Alessandro davenia biography

TO the Mafia in Palermo, in southern Italy, Padre Pino Puglisi was a troublesome priest, an outspoken opponent of its malignant ways.

To the people of Brancaccio, a tough, run-down local neighbourhood, controlled by the Mafia, he was something of a hero, always speaking up for them, working for them, seeking to do something positive for the children.

One day in September 1993 - his 56th birthday - Padre Pino was gunned down by the Mafia.

Alessandro davenia biography wikipedia

He died in hospital. "This is a Mafia crime," an investigating magistrate was subsequently quoted as saying in the New York Times. "Cosa Nostra could not stand that priest's teaching the kids in the neighborhood about an anti-Mafia culture."

The fate of this brave man, who was beatified by the Vatican in 2013, has long troubled, and fascinated, Italy: a book was written about him, and a film made.

Now Alessandro D'Avenia, a successful novelist (and teacher at a high school in Milan) has t