The Sack of Palermo

The sack of Palermo refers to the building boom in the 1950s and 1960s. It wasn’t necessarily a benefitting renovation of Palermo but rather a melancholy one. Historical buildings and landmarks were ordered for demolition, rather being preserved. The beauty and unique architecture of the Villa Deliella was being destroyed for bland office buildings and apartments. While many disapproved of the construction, World War II had left the city, somewhat, crumbled. Bombings had forced thousands to live in shacks amongst the rubble. With the population increasing and people left homeless, post-war building boom was unavoidable. Lemon groves we bulldozed and every building was turned into “a monument to corruption and crime”. The town was desperate. Instead of rebuilding Palermo, the government practically built a new city. It almost appeared out of nowhere. The mafia was becoming heavily involved in the building boom, as they were transitioning from a rural system to a modern criminal organization. The mafia gained relations with city officials and Christian Democrats, such as Vito Ciancimino and Salvatore Lima. These two had just got into power within Palermo’s Office of Public Works. They began giving out building permits to a small amount of people, most likely Mafiosi. Buildings were being constructed illegally, while innocent construction companies were left to pay up to the mafia. No one dared look into, or questions the mafia’s workings. This was what led to the destruction of many historical buildings throughout Palermo. Just like the lemon groves and sulfur mines of the past, the Mafia had taken stock in what was at the point a highly marketable field.