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CRIME

Statue of slain anti-mafia prosecutor decapitated in Palermo

Unknown vandals in the Sicilian capital Palermo broke the head off a statue of murdered anti-mafia prosecutor Giovanni Falcone on Monday.

Published: 11 July 2017 10:35 CEST
Updated: 11 July 2017 11:50 CEST
Statue of slain anti-mafia prosecutor decapitated in Palermo
Anti-mafia prosecutor Giovanni Falcone. Photo: Gerard Foulet/AFP

The statue's head was then rammed against the wall of the Falcone-Borsellino, which it stood outside, causing further damage to the nose and eye area.

“The damage and contempt towards the statue dedicated to Giovanni Falcone are very serious acts; even more so because they were also aimed at damaging a school which has for years carried out important work of awareness and social education,” said Palermo mayor Leoluca Orlando.

Prosecutor Falcone was killed in 1992 after a mafia hit-man placed a bomb under his car on a highway near the town of Capaci. The blast also killed the judge's wife and three members of his security detail.

Falcone, who was 53 when he died, spent most of his life trying to fight the mafia, bringing about the so-called ‘maxi trial' in 1986-1987, which led to the conviction of 342 mafiosi.

His killing was ordered by the mafia godfather, Toto Riina, who is serving multiple life sentences in prison.

The people who carried out the attack were arrested shortly after the crime, but recent years have seen further arrests in connection with Falcone's murder, with eight people – all of them already in prison for other crimes – charged in 2013.

READ MORE: How the murder of Giovanni Falcone marked a turning point for Sicily

An image of the statue's damaged head. Photo: Comune di Palermo

Just hours after the initial act of vandalism, Palermo authorities reported that a poster with a picture of Falcone had been burned outside another school in the regional capital.

Italian prime minister Paolo Gentiloni condemned the incident on Monday afternoon, saying: “Insulting the memory of Falcone is a weak show of cowardice.”

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CRIME

REVEALED: Where in Italy you’re most likely to be a victim of crime

From theft and home burglary to cyber fraud and extortion, the latest figures reveal where in Italy you are most likely to fall victim to crime and the most common types of offences in major cities around the country.

Published: 17 September 2024 11:15 CEST
REVEALED: Where in Italy you're most likely to be a victim of crime

While Italy is among the safest countries in the world – it ranked 33rd out of 163 in the latest Global Peace Index report, right above the UK – crime is still a concern, especially in metropolitan cities and tourist hotspots.

According to the annual crime report from newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore, which collated the most recent data from Italy’s Department of Public Security, Milan was the Italian city with the highest crime rate in 2023.

Overall, some 230,394 crimes were reported in the northern metropolis last year, which corresponded to 7,094 offences for every 100,000 residents.

Milan was followed by Italy’s capital, Rome, with 6,071 reported crimes for every 100,000 residents (up by nearly 600 compared to 2022) and Florence, with 6,053.

The top ten was completed by Rimini (6,002 reports for every 100,000 residents), Turin (5,685), Bologna (5,539), Prato (4,887), Imperia (4,838), Venice (4,825) and Livorno (4,743).

At the other end of the spectrum, Oristano, Sardinia, was the Italian city with the lowest crime rate in 2023 as it ‘only’ saw 1,511 offences for every 100,000 residents. 

Oristano was followed by Potenza, Basilicata (1,934) and Treviso, Veneto (2,258).

Single-offence rankings

While the overall crime rate ranking provides a picture of Italy’s major crime hotspots, it doesn’t allow for any insight into the types of offences committed locally, which is why it is worth looking into single-offence rankings. 

Milan, Rome and Rimini (a popular seaside resort on Emilia Romagna’s Adriatic coast) were the Italian cities with the highest theft rates in 2023, with the northern city registering nearly 3,900 reported thefts (furti) for every 100,000 residents and the capital stopping just shy of the 3,500 mark.

Milan was also Italy’s least-safe city when it came to petty theft and pickpocketing, with over 900 such offences reported for every 100,000 residents.

READ ALSO: How bad is pickpocketing in Italy’s major cities?

Florence was the Italian city with the highest robbery rate (rapine), with 136 offences for every 100,000 residents. 

The Tuscan city was followed by Milan (128) and Prato (124).

Outside of big cities and popular tourist destinations, a number of smaller and, perhaps, slightly unassuming Italian cities had their own crime ‘specialisations’ in 2023. 

For instance, Ragusa, Sicily, ranked first in vehicle theft, while Pisa, Tuscany, came in first in reported home burglary offences.

Trieste, Friuli Venezia Giulia, had the highest sexual assault rate (24 reports for every 100,000 residents) in the country, whereas Crotone ranked first for attempted murder.

READ ALSO: The 8 red flags to look out for to avoid rental scams in Italy

Turin came in first for cyber fraud and online scams, while Isernia, Molise, was Italy’s extortion capital. 

National picture

At a national level, reported crimes were up by 3.8 percent compared to 2022, with online fraud and robbery registering 10.3- and 9.5-percent increases respectively. 

Assault offences also registered a 3.1-percent year-on-year increase, while there were 341 murders in 2023 – up by 13 against 2019. 

According to Marco Dugato, a researcher at the Crime Observatory of Milan’s Cattolica University, the latest increases “must be monitored, particularly for certain types of crime”.

In particular, “the rise of more impulsive, less planned, but more aggressive forms of criminal activity” such as assault and robbery “is of concern”. 

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