Salvatore Giuliano

"This film was shot in Sicily.

In Montelepre, where Salvatore

Giuliano was born.

In the houses, roads, and mountains

where he reigned for seven years.

In the house in Castelvetrano,

where the outlaw spent his last months,

and in the courtyard where

his lifeless body was found one morning. "

In the year 1950, on this fifth day

ofJuly, in Castelvetrano,

on the Via Fra' Serafino Mannone,

in the De Maria courtyard,

lies a male corpse,

apparent age 30 years,

lying in a prone position,

with the left leg extended

and the right leg bent

at nearly a right angle.

The right arm is extended with clenched

fist, and the left is under the chest.

The left cheek lies on the ground.

You mean "rests" on the ground.

Very well. Correct that.

He was wearing the following:

a white cotton undershirt,

a brown leather belt

with gold buckle and pistol holster,

a pair of canvas,

khaki-colored trousers,

striped cotton socks,

civilian sandals with crepe sole.

From the right ring finger

I have recovered

a white metal ring

with a single diamond.

In the trouser pocket I found

a ten-lire bill,

and a photograph

of an as yet unidentified person.

No pictures.

Reporters and photographers

may enter now.

Easy, easy.

His undershirt is soaked with blood,

but there's little on the ground.

It must be underneath him.

Carnemolla, take a picture from above.

Pinciroli.

- Your Excellence.

- Let's keep the photos to a minimum,

and get rid of them quickly.

Gentlemen, that's enough now.

Time to go. You heard him.

You, too!

Gentlemen, close the windows.

Ever since the Allies'arrival

in 1943;

there had raged in Sicily

a passion for separatism.

MIS was the separatist party

that wished to unite the region;

and EVIS was its military arm.

The Americans; the English; landowners

and the Mafia supported the movement.

Many died in skirmishes between

separatists and offiicers of the law.

On September 30; 1945;

the first CLN government

ordered the arrest of the leaders

of the independence movement.:

Finocchiaro Aprile and Varvaro.

We should have achieved independence

before the war ended on the mainland.

Then the government would have been

faced with a fait accompli.

Now it's useless.

The situation gets worse every day.

Either we give up, or we stage

an insurrection right now.

Who's going to stage the revolution?

A bunch of kids?

Right now there are 37 bands

of outlaws in Sicily. Thirty-seven!

They have enough weapons

to fill an arsenal.

And they're not all escaped convicts.

Most of them are victims

of injustice, ignorance and poverty.

They're just waiting for a chance

to get back to civilian life.

That's enough. You know most of us

are against what you propose.

- Talking has gotten us nowhere.

- All right then.

We set up an independent combat unit

and absolve the party

of all responsibility.

Enough of this crap!

Who did Garibaldi use to liberate

Sicily from the Bourbons?

He used the picciotti.

And who were they?

Escapees and bandits.

Sir, we'll have to walk.

That was the agreement.

As long as it's not too far.

No, it's nearby.

October 1945.

Case Vecchie di Sagana;

a few miles from Montelepre.

Representatives of EVIS seek out

the outlaw Giuliano

to offer him the rank of colonel;

the battle flag of EVIS;

and the promise that his name would be

cleared once the separatists have won.

- Where's Turiddu?

- Inside.

Let's go.

Salvatore Giuliano was then 23.

He had become an outlaw at 21.

Caught delivering two sacks of grain

to the black market; he fled;

killed a carabiniere;

and managed to reach the mountains.

Go on in, sir.

Turiddu is expecting you.

Pinuzzo, come here.

Good morning, Don Pie'.

- Where are the others?

- In back of the house.

Good morning.

- Who's he?

- Don Pietro di Borgetto.

- And the others?

- Separatists, like him.

They've hired Giuliano to fight

for the independence of Sicily.

Picciotti; we're all going to be

soldiers now.

Italy let us burn, and now

we're going to answer with fire.

We've made Giuliano a colonel,

so he can fight the Italian tyrants

to gain our freedom,

and so you can go back

to your homes as free men.

Sicily, wake up.

Your shameful slumber

has lasted far too long.

While you've slept,

all has been lost, even your honor.

Now the trumpets ring loud

and you must no longer sleep,

because sleep would mean death.

White roses of Sicily,

you'll be stained red with our blood.

But our sons and our sons' sons

will live in a free land

and will lift their gaze to the heavens

and smile at the future.

DEATH TO THE FASCIST PIGS WHO SUCK

THE BLOOD OF THE SICI LIAN PEOPLE

LONG LIVE I NDEPENDENCE

AND FREEDOM:

- Have these things taken away.

- Where to?

We don't know.

To the cemetery.

When will the body be identified?

We don't know yet.

The magistrate will decide that.

Where is the man

who was with Giuliano?

Why are you asking me?

Ask the carabinieri.

He was shot in the heart.

The carabinieri were waiting

in the courtyard.

He came running in

and they shot him.

What about the four shots

in his side and back?

He got those earlier,

during the chase.

- But how did you know -

- You were saying?

How did you know that Giuliano

would be in Castelvetrano?

An informant told us ten days ago

that Giuliano was in the area.

The same informant said Giuliano

was going to escape to America

in a plane on its way from Tunis.

The carabinieri had been waiting

on the Via Cangini since 10:00.

So you even knew Giuliano's

exact route through the streets?

You'll be given all the details

at the press conference.

Two men appeared at the end of

the street. One of them was Giuliano.

The carabinieri ordered them to stop,

and the two outlaws tried to run.

The carabinieri opened fire

and shot him dead.

And Giuliano didn't shoot?

Of course he did.

Bullets were flying everywhere.

- And the carabinieri weren't wounded?

- Not one.

- Do you live here?

- Yes, sir.

So you heard last night.

What happened?

Three revolver shots.

- Only three?

- Yes, sir.

And after a while, a machine gun.

But they said the street was full of outlaws

and carabinieri shooting for an hour.

It's not true. It's all a lie.

The chase, the shoot-out, all that racket -

what time did that start?

We didn't hear anything.

Just three revolver shots,

and about a half hour later,

a machine gun went off.

- And you didn't see anyone go by?

- No, no one went by.

You didn't hear Giuliano go by,

followed by the carabinieri?

Just three revolver shots

and the machine gun.

Could I have a glass?

One for me too, please.

What did you think of Giuliano?

- Took from the rich, gave to the poor.

- That's it?

Yes, sir, that's it.

Where are you from?

- Rome.

What do you know about Sicily?

The only thing we know

for certain is that he's dead.

The eyewitness accounts conflict

with the official version of the facts.

However, if this outlaw lies dead today,

we can thank the carabinieri.

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