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  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: Children chase a rat in one of Messina's slums, in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: Sebastiano De Luca (58), who lives in one of Messina's slums, shows stains of mold in his shack in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021. “I don’t trust anyone anymore,” said Sebastiano De Luca, 58, who lives in a block of shacks amassed between an obstructed canal and the morgue of Messina’s biggest hospital.<br />
<br />
Promising a house was a powerful electoral leverage, and over decades politicians only visited the slums ahead of elections to exchange votes with promises. Mr. De Luca once ran with a local candidate bringing him hundreds votes from the slums on the assurance of distributing houses.<br />
<br />
“He made a fool of me,” he said on a recent morning, after he had spent the night barefoot under the rain, freeing the canal from trash bags and waste to keep his street from flooding.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: Sebastiano De Luca (58), who lives in one of Messina's slums, is seen here next to his shack in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021. “I don’t trust anyone anymore,” said Sebastiano De Luca, 58, who lives in a block of shacks amassed between an obstructed canal and the morgue of Messina’s biggest hospital.<br />
<br />
Promising a house was a powerful electoral leverage, and over decades politicians only visited the slums ahead of elections to exchange votes with promises. Mr. De Luca once ran with a local candidate bringing him hundreds votes from the slums on the assurance of distributing houses.<br />
<br />
“He made a fool of me,” he said on a recent morning, after he had spent the night barefoot under the rain, freeing the canal from trash bags and waste to keep his street from flooding.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: A view of one of Messina's slums under a bridge in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: A view of one of Messina's slums under a bridge in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: A view of one of Messina's slums under a bridge in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: A view of one of Messina's slums under a bridge in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: A view of one of Messina's slums under a bridge in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: Sebastiano De Luca (58), poses for a portrait next to his shack, in one of Messinal's slums, in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021. <br />
“I don’t trust anyone anymore,” said Sebastiano De Luca, 58, who lives in a block of shacks amassed between an obstructed canal and the morgue of Messina’s biggest hospital.<br />
<br />
Promising a house was a powerful electoral leverage, and over decades politicians only visited the slums ahead of elections to exchange votes with promises. Mr. De Luca once ran with a local candidate bringing him hundreds votes from the slums on the assurance of distributing houses.<br />
<br />
“He made a fool of me,” he said on a recent morning, after he had spent the night barefoot under the rain, freeing the canal from trash bags and waste to keep his street from flooding.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: Sebastiano De Luca (58), poses for a portrait by the obstructed canal which causes floodings in the slum he lives in, in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021. <br />
“I don’t trust anyone anymore,” said Sebastiano De Luca, 58, who lives in a block of shacks amassed between an obstructed canal and the morgue of Messina’s biggest hospital.<br />
<br />
Promising a house was a powerful electoral leverage, and over decades politicians only visited the slums ahead of elections to exchange votes with promises. Mr. De Luca once ran with a local candidate bringing him hundreds votes from the slums on the assurance of distributing houses.<br />
<br />
“He made a fool of me,” he said on a recent morning, after he had spent the night barefoot under the rain, freeing the canal from trash bags and waste to keep his street from flooding.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: (L-R) Ignazio D'Andrea (47) and his wife Giovanna Impalà (48) pose for portrait in front of their home in one of Messina's slums in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021. Mr D'Andrea has suffered from a spinal cord cancer and both his children, who suffer from asthma, moved out of their shack to go live with their grandfather.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: (L-R) Cousins Aurora (8) and Emanuele (7) are seen here playing in a two-bedroom shack where a total of 8 people live, in one of Messina's slums, in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: Nazzarena Farinella, who lives in a shack in one of Messina's slums with her husband Sebastiano De Luca, is seen here in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: A shack built after the devastating 1908 eartquake in Messina, is seen here in the recently evacuated Annunziata Alta slum in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: Mayor of Messina Cateno De Luca (49) walks out of his office next to a "Access denied to flying donkeys" flyer, in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021. In the three years of his administration Mr. De Luca managed to provide a home to 300 families and empty seven of the 72 blocks of shacks, but he said that without special executive powers by the government, local authorities drowned in bureaucracy. <br />
<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: Mayor of Messina Cateno De Luca (49) poses for a portrait in his office in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021. In the three years of his administration Mr. De Luca managed to provide a home to 300 families and empty seven of the 72 blocks of shacks, but he said that without special executive powers by the government, local authorities drowned in bureaucracy. <br />
<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: A view of one of Messina's slums under a bridge in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: A child chases a rat in one of Messina's slums, in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: Sebastiano De Luca (58), poses for a portrait next to his shack, in one of Messinal's slums, in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021. <br />
“I don’t trust anyone anymore,” said Sebastiano De Luca, 58, who lives in a block of shacks amassed between an obstructed canal and the morgue of Messina’s biggest hospital.<br />
<br />
Promising a house was a powerful electoral leverage, and over decades politicians only visited the slums ahead of elections to exchange votes with promises. Mr. De Luca once ran with a local candidate bringing him hundreds votes from the slums on the assurance of distributing houses.<br />
<br />
“He made a fool of me,” he said on a recent morning, after he had spent the night barefoot under the rain, freeing the canal from trash bags and waste to keep his street from flooding.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: Sebastiano De Luca (58), poses for a portrait by the obstructed canal which causes floodings in the slum he lives in, in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021. <br />
“I don’t trust anyone anymore,” said Sebastiano De Luca, 58, who lives in a block of shacks amassed between an obstructed canal and the morgue of Messina’s biggest hospital.<br />
<br />
Promising a house was a powerful electoral leverage, and over decades politicians only visited the slums ahead of elections to exchange votes with promises. Mr. De Luca once ran with a local candidate bringing him hundreds votes from the slums on the assurance of distributing houses.<br />
<br />
“He made a fool of me,” he said on a recent morning, after he had spent the night barefoot under the rain, freeing the canal from trash bags and waste to keep his street from flooding.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: (L-R) Ignazio D'Andrea (47) and his wife Giovanna Impalà (48) pose for portrait in front of their home in one of Messina's slums in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021. Mr D'Andrea has suffered from a spinal cord cancer and both his children, who suffer from asthma, moved out of their shack to go live with their grandfather.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: (L-R) Rita Caruso (62) and her daughter Cristina Imperiale (36) pose for a portrait in front Mrs Imperiale's two-bedroom shack, here in the Giostra slum in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: A bedroom without windows, where two teenager siblings sleep, is seen here in a shack in the Giostra slum in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: Carmelo Gasbarro (47), who's been living in the same shack since he was a child, poses for a portrait in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: Carmelo Gasbarro (47), shows the mold in the shack he's been living in since he was a child,  in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: Women prepare tomato sauce next to one of the slums in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: A shack is seen here in one of Messina's slums, in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: A view of the recently evacuated Fondo Fucile slum in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: A kitchen stove is seen here in the veranda entrance of a shack in one of Messina's slums, in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: An obstructed canal which causes floodings in the nearby shacks of one of Messina's slums is seen here in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: A recently evacuated slum is seen here in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: Angela Furone (69), is seen here in the shack he's been living in with her husband for more than 40 years, in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: An interior view of a shack of the Alta Annunziata slum after being recently evacuated, in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: A view of the recently evacuated Annunziata Alta slum in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: A shack built after the devastating 1908 eartquake in Messina, is seen here in the recently evacuated Annunziata Alta slum in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: Mayor of Messina Cateno De Luca (49) poses for a portrait in his office in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021. In the three years of his administration Mr. De Luca managed to provide a home to 300 families and empty seven of the 72 blocks of shacks, but he said that without special executive powers by the government, local authorities drowned in bureaucracy. <br />
<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: Mayor of Messina Cateno De Luca (49) poses for a portrait in his office in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021. In the three years of his administration Mr. De Luca managed to provide a home to 300 families and empty seven of the 72 blocks of shacks, but he said that without special executive powers by the government, local authorities drowned in bureaucracy. <br />
<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: Mayor of Messina Cateno De Luca (49) poses for a portrait in his office in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021. In the three years of his administration Mr. De Luca managed to provide a home to 300 families and empty seven of the 72 blocks of shacks, but he said that without special executive powers by the government, local authorities drowned in bureaucracy. <br />
<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: Rita Caruso (62) is seen here walking back home in an alley of the Giostra slum in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: (L-R) Rita Caruso (62) and her daughter Cristina Imperiale (36) pose for a portrait in front Mrs Imperiale's two-bedroom shack, here in the Giostra slum in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: A crib is seen here in a bedroom in one of the shacks in the Giostra slum in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: Mold is seen here in a shack in the Giostra slum  in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: Carmelo Gasbarro (47), who's been living in the same shack since he was a child, poses for a portrait in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: Carmelo Gasbarro (47), is seen here in the shack he's been living in since he was a child, in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: A view of shacks in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: Carmelo Gasbarro (47), who's been living in the same shack since he was a child, poses for a portrait in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: Carmelo Gasbarro (47), who's been living in the same shack since he was a child, poses for a portrait in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: Marcello Scurria, a councilman in charge of the slums, is seen here by the recently evacuated Fondo Fucile slum in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: Francesca De Luca (28), opens a window in the two-bedroom shack she shares her husband, two children, sister, brother-in-law and two nephews for a total of 8 people, in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: Angela Furone (69), is seen here in the shack he's been living in with her husband for more than 40 years, in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: Angela Furone (69), is seen here in the shack he's been living in with her husband for more than 40 years, in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: A view of the Giostra slum in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: Antonino Mancuso (86), is seen here in front of the shack he's been living in with his wifefor more than 56 years, in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: Antonino Mancuso (86), is seen here in front of the shack he's been living in for 56 years, in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: A shack of the Giostra slum is seen here in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: A view of the recently evacuated Annunziata Alta slum in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: Marked shacks soon to be demolished are seen here in the recently evacuated Annunziata Alta slum in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: Marked shacks soon to be demolished are seen here in the recently evacuated Annunziata Alta slum in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: A view of the shacks is seen here in the recently evacuated Annunziata Alta slum in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: Beatrice Surace (54), who has been living in a shack for 35 years, cries as she shows the conditions of her ceiling damaged by mold and humidity, here in the Giostra slum in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: An elderly man is seen here walking in the Giostra slum in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: Residents of the Giostra slum gathered next to their shacks in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: Carmelo D'Angelo (66), shows the documents and requests for a new home here in the shack he's been living in with his wife for more than 40 years, in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: The entrance door to a shack in the recently evacuated Annunziata Alta slum in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: An elderly woman living next to the recently evacuated Alta Annunziata slum in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 8 SEPTEMBER 2021: Marked shacks soon to be demolished are seen here in the recently evacuated Annunziata Alta slum in Messina, Italy, on September 8th 2021.<br />
<br />
In 1908, a devastating earthquake struck Messina, a city wedged between pine and eucalyptus forests and the narrow straits separating Sicily from the Italian mainland. About 90 percent of the city collapsed, killing half of the population. From the rubble, authorities built temporary shacks in anticipation of sturdier housing for the displaced. More than a hundred years later, about 6,500 Italians still live in makeshift hovels scattered around the city. After decades of broken promises, salvation appears to be triggered by a more recent disaster: the coronavirus spread across the close quarters of the slums generating a public health alarm that attracted national attention.<br />
<br />
Last May, the government inserted within a covid relief package an allocation of 100 million euros to free Messina from the barracks within three years.<br />
<br />
In the humid huts, built in large part with asbestos, residents suffer from high rates of cancer, asthma and pneumonia and on average live seven years less than the rest of the population, according to the local Community Foundation.
    CIPG_20210908_NYT_Messina-Slums_A73_...jpg
  • MESSINA, ITALY - 10 MARCH 2021: Ivano Rotondo (30), co-founder, CTO and CEO of MammaItalia, poses for a portrait in Messina, Italy, on March 10th 2021. <br />
Mamma Italia is a free mobile app that geolocalizes and allows you to locate Italian food abroad.
    CIPG_20210310_FORBES-RUSSIA_IvanoRot...jpg
  • CASTELVETRANO, ITALY - 17 FEBRUARY 2020: A sign of the Belicittà shopping center, confiscated from the entrepreneur Giuseppe Grigoli, accused of being a front man for the mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro, is seen here in Castelvetrano, Italy, on February 17th 2020. <br />
<br />
The entrepreneurial rise of Matteo Messina Denaro coincides with the beginning of his escape. In addition to the traditional sectors in which Cosa Nostra operates, such as the control of drug trafficking (thanks to Messina Denaro's contacts with the South American drug cartels), the boss began to expand his business into the large-scale distribution and alternative energy sectors. Money was thus laundered into supermarkets and shopping malls. Partner and front man of Matteo Messina Denaro was Giuseppe Grigoli, the so-called "king of supermarkets", owner of a giant retailer that managed the Despar supermarkets and the Belicittà shopping centre. Grigoli started his business with a small shop in 1974, and with the protection of the boss he managed to put together an empire of 750 million euros. Another great business is alternative energy, in particular wind power. Messina Denaro's closest men have managed to infiltrate the construction of the largest wind farms in western Sicily. Giuseppe Grigoli was arrested in 2007.<br />
<br />
<br />
Described as “the last Mohican of the old mafia”, Matteo Messina Denaro (57) is one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, who has been in hiding since 1993. He was once considered a candidate to be the Sicilian mafia’s boss of bosses after the deaths of Bernardo Provenzano in 2016 and Salvatore Riina in 2017. He was born into the Denaro Family (a well-known Mafia family) in Castelvetrano in the province of Trapani, Sicily. <br />
Matteo Messina Denaro, who infamously claimed: “I filled a cemetery all by myself”, has apparently kept up his luxurious lifestyle, thanks to his several bankrollers who, according to prosecutors, include politicians and businessmen. Investigators have lon
    CIPG_20200217_EL-PAIS_MatteoMessinaD...jpg
  • CASTELVETRANO, ITALY - 17 FEBRUARY 2020: A man parks his Porsche car at the side entrance of the Belicittà shopping center, confiscated from the entrepreneur Giuseppe Grigoli, accused of being a front man for the mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro, in Castelvetrano, Italy, on February 17th 2020. <br />
<br />
The entrepreneurial rise of Matteo Messina Denaro coincides with the beginning of his escape. In addition to the traditional sectors in which Cosa Nostra operates, such as the control of drug trafficking (thanks to Messina Denaro's contacts with the South American drug cartels), the boss began to expand his business into the large-scale distribution and alternative energy sectors. Money was thus laundered into supermarkets and shopping malls. Partner and front man of Matteo Messina Denaro was Giuseppe Grigoli, the so-called "king of supermarkets", owner of a giant retailer that managed the Despar supermarkets and the Belicittà shopping centre. Grigoli started his business with a small shop in 1974, and with the protection of the boss he managed to put together an empire of 750 million euros. Another great business is alternative energy, in particular wind power. Messina Denaro's closest men have managed to infiltrate the construction of the largest wind farms in western Sicily. Giuseppe Grigoli was arrested in 2007.<br />
<br />
<br />
Described as “the last Mohican of the old mafia”, Matteo Messina Denaro (57) is one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, who has been in hiding since 1993. He was once considered a candidate to be the Sicilian mafia’s boss of bosses after the deaths of Bernardo Provenzano in 2016 and Salvatore Riina in 2017. He was born into the Denaro Family (a well-known Mafia family) in Castelvetrano in the province of Trapani, Sicily. <br />
Matteo Messina Denaro, who infamously claimed: “I filled a cemetery all by myself”, has apparently kept up his luxurious lifestyle, thanks to his several bankrollers who, according to prosecutors, include politicians and busine
    CIPG_20200217_EL-PAIS_MatteoMessinaD...jpg
  • CASTELVETRANO, ITALY - 17 FEBRUARY 2020: A view of the Belicittà shopping center, confiscated from the entrepreneur Giuseppe Grigoli, accused of being a front man for the mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro, is seen here in Castelvetrano, Italy, on February 17th 2020. <br />
<br />
The entrepreneurial rise of Matteo Messina Denaro coincides with the beginning of his escape. In addition to the traditional sectors in which Cosa Nostra operates, such as the control of drug trafficking (thanks to Messina Denaro's contacts with the South American drug cartels), the boss began to expand his business into the large-scale distribution and alternative energy sectors. Money was thus laundered into supermarkets and shopping malls. Partner and front man of Matteo Messina Denaro was Giuseppe Grigoli, the so-called "king of supermarkets", owner of a giant retailer that managed the Despar supermarkets and the Belicittà shopping centre. Grigoli started his business with a small shop in 1974, and with the protection of the boss he managed to put together an empire of 750 million euros. Another great business is alternative energy, in particular wind power. Messina Denaro's closest men have managed to infiltrate the construction of the largest wind farms in western Sicily. Giuseppe Grigoli was arrested in 2007.<br />
<br />
<br />
Described as “the last Mohican of the old mafia”, Matteo Messina Denaro (57) is one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, who has been in hiding since 1993. He was once considered a candidate to be the Sicilian mafia’s boss of bosses after the deaths of Bernardo Provenzano in 2016 and Salvatore Riina in 2017. He was born into the Denaro Family (a well-known Mafia family) in Castelvetrano in the province of Trapani, Sicily. <br />
Matteo Messina Denaro, who infamously claimed: “I filled a cemetery all by myself”, has apparently kept up his luxurious lifestyle, thanks to his several bankrollers who, according to prosecutors, include politicians and businessmen. Investigators have lon
    CIPG_20200217_EL-PAIS_MatteoMessinaD...jpg
  • CASTELVETRANO, ITALY - 17 FEBRUARY 2020: An interior view of the Belicittà shopping center, confiscated from the entrepreneur Giuseppe Grigoli, accused of being a front man for the mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro, is seen here in Castelvetrano, Italy, on February 17th 2020.<br />
<br />
The entrepreneurial rise of Matteo Messina Denaro coincides with the beginning of his escape. In addition to the traditional sectors in which Cosa Nostra operates, such as the control of drug trafficking (thanks to Messina Denaro's contacts with the South American drug cartels), the boss began to expand his business into the large-scale distribution and alternative energy sectors. Money was thus laundered into supermarkets and shopping malls. Partner and front man of Matteo Messina Denaro was Giuseppe Grigoli, the so-called "king of supermarkets", owner of a giant retailer that managed the Despar supermarkets and the Belicittà shopping centre. Grigoli started his business with a small shop in 1974, and with the protection of the boss he managed to put together an empire of 750 million euros. Another great business is alternative energy, in particular wind power. Messina Denaro's closest men have managed to infiltrate the construction of the largest wind farms in western Sicily. Giuseppe Grigoli was arrested in 2007.<br />
<br />
Described as “the last Mohican of the old mafia”, Matteo Messina Denaro (57) is one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, who has been in hiding since 1993. He was once considered a candidate to be the Sicilian mafia’s boss of bosses after the deaths of Bernardo Provenzano in 2016 and Salvatore Riina in 2017. He was born into the Denaro Family (a well-known Mafia family) in Castelvetrano in the province of Trapani, Sicily. <br />
Matteo Messina Denaro, who infamously claimed: “I filled a cemetery all by myself”, has apparently kept up his luxurious lifestyle, thanks to his several bankrollers who, according to prosecutors, include politicians and businessmen. Investigators
    CIPG_20200217_EL-PAIS_MatteoMessinaD...jpg
  • CASTELVETRANO, ITALY - 17 FEBRUARY 2020: An interior view of the Belicittà shopping center, confiscated from the entrepreneur Giuseppe Grigoli, accused of being a front man for the mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro, is seen here in Castelvetrano, Italy, on February 17th 2020.<br />
<br />
The entrepreneurial rise of Matteo Messina Denaro coincides with the beginning of his escape. In addition to the traditional sectors in which Cosa Nostra operates, such as the control of drug trafficking (thanks to Messina Denaro's contacts with the South American drug cartels), the boss began to expand his business into the large-scale distribution and alternative energy sectors. Money was thus laundered into supermarkets and shopping malls. Partner and front man of Matteo Messina Denaro was Giuseppe Grigoli, the so-called "king of supermarkets", owner of a giant retailer that managed the Despar supermarkets and the Belicittà shopping centre. Grigoli started his business with a small shop in 1974, and with the protection of the boss he managed to put together an empire of 750 million euros. Another great business is alternative energy, in particular wind power. Messina Denaro's closest men have managed to infiltrate the construction of the largest wind farms in western Sicily. Giuseppe Grigoli was arrested in 2007.<br />
<br />
Described as “the last Mohican of the old mafia”, Matteo Messina Denaro (57) is one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, who has been in hiding since 1993. He was once considered a candidate to be the Sicilian mafia’s boss of bosses after the deaths of Bernardo Provenzano in 2016 and Salvatore Riina in 2017. He was born into the Denaro Family (a well-known Mafia family) in Castelvetrano in the province of Trapani, Sicily. <br />
Matteo Messina Denaro, who infamously claimed: “I filled a cemetery all by myself”, has apparently kept up his luxurious lifestyle, thanks to his several bankrollers who, according to prosecutors, include politicians and businessmen. Investigators
    CIPG_20200217_EL-PAIS_MatteoMessinaD...jpg
  • CASTELVETRANO, ITALY - 17 FEBRUARY 2020: The wedding album of Giuseppe Cimarosa's parents, Lorenzo and Rosa (center), posing for a group picture with mafia boss and fugitive Matteo Messina Denaro (right) in Castelvetrano, Italy, on February 17th 2020.<br />
<br />
Giuseppe Cimarosa (36) was born into a Mafia family. He is a relative of Matteo Messina Denaro, Italy’s most wanted Cosa Nostra godfather, on the run since 1993. Furthermore, investigators have long believed that Giuseppe’s father, Lorenzo, occasionally provided “support” for the fugitive godfather. “My mother is a first cousin of Matteo Messina Denaro and my father was arrested as part of the Eden investigation [involving Messina Denaro]. I live in Castelvetrano [Messina Denaro’s home town in Sicily, near Trapani] and I’m having a hard time . . .”, Mr Cimarosa said.<br />
<br />
When the police came to arrest his father in 2013, Giuseppe was furious. There and then he wanted to again leave Sicily and return to Rome where he had lived and worked with horses for eight years in his 20s. He was disgusted that his father had again fallen into the clutches of their powerful relative. It was only when he went to visit his father in prison, immediately after his arrest, that Giuseppe changed his mind. In tears, his father told him that he was going to collaborate with the investigators, which he subsequently did. Realising how much his father was now risking, he opted not just to stay in Castelvetrano but also, in a certain sense, to fight back against the Mafia. What is more, he does so, not with a false identity as part of a witness protection programme, but rather by staying in his home town. His father, Lorenzo Cimarosa, died of cancer in 2017.<br />
<br />
Described as “the last Mohican of the old mafia”, Matteo Messina Denaro (57) is one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, who has been in hiding since 1993. He was once considered a candidate to be the Sicilian mafia’s boss of bosses after the deaths of Bernardo Prove
    CIPG_20200217_EL-PAIS_MatteoMessinaD...jpg
  • CASTELVETRANO, ITALY - 17 FEBRUARY 2020: The wedding album of Giuseppe Cimarosa's parents, Lorenzo and Rosa (center), posing for a group picture with mafia boss and fugitive Matteo Messina Denaro (right) in Castelvetrano, Italy, on February 17th 2020.<br />
<br />
Giuseppe Cimarosa (36) was born into a Mafia family. He is a relative of Matteo Messina Denaro, Italy’s most wanted Cosa Nostra godfather, on the run since 1993. Furthermore, investigators have long believed that Giuseppe’s father, Lorenzo, occasionally provided “support” for the fugitive godfather. “My mother is a first cousin of Matteo Messina Denaro and my father was arrested as part of the Eden investigation [involving Messina Denaro]. I live in Castelvetrano [Messina Denaro’s home town in Sicily, near Trapani] and I’m having a hard time . . .”, Mr Cimarosa said.<br />
<br />
When the police came to arrest his father in 2013, Giuseppe was furious. There and then he wanted to again leave Sicily and return to Rome where he had lived and worked with horses for eight years in his 20s. He was disgusted that his father had again fallen into the clutches of their powerful relative. It was only when he went to visit his father in prison, immediately after his arrest, that Giuseppe changed his mind. In tears, his father told him that he was going to collaborate with the investigators, which he subsequently did. Realising how much his father was now risking, he opted not just to stay in Castelvetrano but also, in a certain sense, to fight back against the Mafia. What is more, he does so, not with a false identity as part of a witness protection programme, but rather by staying in his home town. His father, Lorenzo Cimarosa, died of cancer in 2017.<br />
<br />
Described as “the last Mohican of the old mafia”, Matteo Messina Denaro (57) is one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, who has been in hiding since 1993. He was once considered a candidate to be the Sicilian mafia’s boss of bosses after the deaths of Bernardo Prove
    CIPG_20200217_EL-PAIS_MatteoMessinaD...jpg
  • CASTELVETRANO, ITALY - 17 FEBRUARY 2020: A view of the Belicittà shopping center, confiscated from the entrepreneur Giuseppe Grigoli, accused of being a front man for the mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro, is seen here in Castelvetrano, Italy, on February 17th 2020. <br />
<br />
The entrepreneurial rise of Matteo Messina Denaro coincides with the beginning of his escape. In addition to the traditional sectors in which Cosa Nostra operates, such as the control of drug trafficking (thanks to Messina Denaro's contacts with the South American drug cartels), the boss began to expand his business into the large-scale distribution and alternative energy sectors. Money was thus laundered into supermarkets and shopping malls. Partner and front man of Matteo Messina Denaro was Giuseppe Grigoli, the so-called "king of supermarkets", owner of a giant retailer that managed the Despar supermarkets and the Belicittà shopping centre. Grigoli started his business with a small shop in 1974, and with the protection of the boss he managed to put together an empire of 750 million euros. Another great business is alternative energy, in particular wind power. Messina Denaro's closest men have managed to infiltrate the construction of the largest wind farms in western Sicily. Giuseppe Grigoli was arrested in 2007.<br />
<br />
<br />
Described as “the last Mohican of the old mafia”, Matteo Messina Denaro (57) is one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, who has been in hiding since 1993. He was once considered a candidate to be the Sicilian mafia’s boss of bosses after the deaths of Bernardo Provenzano in 2016 and Salvatore Riina in 2017. He was born into the Denaro Family (a well-known Mafia family) in Castelvetrano in the province of Trapani, Sicily. <br />
Matteo Messina Denaro, who infamously claimed: “I filled a cemetery all by myself”, has apparently kept up his luxurious lifestyle, thanks to his several bankrollers who, according to prosecutors, include politicians and businessmen. Investigators have lon
    CIPG_20200217_EL-PAIS_MatteoMessinaD...jpg
  • CASTELVETRANO, ITALY - 17 FEBRUARY 2020: Giuseppe Cimarosa's shows his parents' wedding album in which they pose for a group picture with mafia boss and fugitive Matteo Messina Denaro (right) in Castelvetrano, Italy, on February 17th 2020.<br />
<br />
Giuseppe Cimarosa (36) was born into a Mafia family. He is a relative of Matteo Messina Denaro, Italy’s most wanted Cosa Nostra godfather, on the run since 1993. Furthermore, investigators have long believed that Giuseppe’s father, Lorenzo, occasionally provided “support” for the fugitive godfather. “My mother is a first cousin of Matteo Messina Denaro and my father was arrested as part of the Eden investigation [involving Messina Denaro]. I live in Castelvetrano [Messina Denaro’s home town in Sicily, near Trapani] and I’m having a hard time . . .”, Mr Cimarosa said.<br />
<br />
When the police came to arrest his father in 2013, Giuseppe was furious. There and then he wanted to again leave Sicily and return to Rome where he had lived and worked with horses for eight years in his 20s. He was disgusted that his father had again fallen into the clutches of their powerful relative. It was only when he went to visit his father in prison, immediately after his arrest, that Giuseppe changed his mind. In tears, his father told him that he was going to collaborate with the investigators, which he subsequently did. Realising how much his father was now risking, he opted not just to stay in Castelvetrano but also, in a certain sense, to fight back against the Mafia. What is more, he does so, not with a false identity as part of a witness protection programme, but rather by staying in his home town. His father, Lorenzo Cimarosa, died of cancer in 2017.<br />
<br />
Described as “the last Mohican of the old mafia”, Matteo Messina Denaro (57) is one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, who has been in hiding since 1993. He was once considered a candidate to be the Sicilian mafia’s boss of bosses after the deaths of Bernardo Provenzano in 201
    CIPG_20200217_EL-PAIS_MatteoMessinaD...jpg
  • CASTELVETRANO, ITALY - 17 FEBRUARY 2020: The wedding album of Giuseppe Cimarosa's parents, Lorenzo and Rosa (center), posing for a group picture with mafia boss and fugitive Matteo Messina Denaro (right) in Castelvetrano, Italy, on February 17th 2020.<br />
<br />
Giuseppe Cimarosa (36) was born into a Mafia family. He is a relative of Matteo Messina Denaro, Italy’s most wanted Cosa Nostra godfather, on the run since 1993. Furthermore, investigators have long believed that Giuseppe’s father, Lorenzo, occasionally provided “support” for the fugitive godfather. “My mother is a first cousin of Matteo Messina Denaro and my father was arrested as part of the Eden investigation [involving Messina Denaro]. I live in Castelvetrano [Messina Denaro’s home town in Sicily, near Trapani] and I’m having a hard time . . .”, Mr Cimarosa said.<br />
<br />
When the police came to arrest his father in 2013, Giuseppe was furious. There and then he wanted to again leave Sicily and return to Rome where he had lived and worked with horses for eight years in his 20s. He was disgusted that his father had again fallen into the clutches of their powerful relative. It was only when he went to visit his father in prison, immediately after his arrest, that Giuseppe changed his mind. In tears, his father told him that he was going to collaborate with the investigators, which he subsequently did. Realising how much his father was now risking, he opted not just to stay in Castelvetrano but also, in a certain sense, to fight back against the Mafia. What is more, he does so, not with a false identity as part of a witness protection programme, but rather by staying in his home town. His father, Lorenzo Cimarosa, died of cancer in 2017.<br />
<br />
Described as “the last Mohican of the old mafia”, Matteo Messina Denaro (57) is one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, who has been in hiding since 1993. He was once considered a candidate to be the Sicilian mafia’s boss of bosses after the deaths of Bernardo Prove
    CIPG_20200217_EL-PAIS_MatteoMessinaD...jpg
  • CASTELVETRANO, ITALY - 17 FEBRUARY 2020: The tomb of lorenzo Cimarosa, Giuseppe Cimarosa's father, is seen here at the cemetery in Castelvetrano, Italy, on February 17th 2020.<br />
<br />
Giuseppe Cimarosa (36) was born into a Mafia family. He is a relative of Matteo Messina Denaro, Italy’s most wanted Cosa Nostra godfather, on the run since 1993. Furthermore, investigators have long believed that Giuseppe’s father, Lorenzo, occasionally provided “support” for the fugitive godfather. “My mother is a first cousin of Matteo Messina Denaro and my father was arrested as part of the Eden investigation [involving Messina Denaro]. I live in Castelvetrano [Messina Denaro’s home town in Sicily, near Trapani] and I’m having a hard time . . .”, Mr Cimarosa said.<br />
<br />
When the police came to arrest his father in 2013, Giuseppe was furious. There and then he wanted to again leave Sicily and return to Rome where he had lived and worked with horses for eight years in his 20s. He was disgusted that his father had again fallen into the clutches of their powerful relative. It was only when he went to visit his father in prison, immediately after his arrest, that Giuseppe changed his mind. In tears, his father told him that he was going to collaborate with the investigators, which he subsequently did. Realising how much his father was now risking, he opted not just to stay in Castelvetrano but also, in a certain sense, to fight back against the Mafia. What is more, he does so, not with a false identity as part of a witness protection programme, but rather by staying in his home town. His father, Lorenzo Cimarosa, died of cancer in 2017.<br />
<br />
Described as “the last Mohican of the old mafia”, Matteo Messina Denaro (57) is one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, who has been in hiding since 1993. He was once considered a candidate to be the Sicilian mafia’s boss of bosses after the deaths of Bernardo Provenzano in 2016 and Salvatore Riina in 2017. He was born into the Denaro Famil
    CIPG_20200217_EL-PAIS_MatteoMessinaD...jpg
  • CASTELVETRANO, ITALY - 17 FEBRUARY 2020: Giuseppe Cimarosa (36) walks towards his father's tomb at the cemetery in Castelvetrano, Italy, on February 17th 2020.<br />
<br />
Giuseppe Cimarosa (36) was born into a Mafia family. He is a relative of Matteo Messina Denaro, Italy’s most wanted Cosa Nostra godfather, on the run since 1993. Furthermore, investigators have long believed that Giuseppe’s father, Lorenzo, occasionally provided “support” for the fugitive godfather. “My mother is a first cousin of Matteo Messina Denaro and my father was arrested as part of the Eden investigation [involving Messina Denaro]. I live in Castelvetrano [Messina Denaro’s home town in Sicily, near Trapani] and I’m having a hard time . . .”, Mr Cimarosa said.<br />
<br />
When the police came to arrest his father in 2013, Giuseppe was furious. There and then he wanted to again leave Sicily and return to Rome where he had lived and worked with horses for eight years in his 20s. He was disgusted that his father had again fallen into the clutches of their powerful relative. It was only when he went to visit his father in prison, immediately after his arrest, that Giuseppe changed his mind. In tears, his father told him that he was going to collaborate with the investigators, which he subsequently did. Realising how much his father was now risking, he opted not just to stay in Castelvetrano but also, in a certain sense, to fight back against the Mafia. What is more, he does so, not with a false identity as part of a witness protection programme, but rather by staying in his home town. His father, Lorenzo Cimarosa, died of cancer in 2017.<br />
<br />
Described as “the last Mohican of the old mafia”, Matteo Messina Denaro (57) is one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, who has been in hiding since 1993. He was once considered a candidate to be the Sicilian mafia’s boss of bosses after the deaths of Bernardo Provenzano in 2016 and Salvatore Riina in 2017. He was born into the Denaro Family (a well-known
    CIPG_20200217_EL-PAIS_MatteoMessinaD...jpg
  • CASTELVETRANO, ITALY - 17 FEBRUARY 2020: Horses are seen here in Giuseppe Cimarosa's horse riding center in Castelvetrano, Italy, on February 17th 2020.<br />
<br />
Giuseppe Cimarosa (36) was born into a Mafia family. He is a relative of Matteo Messina Denaro, Italy’s most wanted Cosa Nostra godfather, on the run since 1993. Furthermore, investigators have long believed that Giuseppe’s father, Lorenzo, occasionally provided “support” for the fugitive godfather. “My mother is a first cousin of Matteo Messina Denaro and my father was arrested as part of the Eden investigation [involving Messina Denaro]. I live in Castelvetrano [Messina Denaro’s home town in Sicily, near Trapani] and I’m having a hard time . . .”, Mr Cimarosa said.<br />
<br />
When the police came to arrest his father in 2013, Giuseppe was furious. There and then he wanted to again leave Sicily and return to Rome where he had lived and worked with horses for eight years in his 20s. He was disgusted that his father had again fallen into the clutches of their powerful relative. It was only when he went to visit his father in prison, immediately after his arrest, that Giuseppe changed his mind. In tears, his father told him that he was going to collaborate with the investigators, which he subsequently did. Realising how much his father was now risking, he opted not just to stay in Castelvetrano but also, in a certain sense, to fight back against the Mafia. What is more, he does so, not with a false identity as part of a witness protection programme, but rather by staying in his home town. His father, Lorenzo Cimarosa, died of cancer in 2017.<br />
<br />
Described as “the last Mohican of the old mafia”, Matteo Messina Denaro (57) is one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, who has been in hiding since 1993. He was once considered a candidate to be the Sicilian mafia’s boss of bosses after the deaths of Bernardo Provenzano in 2016 and Salvatore Riina in 2017. He was born into the Denaro Family (a well-known Mafia f
    CIPG_20200217_EL-PAIS_MatteoMessinaD...jpg
  • CASTELVETRANO, ITALY - 17 FEBRUARY 2020: Giuseppe Cimarosa (36) cuddles his horse at his horse riding center. in Castelvetrano, Italy, on February 17th 2020.<br />
<br />
Giuseppe Cimarosa (36) was born into a Mafia family. He is a relative of Matteo Messina Denaro, Italy’s most wanted Cosa Nostra godfather, on the run since 1993. Furthermore, investigators have long believed that Giuseppe’s father, Lorenzo, occasionally provided “support” for the fugitive godfather. “My mother is a first cousin of Matteo Messina Denaro and my father was arrested as part of the Eden investigation [involving Messina Denaro]. I live in Castelvetrano [Messina Denaro’s home town in Sicily, near Trapani] and I’m having a hard time . . .”, Mr Cimarosa said.<br />
<br />
When the police came to arrest his father in 2013, Giuseppe was furious. There and then he wanted to again leave Sicily and return to Rome where he had lived and worked with horses for eight years in his 20s. He was disgusted that his father had again fallen into the clutches of their powerful relative. It was only when he went to visit his father in prison, immediately after his arrest, that Giuseppe changed his mind. In tears, his father told him that he was going to collaborate with the investigators, which he subsequently did. Realising how much his father was now risking, he opted not just to stay in Castelvetrano but also, in a certain sense, to fight back against the Mafia. What is more, he does so, not with a false identity as part of a witness protection programme, but rather by staying in his home town. His father, Lorenzo Cimarosa, died of cancer in 2017.<br />
<br />
Described as “the last Mohican of the old mafia”, Matteo Messina Denaro (57) is one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, who has been in hiding since 1993. He was once considered a candidate to be the Sicilian mafia’s boss of bosses after the deaths of Bernardo Provenzano in 2016 and Salvatore Riina in 2017. He was born into the Denaro Family (a well-known Ma
    CIPG_20200217_EL-PAIS_MatteoMessinaD...jpg
  • CASTELVETRANO, ITALY - 17 FEBRUARY 2020: Giuseppe Cimarosa (36) cuddles his horse at his horse riding center. in Castelvetrano, Italy, on February 17th 2020.<br />
<br />
Giuseppe Cimarosa (36) was born into a Mafia family. He is a relative of Matteo Messina Denaro, Italy’s most wanted Cosa Nostra godfather, on the run since 1993. Furthermore, investigators have long believed that Giuseppe’s father, Lorenzo, occasionally provided “support” for the fugitive godfather. “My mother is a first cousin of Matteo Messina Denaro and my father was arrested as part of the Eden investigation [involving Messina Denaro]. I live in Castelvetrano [Messina Denaro’s home town in Sicily, near Trapani] and I’m having a hard time . . .”, Mr Cimarosa said.<br />
<br />
When the police came to arrest his father in 2013, Giuseppe was furious. There and then he wanted to again leave Sicily and return to Rome where he had lived and worked with horses for eight years in his 20s. He was disgusted that his father had again fallen into the clutches of their powerful relative. It was only when he went to visit his father in prison, immediately after his arrest, that Giuseppe changed his mind. In tears, his father told him that he was going to collaborate with the investigators, which he subsequently did. Realising how much his father was now risking, he opted not just to stay in Castelvetrano but also, in a certain sense, to fight back against the Mafia. What is more, he does so, not with a false identity as part of a witness protection programme, but rather by staying in his home town. His father, Lorenzo Cimarosa, died of cancer in 2017.<br />
<br />
Described as “the last Mohican of the old mafia”, Matteo Messina Denaro (57) is one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, who has been in hiding since 1993. He was once considered a candidate to be the Sicilian mafia’s boss of bosses after the deaths of Bernardo Provenzano in 2016 and Salvatore Riina in 2017. He was born into the Denaro Family (a well-known Ma
    CIPG_20200217_EL-PAIS_MatteoMessinaD...jpg
  • CASTELVETRANO, ITALY - 17 FEBRUARY 2020: Giuseppe Cimarosa (36) poses for a portrait at his horse riding center. in Castelvetrano, Italy, on February 17th 2020.<br />
<br />
Giuseppe Cimarosa (36) was born into a Mafia family. He is a relative of Matteo Messina Denaro, Italy’s most wanted Cosa Nostra godfather, on the run since 1993. Furthermore, investigators have long believed that Giuseppe’s father, Lorenzo, occasionally provided “support” for the fugitive godfather. “My mother is a first cousin of Matteo Messina Denaro and my father was arrested as part of the Eden investigation [involving Messina Denaro]. I live in Castelvetrano [Messina Denaro’s home town in Sicily, near Trapani] and I’m having a hard time . . .”, Mr Cimarosa said.<br />
<br />
When the police came to arrest his father in 2013, Giuseppe was furious. There and then he wanted to again leave Sicily and return to Rome where he had lived and worked with horses for eight years in his 20s. He was disgusted that his father had again fallen into the clutches of their powerful relative. It was only when he went to visit his father in prison, immediately after his arrest, that Giuseppe changed his mind. In tears, his father told him that he was going to collaborate with the investigators, which he subsequently did. Realising how much his father was now risking, he opted not just to stay in Castelvetrano but also, in a certain sense, to fight back against the Mafia. What is more, he does so, not with a false identity as part of a witness protection programme, but rather by staying in his home town. His father, Lorenzo Cimarosa, died of cancer in 2017.<br />
<br />
Described as “the last Mohican of the old mafia”, Matteo Messina Denaro (57) is one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, who has been in hiding since 1993. He was once considered a candidate to be the Sicilian mafia’s boss of bosses after the deaths of Bernardo Provenzano in 2016 and Salvatore Riina in 2017. He was born into the Denaro Family (a well-known
    CIPG_20200217_EL-PAIS_MatteoMessinaD...jpg
  • CASTELVETRANO, ITALY - 17 FEBRUARY 2020: Giuseppe Cimarosa (36) poses for a portrait at his horse riding center. in Castelvetrano, Italy, on February 17th 2020.<br />
<br />
Giuseppe Cimarosa (36) was born into a Mafia family. He is a relative of Matteo Messina Denaro, Italy’s most wanted Cosa Nostra godfather, on the run since 1993. Furthermore, investigators have long believed that Giuseppe’s father, Lorenzo, occasionally provided “support” for the fugitive godfather. “My mother is a first cousin of Matteo Messina Denaro and my father was arrested as part of the Eden investigation [involving Messina Denaro]. I live in Castelvetrano [Messina Denaro’s home town in Sicily, near Trapani] and I’m having a hard time . . .”, Mr Cimarosa said.<br />
<br />
When the police came to arrest his father in 2013, Giuseppe was furious. There and then he wanted to again leave Sicily and return to Rome where he had lived and worked with horses for eight years in his 20s. He was disgusted that his father had again fallen into the clutches of their powerful relative. It was only when he went to visit his father in prison, immediately after his arrest, that Giuseppe changed his mind. In tears, his father told him that he was going to collaborate with the investigators, which he subsequently did. Realising how much his father was now risking, he opted not just to stay in Castelvetrano but also, in a certain sense, to fight back against the Mafia. What is more, he does so, not with a false identity as part of a witness protection programme, but rather by staying in his home town. His father, Lorenzo Cimarosa, died of cancer in 2017.<br />
<br />
Described as “the last Mohican of the old mafia”, Matteo Messina Denaro (57) is one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, who has been in hiding since 1993. He was once considered a candidate to be the Sicilian mafia’s boss of bosses after the deaths of Bernardo Provenzano in 2016 and Salvatore Riina in 2017. He was born into the Denaro Family (a well-known
    CIPG_20200217_EL-PAIS_MatteoMessinaD...jpg
  • CASTELVETRANO, ITALY - 17 FEBRUARY 2020: Giuseppe Cimarosa (36) poses for a portrait at his horse riding center. in Castelvetrano, Italy, on February 17th 2020.<br />
<br />
Giuseppe Cimarosa (36) was born into a Mafia family. He is a relative of Matteo Messina Denaro, Italy’s most wanted Cosa Nostra godfather, on the run since 1993. Furthermore, investigators have long believed that Giuseppe’s father, Lorenzo, occasionally provided “support” for the fugitive godfather. “My mother is a first cousin of Matteo Messina Denaro and my father was arrested as part of the Eden investigation [involving Messina Denaro]. I live in Castelvetrano [Messina Denaro’s home town in Sicily, near Trapani] and I’m having a hard time . . .”, Mr Cimarosa said.<br />
<br />
When the police came to arrest his father in 2013, Giuseppe was furious. There and then he wanted to again leave Sicily and return to Rome where he had lived and worked with horses for eight years in his 20s. He was disgusted that his father had again fallen into the clutches of their powerful relative. It was only when he went to visit his father in prison, immediately after his arrest, that Giuseppe changed his mind. In tears, his father told him that he was going to collaborate with the investigators, which he subsequently did. Realising how much his father was now risking, he opted not just to stay in Castelvetrano but also, in a certain sense, to fight back against the Mafia. What is more, he does so, not with a false identity as part of a witness protection programme, but rather by staying in his home town. His father, Lorenzo Cimarosa, died of cancer in 2017.<br />
<br />
Described as “the last Mohican of the old mafia”, Matteo Messina Denaro (57) is one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, who has been in hiding since 1993. He was once considered a candidate to be the Sicilian mafia’s boss of bosses after the deaths of Bernardo Provenzano in 2016 and Salvatore Riina in 2017. He was born into the Denaro Family (a well-known
    CIPG_20200217_EL-PAIS_MatteoMessinaD...jpg
  • CASTELVETRANO, ITALY - 17 FEBRUARY 2020: Giuseppe Cimarosa (36) poses for a portrait at his horse riding center. in Castelvetrano, Italy, on February 17th 2020.<br />
<br />
Giuseppe Cimarosa (36) was born into a Mafia family. He is a relative of Matteo Messina Denaro, Italy’s most wanted Cosa Nostra godfather, on the run since 1993. Furthermore, investigators have long believed that Giuseppe’s father, Lorenzo, occasionally provided “support” for the fugitive godfather. “My mother is a first cousin of Matteo Messina Denaro and my father was arrested as part of the Eden investigation [involving Messina Denaro]. I live in Castelvetrano [Messina Denaro’s home town in Sicily, near Trapani] and I’m having a hard time . . .”, Mr Cimarosa said.<br />
<br />
When the police came to arrest his father in 2013, Giuseppe was furious. There and then he wanted to again leave Sicily and return to Rome where he had lived and worked with horses for eight years in his 20s. He was disgusted that his father had again fallen into the clutches of their powerful relative. It was only when he went to visit his father in prison, immediately after his arrest, that Giuseppe changed his mind. In tears, his father told him that he was going to collaborate with the investigators, which he subsequently did. Realising how much his father was now risking, he opted not just to stay in Castelvetrano but also, in a certain sense, to fight back against the Mafia. What is more, he does so, not with a false identity as part of a witness protection programme, but rather by staying in his home town. His father, Lorenzo Cimarosa, died of cancer in 2017.<br />
<br />
Described as “the last Mohican of the old mafia”, Matteo Messina Denaro (57) is one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, who has been in hiding since 1993. He was once considered a candidate to be the Sicilian mafia’s boss of bosses after the deaths of Bernardo Provenzano in 2016 and Salvatore Riina in 2017. He was born into the Denaro Family (a well-known
    CIPG_20200217_EL-PAIS_MatteoMessinaD...jpg
  • CASTELVETRANO, ITALY - 17 FEBRUARY 2020: Giuseppe Cimarosa (36) poses for a portrait at his horse riding center. in Castelvetrano, Italy, on February 17th 2020.<br />
<br />
Giuseppe Cimarosa (36) was born into a Mafia family. He is a relative of Matteo Messina Denaro, Italy’s most wanted Cosa Nostra godfather, on the run since 1993. Furthermore, investigators have long believed that Giuseppe’s father, Lorenzo, occasionally provided “support” for the fugitive godfather. “My mother is a first cousin of Matteo Messina Denaro and my father was arrested as part of the Eden investigation [involving Messina Denaro]. I live in Castelvetrano [Messina Denaro’s home town in Sicily, near Trapani] and I’m having a hard time . . .”, Mr Cimarosa said.<br />
<br />
When the police came to arrest his father in 2013, Giuseppe was furious. There and then he wanted to again leave Sicily and return to Rome where he had lived and worked with horses for eight years in his 20s. He was disgusted that his father had again fallen into the clutches of their powerful relative. It was only when he went to visit his father in prison, immediately after his arrest, that Giuseppe changed his mind. In tears, his father told him that he was going to collaborate with the investigators, which he subsequently did. Realising how much his father was now risking, he opted not just to stay in Castelvetrano but also, in a certain sense, to fight back against the Mafia. What is more, he does so, not with a false identity as part of a witness protection programme, but rather by staying in his home town. His father, Lorenzo Cimarosa, died of cancer in 2017.<br />
<br />
Described as “the last Mohican of the old mafia”, Matteo Messina Denaro (57) is one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, who has been in hiding since 1993. He was once considered a candidate to be the Sicilian mafia’s boss of bosses after the deaths of Bernardo Provenzano in 2016 and Salvatore Riina in 2017. He was born into the Denaro Family (a well-known
    CIPG_20200217_EL-PAIS_MatteoMessinaD...jpg
  • CASTELVETRANO, ITALY - 17 FEBRUARY 2020: Giuseppe Cimarosa (36) poses for a portrait at his horse riding center. in Castelvetrano, Italy, on February 17th 2020.<br />
<br />
Giuseppe Cimarosa (36) was born into a Mafia family. He is a relative of Matteo Messina Denaro, Italy’s most wanted Cosa Nostra godfather, on the run since 1993. Furthermore, investigators have long believed that Giuseppe’s father, Lorenzo, occasionally provided “support” for the fugitive godfather. “My mother is a first cousin of Matteo Messina Denaro and my father was arrested as part of the Eden investigation [involving Messina Denaro]. I live in Castelvetrano [Messina Denaro’s home town in Sicily, near Trapani] and I’m having a hard time . . .”, Mr Cimarosa said.<br />
<br />
When the police came to arrest his father in 2013, Giuseppe was furious. There and then he wanted to again leave Sicily and return to Rome where he had lived and worked with horses for eight years in his 20s. He was disgusted that his father had again fallen into the clutches of their powerful relative. It was only when he went to visit his father in prison, immediately after his arrest, that Giuseppe changed his mind. In tears, his father told him that he was going to collaborate with the investigators, which he subsequently did. Realising how much his father was now risking, he opted not just to stay in Castelvetrano but also, in a certain sense, to fight back against the Mafia. What is more, he does so, not with a false identity as part of a witness protection programme, but rather by staying in his home town. His father, Lorenzo Cimarosa, died of cancer in 2017.<br />
<br />
Described as “the last Mohican of the old mafia”, Matteo Messina Denaro (57) is one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, who has been in hiding since 1993. He was once considered a candidate to be the Sicilian mafia’s boss of bosses after the deaths of Bernardo Provenzano in 2016 and Salvatore Riina in 2017. He was born into the Denaro Family (a well-known
    CIPG_20200217_EL-PAIS_MatteoMessinaD...jpg
  • CASTELVETRANO, ITALY - 17 FEBRUARY 2020: Giuseppe Cimarosa (36) cuddles his horse at his horse riding center. in Castelvetrano, Italy, on February 17th 2020.<br />
<br />
Giuseppe Cimarosa (36) was born into a Mafia family. He is a relative of Matteo Messina Denaro, Italy’s most wanted Cosa Nostra godfather, on the run since 1993. Furthermore, investigators have long believed that Giuseppe’s father, Lorenzo, occasionally provided “support” for the fugitive godfather. “My mother is a first cousin of Matteo Messina Denaro and my father was arrested as part of the Eden investigation [involving Messina Denaro]. I live in Castelvetrano [Messina Denaro’s home town in Sicily, near Trapani] and I’m having a hard time . . .”, Mr Cimarosa said.<br />
<br />
When the police came to arrest his father in 2013, Giuseppe was furious. There and then he wanted to again leave Sicily and return to Rome where he had lived and worked with horses for eight years in his 20s. He was disgusted that his father had again fallen into the clutches of their powerful relative. It was only when he went to visit his father in prison, immediately after his arrest, that Giuseppe changed his mind. In tears, his father told him that he was going to collaborate with the investigators, which he subsequently did. Realising how much his father was now risking, he opted not just to stay in Castelvetrano but also, in a certain sense, to fight back against the Mafia. What is more, he does so, not with a false identity as part of a witness protection programme, but rather by staying in his home town. His father, Lorenzo Cimarosa, died of cancer in 2017.<br />
<br />
Described as “the last Mohican of the old mafia”, Matteo Messina Denaro (57) is one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, who has been in hiding since 1993. He was once considered a candidate to be the Sicilian mafia’s boss of bosses after the deaths of Bernardo Provenzano in 2016 and Salvatore Riina in 2017. He was born into the Denaro Family (a well-known Ma
    CIPG_20200217_EL-PAIS_MatteoMessinaD...jpg
  • CASTELVETRANO, ITALY - 17 FEBRUARY 2020: Giuseppe Cimarosa (36) poses for a portrait at his horse riding center. in Castelvetrano, Italy, on February 17th 2020.<br />
<br />
Giuseppe Cimarosa (36) was born into a Mafia family. He is a relative of Matteo Messina Denaro, Italy’s most wanted Cosa Nostra godfather, on the run since 1993. Furthermore, investigators have long believed that Giuseppe’s father, Lorenzo, occasionally provided “support” for the fugitive godfather. “My mother is a first cousin of Matteo Messina Denaro and my father was arrested as part of the Eden investigation [involving Messina Denaro]. I live in Castelvetrano [Messina Denaro’s home town in Sicily, near Trapani] and I’m having a hard time . . .”, Mr Cimarosa said.<br />
<br />
When the police came to arrest his father in 2013, Giuseppe was furious. There and then he wanted to again leave Sicily and return to Rome where he had lived and worked with horses for eight years in his 20s. He was disgusted that his father had again fallen into the clutches of their powerful relative. It was only when he went to visit his father in prison, immediately after his arrest, that Giuseppe changed his mind. In tears, his father told him that he was going to collaborate with the investigators, which he subsequently did. Realising how much his father was now risking, he opted not just to stay in Castelvetrano but also, in a certain sense, to fight back against the Mafia. What is more, he does so, not with a false identity as part of a witness protection programme, but rather by staying in his home town. His father, Lorenzo Cimarosa, died of cancer in 2017.<br />
<br />
Described as “the last Mohican of the old mafia”, Matteo Messina Denaro (57) is one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, who has been in hiding since 1993. He was once considered a candidate to be the Sicilian mafia’s boss of bosses after the deaths of Bernardo Provenzano in 2016 and Salvatore Riina in 2017. He was born into the Denaro Family (a well-known
    CIPG_20200217_EL-PAIS_MatteoMessinaD...jpg
  • CASTELVETRANO, ITALY - 17 FEBRUARY 2020: Giuseppe Cimarosa (36) poses for a portrait at his horse riding center. in Castelvetrano, Italy, on February 17th 2020.<br />
<br />
Giuseppe Cimarosa (36) was born into a Mafia family. He is a relative of Matteo Messina Denaro, Italy’s most wanted Cosa Nostra godfather, on the run since 1993. Furthermore, investigators have long believed that Giuseppe’s father, Lorenzo, occasionally provided “support” for the fugitive godfather. “My mother is a first cousin of Matteo Messina Denaro and my father was arrested as part of the Eden investigation [involving Messina Denaro]. I live in Castelvetrano [Messina Denaro’s home town in Sicily, near Trapani] and I’m having a hard time . . .”, Mr Cimarosa said.<br />
<br />
When the police came to arrest his father in 2013, Giuseppe was furious. There and then he wanted to again leave Sicily and return to Rome where he had lived and worked with horses for eight years in his 20s. He was disgusted that his father had again fallen into the clutches of their powerful relative. It was only when he went to visit his father in prison, immediately after his arrest, that Giuseppe changed his mind. In tears, his father told him that he was going to collaborate with the investigators, which he subsequently did. Realising how much his father was now risking, he opted not just to stay in Castelvetrano but also, in a certain sense, to fight back against the Mafia. What is more, he does so, not with a false identity as part of a witness protection programme, but rather by staying in his home town. His father, Lorenzo Cimarosa, died of cancer in 2017.<br />
<br />
Described as “the last Mohican of the old mafia”, Matteo Messina Denaro (57) is one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, who has been in hiding since 1993. He was once considered a candidate to be the Sicilian mafia’s boss of bosses after the deaths of Bernardo Provenzano in 2016 and Salvatore Riina in 2017. He was born into the Denaro Family (a well-known
    CIPG_20200217_EL-PAIS_MatteoMessinaD...jpg
  • CASTELVETRANO, ITALY - 17 FEBRUARY 2020: Giuseppe Cimarosa (36) poses for a portrait at his horse riding center. in Castelvetrano, Italy, on February 17th 2020.<br />
<br />
Giuseppe Cimarosa (36) was born into a Mafia family. He is a relative of Matteo Messina Denaro, Italy’s most wanted Cosa Nostra godfather, on the run since 1993. Furthermore, investigators have long believed that Giuseppe’s father, Lorenzo, occasionally provided “support” for the fugitive godfather. “My mother is a first cousin of Matteo Messina Denaro and my father was arrested as part of the Eden investigation [involving Messina Denaro]. I live in Castelvetrano [Messina Denaro’s home town in Sicily, near Trapani] and I’m having a hard time . . .”, Mr Cimarosa said.<br />
<br />
When the police came to arrest his father in 2013, Giuseppe was furious. There and then he wanted to again leave Sicily and return to Rome where he had lived and worked with horses for eight years in his 20s. He was disgusted that his father had again fallen into the clutches of their powerful relative. It was only when he went to visit his father in prison, immediately after his arrest, that Giuseppe changed his mind. In tears, his father told him that he was going to collaborate with the investigators, which he subsequently did. Realising how much his father was now risking, he opted not just to stay in Castelvetrano but also, in a certain sense, to fight back against the Mafia. What is more, he does so, not with a false identity as part of a witness protection programme, but rather by staying in his home town. His father, Lorenzo Cimarosa, died of cancer in 2017.<br />
<br />
Described as “the last Mohican of the old mafia”, Matteo Messina Denaro (57) is one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, who has been in hiding since 1993. He was once considered a candidate to be the Sicilian mafia’s boss of bosses after the deaths of Bernardo Provenzano in 2016 and Salvatore Riina in 2017. He was born into the Denaro Family (a well-known
    CIPG_20200217_EL-PAIS_MatteoMessinaD...jpg
  • CASTELVETRANO, ITALY - 17 FEBRUARY 2020: Giuseppe Cimarosa (36) poses for a portrait at his horse riding center. in Castelvetrano, Italy, on February 17th 2020.<br />
<br />
Giuseppe Cimarosa (36) was born into a Mafia family. He is a relative of Matteo Messina Denaro, Italy’s most wanted Cosa Nostra godfather, on the run since 1993. Furthermore, investigators have long believed that Giuseppe’s father, Lorenzo, occasionally provided “support” for the fugitive godfather. “My mother is a first cousin of Matteo Messina Denaro and my father was arrested as part of the Eden investigation [involving Messina Denaro]. I live in Castelvetrano [Messina Denaro’s home town in Sicily, near Trapani] and I’m having a hard time . . .”, Mr Cimarosa said.<br />
<br />
When the police came to arrest his father in 2013, Giuseppe was furious. There and then he wanted to again leave Sicily and return to Rome where he had lived and worked with horses for eight years in his 20s. He was disgusted that his father had again fallen into the clutches of their powerful relative. It was only when he went to visit his father in prison, immediately after his arrest, that Giuseppe changed his mind. In tears, his father told him that he was going to collaborate with the investigators, which he subsequently did. Realising how much his father was now risking, he opted not just to stay in Castelvetrano but also, in a certain sense, to fight back against the Mafia. What is more, he does so, not with a false identity as part of a witness protection programme, but rather by staying in his home town. His father, Lorenzo Cimarosa, died of cancer in 2017.<br />
<br />
Described as “the last Mohican of the old mafia”, Matteo Messina Denaro (57) is one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, who has been in hiding since 1993. He was once considered a candidate to be the Sicilian mafia’s boss of bosses after the deaths of Bernardo Provenzano in 2016 and Salvatore Riina in 2017. He was born into the Denaro Family (a well-known
    CIPG_20200217_EL-PAIS_MatteoMessinaD...jpg
  • FULGATORE, ITALY - 17 FEBRUARY 2020: A wind farm is seen here in Fulgatore, Italy, on February 17th 2020. Mafia top boss Matteo Messina Denaro's closest men have managed to infiltrate the construction of the largest wind farms in western Sicily. <br />
<br />
In 2019 Vito Nicastri, a Sicilian wind farm businessman known as the “king of wind”, has been sentenced to nine years in prison for bankrolling the top mafia fugitive Matteo Messina Denaro. Investigators said Nicastri, who made his name as an alternative energy entrepreneur, had invested money made from criminal activities and had “high-level” contacts in the mafia and “close ties to Matteo Messina Denaro”. According to prosecutors, Nicastri allegedly acted as a middleman between local bosses and corrupt politicians, securing all the permits required to build and deliver hundreds of windfarm turbines to Spanish, Danish and Maltese operators, with profits finding their way back to Denaro.<br />
<br />
Described as “the last Mohican of the old mafia”, Matteo Messina Denaro (57) is one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, who has been in hiding since 1993. He was once considered a candidate to be the Sicilian mafia’s boss of bosses after the deaths of Bernardo Provenzano in 2016 and Salvatore Riina in 2017. He was born into the Denaro Family (a well-known Mafia family) in Castelvetrano in the province of Trapani, Sicily. <br />
Matteo Messina Denaro, who infamously claimed: “I filled a cemetery all by myself”, has apparently kept up his luxurious lifestyle, thanks to his several bankrollers who, according to prosecutors, include politicians and businessmen. Investigators have long claimed that the boss, wanted for more than 50 murders, is being shielded by powerful Freemasons in Trapani.
    CIPG_20200217_EL-PAIS_MatteoMessinaD...jpg
  • ITALY - 19 MARCH 2020:  The last known photograph of Matteo Messina Denaro, the top Cosa Nostra boss on the run since 1993, is seen here in Italy on March 19th 2020.<br />
<br />
Described as “the last Mohican of the old mafia”, Matteo Messina Denaro (57) is one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, who has been in hiding since 1993. He was once considered a candidate to be the Sicilian mafia’s boss of bosses after the deaths of Bernardo Provenzano in 2016 and Salvatore Riina in 2017. He was born into the Denaro Family (a well-known Mafia family) in Castelvetrano in the province of Trapani, Sicily. <br />
Matteo Messina Denaro, who infamously claimed: “I filled a cemetery all by myself”, has apparently kept up his luxurious lifestyle, thanks to his several bankrollers who, according to prosecutors, include politicians and businessmen. Investigators have long claimed that the boss, wanted for more than 50 murders, is being shielded by powerful Freemasons in Trapani.
    CIPG_20200319_EL-PAIS_MatteoMessinaD...jpg
  • CASTELVETRANO, ITALY - 17 FEBRUARY 2020: Enzo Alfano (63), mayor of Castelvetrano, poses for a portrait in his office in Castelvetrano, Italy, on February 17th 2020. Castelvetrano is notorious as the birthplace of Cosa Nostra's top boss Matteo Messina Denaro.<br />
<br />
Described as “the last Mohican of the old mafia”, Matteo Messina Denaro (57) is one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, who has been in hiding since 1993. He was once considered a candidate to be the Sicilian mafia’s boss of bosses after the deaths of Bernardo Provenzano in 2016 and Salvatore Riina in 2017. He was born into the Denaro Family (a well-known Mafia family) in Castelvetrano in the province of Trapani, Sicily. <br />
Matteo Messina Denaro, who infamously claimed: “I filled a cemetery all by myself”, has apparently kept up his luxurious lifestyle, thanks to his several bankrollers who, according to prosecutors, include politicians and businessmen. Investigators have long claimed that the boss, wanted for more than 50 murders, is being shielded by powerful Freemasons in Trapani.
    CIPG_20200217_EL-PAIS_MatteoMessinaD...jpg
  • CASTELVETRANO, ITALY - 17 FEBRUARY 2020: A man walks in the town of Castelvetrano, notorious as the birthplace of Cosa Nostra's top boss Matteo Messina Denaro, in Castelvetrano, Italy, on February 17th 2020.<br />
<br />
Described as “the last Mohican of the old mafia”, Matteo Messina Denaro (57) is one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, who has been in hiding since 1993. He was once considered a candidate to be the Sicilian mafia’s boss of bosses after the deaths of Bernardo Provenzano in 2016 and Salvatore Riina in 2017. He was born into the Denaro Family (a well-known Mafia family) in Castelvetrano in the province of Trapani, Sicily. <br />
Matteo Messina Denaro, who infamously claimed: “I filled a cemetery all by myself”, has apparently kept up his luxurious lifestyle, thanks to his several bankrollers who, according to prosecutors, include politicians and businessmen. Investigators have long claimed that the boss, wanted for more than 50 murders, is being shielded by powerful Freemasons in Trapani.
    CIPG_20200217_EL-PAIS_MatteoMessinaD...jpg
  • CASTELVETRANO, ITALY - 17 FEBRUARY 2020: A man walks in the town of Castelvetrano, notorious as the birthplace of Cosa Nostra's top boss Matteo Messina Denaro, in Castelvetrano, Italy, on February 17th 2020.<br />
<br />
Described as “the last Mohican of the old mafia”, Matteo Messina Denaro (57) is one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, who has been in hiding since 1993. He was once considered a candidate to be the Sicilian mafia’s boss of bosses after the deaths of Bernardo Provenzano in 2016 and Salvatore Riina in 2017. He was born into the Denaro Family (a well-known Mafia family) in Castelvetrano in the province of Trapani, Sicily. <br />
Matteo Messina Denaro, who infamously claimed: “I filled a cemetery all by myself”, has apparently kept up his luxurious lifestyle, thanks to his several bankrollers who, according to prosecutors, include politicians and businessmen. Investigators have long claimed that the boss, wanted for more than 50 murders, is being shielded by powerful Freemasons in Trapani.
    CIPG_20200217_EL-PAIS_MatteoMessinaD...jpg
  • CASTELVETRANO, ITALY - 17 FEBRUARY 2020: The home in which Cosa Nostra's top boss Matteo Messina Denaro grew up, as well as his mother's current residence, is seen here in Castelvetrano, Italy, on February 17th 2020.<br />
<br />
Described as “the last Mohican of the old mafia”, Matteo Messina Denaro (57) is one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, who has been in hiding since 1993. He was once considered a candidate to be the Sicilian mafia’s boss of bosses after the deaths of Bernardo Provenzano in 2016 and Salvatore Riina in 2017. He was born into the Denaro Family (a well-known Mafia family) in Castelvetrano in the province of Trapani, Sicily. <br />
Matteo Messina Denaro, who infamously claimed: “I filled a cemetery all by myself”, has apparently kept up his luxurious lifestyle, thanks to his several bankrollers who, according to prosecutors, include politicians and businessmen. Investigators have long claimed that the boss, wanted for more than 50 murders, is being shielded by powerful Freemasons in Trapani.
    CIPG_20200217_EL-PAIS_MatteoMessinaD...jpg
  • CASTELVETRANO, ITALY - 17 FEBRUARY 2020: Enzo Alfano (63), mayor of Castelvetrano, poses for a portrait in his office in Castelvetrano, Italy, on February 17th 2020. Castelvetrano is notorious as the birthplace of Cosa Nostra's top boss Matteo Messina Denaro.<br />
<br />
Described as “the last Mohican of the old mafia”, Matteo Messina Denaro (57) is one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, who has been in hiding since 1993. He was once considered a candidate to be the Sicilian mafia’s boss of bosses after the deaths of Bernardo Provenzano in 2016 and Salvatore Riina in 2017. He was born into the Denaro Family (a well-known Mafia family) in Castelvetrano in the province of Trapani, Sicily. <br />
Matteo Messina Denaro, who infamously claimed: “I filled a cemetery all by myself”, has apparently kept up his luxurious lifestyle, thanks to his several bankrollers who, according to prosecutors, include politicians and businessmen. Investigators have long claimed that the boss, wanted for more than 50 murders, is being shielded by powerful Freemasons in Trapani.
    CIPG_20200217_EL-PAIS_MatteoMessinaD...jpg
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