (The Day of the Owl) was followed by more mystery novels: A ciascuno il suo (1966; A Man’s Blessing), Il contesto (1971; Equal Danger), and Todo modo (1974; One Way or Another).
Sciascia also wrote historical analyses, plays, short stories, and essays on Sicily and other subjects, and he edited a series of rare and unpublished works by Sicilian writers for the Sellario publishing house. In 1954, Sciascia began collaborating with literature and ethnology magazines published by Salvatore Sciascia in Caltanissetta. In 1968, he retired from the clerical and teaching positions he previously held to pursue a full-time career in writing. Sciascia’s last works include the essay collection Cronachette (1985), the novels Porte aperte (1987; Open Doors) and Il cavaliere e la morte (1988; The Horseman and Death). Sciascia was also a politician. His political career began in 1976, when he was a Communist Party member in the Palermo city council. Later, Sciascia served as a member of the Radical Party in the Italian Parliament; he was elected to the European Parliament in 1979.
Sciascia passed away on November 20, 1989, in Palermo, Italy.
Those ‘regards’ made him feel brotherly compassion and anguished distress, the compassion and distress of one who under appearances classified, defined and rejected, suddenly discovers the naked tragic human heart.
Leonardo Sciascia, The Day of the Owl
