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This reportage takes place in the north of Puglia, home to the Quarta Mafia (Fourth Mafia), a complex network formed by multiple mafia groups that has grown rapidly in the past 30 years. They are incredibly dangerous; in fact, according to the National Anti-Mafia Directorate, they are considered the number one enemy of the state.
The development of criminal groups in Gargano, Tavoliere and Capitanata can be traced back to a combination of local feuds between different pastoral families and the rise of violent ambitions in the capital of the province of Foggia.
The Italian Mafia has a date of birth: January 5th, 1979. On that day, Raffaele Cutolo, the founder of the New Organised Camorra, brought together forty criminals of Foggia to form the Società Foggiana (the Foggiano Society). From that moment on, the Società Foggiana rampaged the city of Foggia, killing anyone in their way, especially entrepreneurs in the construction industry. Indeed, the second victim of the Mafia ever recorded in Italy was from there: Giovanni Panunzio, killed on November 6th, 1992. At the time Foggia was in the midst of developing an important economy, but the criminal organisation brought growth to a halt; it quickly became one of the poorest provinces in Italy, crippled by paper bombs, murders, extortion, threats and usury.
Meanwhile in the towns of Gargano, isolated between the jagged coastline and the mountainous forest, shepherds began to fight each other, killing for glory and then for business. In the 70s, they began to build connections with the Mafia groups of Montenegro and Albania, initially for cigarette smuggling and then for cocaine and marijuana.
The last group is the one that is growing the most rapidly, the Mafia of Cerignola. An important agricultural community, it has become the site of two important criminal activities: the distribution of cocaine, thanks to connections with Milan, and armoured car robberies, not only in Italy, but also in the rest of Europe.
The Quarta Mafia as a whole is the result of different criminal schools of thought. For example, Vincenzo Parisi brought with him the Marseilles methods, while the Gargano families trusted in the ways of the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta, rooted in the lasting ties with the Balkan Mafias and known for giving refuge to their fugitives.
This phenomenon is still highly underestimated, despite the fact that the antimafia prosecutor Cafiero De Raho continues to report that it is a national emergency, and the pandemic may make matters even worse.
According to the founder of the association The Good Samaritan, engineer Pippo Cavaliere, who works with victims of racketeering and usury, the consequences of covid-19 could be disastrous for Foggia. Many merchants have not received the aid they need, exposing them to the traps of the Società Foggiana who offer credit to the desperate, only to inevitably destroy their businesses.
There is only one town where anti-racket associations fight against the Mafia, Vieste, the tourist capital of the region. Here, there is a race to control profitable tourist activities, an issue which has been reported in the news since the early 2000s.
In 2017, the Luciani brothers, farmers unrelated to any illegal activity, were murdered on their way to work in the town of San Marco in Lamis. After the incident, the state decided to intervene against the Fourth Mafia. They sent the Carabinieri’s military team, known as the “Cacciatori di Puglia” (Puglia hunters) and the Financial Guard to patrol the coasts of Gargano on a daily basis, in an attempt to stop the smuggling of drugs from across the sea.
Since 2011, the Carabinieri, police and Financial Guard, have worked together to launch 12 operations against the Fourth Mafia, a number which hasn’t been seen since the days of the Mafia massacres. The number of mafia families is significant: around 30 who for years have consolidated their power using violence and extortion, crushing the hopes of a people romantically defined as a “population of ants,” for their remarkable attitude towards work in the fields.
The growing Fourth Mafia could become the strongest in Italy if not stopped and exposed as soon as possibile. Otherwise we risk to repeat what happened with the 'Ndrangheta: in the 90s it was highly underestimated, dismissed as just feuds between local criminal families, but the group developed important international and financial connections making it one of the richest and most powerful in Italy.

Italy;Apulia;San Marco in Lamis;2021 Patrolling near San Marco in Lamis of Puglia Hunters. The squadron sent in 2017 after the massacre that took place in San Marco in Lamis is particularly concerned about the territory of the Gargano. This special department of the Carabinieri (Italian military police) was founded in Calabria to counter the 'Ndrangheta. It operates in the regions where it is needed the most: Calabria, Campania, Sicily, Sardinia and Apulia. The hunters are crucial in a territory as complicated as Gargano, with hundreds of caves, abandoned farms and paths that only the locals and criminals know very well. Since they started, the results have been 429 arrests.
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Italy;Apulia;San Marco in Lamis;2021

Patrolling near San Marco in Lamis of Puglia Hunters.
The squadron sent in 2017 after the massacre that took place in San Marco in Lamis is particularly concerned about the territory of the Gargano.
This special department of the Carabinieri (Italian military police) was founded in Calabria to counter the 'Ndrangheta. It operates in the regions where it is needed the most: Calabria, Campania, Sicily, Sardinia and Apulia. The hunters are crucial in a territory as complicated as Gargano, with hundreds of caves, abandoned farms and paths that only the locals and criminals know very well. Since they started, the results have been 429 arrests.
Italy;Apulia;Foggia;2020 Funeral of Francesco Traiano, killed during a robbery in his bar. Public participation was high despite covid-19 restrictions, but many merchants did not show because they feared retaliation from the criminals.
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Italy;Apulia;Foggia;2020

Funeral of Francesco Traiano, killed during a robbery in his bar. Public participation was high despite covid-19 restrictions, but many merchants did not show because they feared retaliation from the criminals.
Italy;Apulia;Foggia;2020 A torched car in the center of Foggia. Episodes of this kind are usually meant as a threat, or retaliation against merchants who are late with payments or oppose extortion demands.
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Italy;Apulia;Foggia;2020

A torched car in the center of Foggia. Episodes of this kind are usually meant as a threat, or retaliation against merchants who are late with payments or oppose extortion demands.
Italy;Apulia;Mattinata;2021 Coastal patrol at dawn with the Financial Guard, as part of the Frontex program. The area of Gargano has always been used for smuggling because of its jagged coastline and natural inlets. Since the post-war period, local mafias established relationships with Balkan mafias for the smuggling of cigarettes; in recent years, trafficking has extended to both cocaine and marijuana. It’s very difficult to trace the sale and distribution on the coastal paths to the Umbra Forest. “The Adriatic Sea has been a borderland since the days of the Republic of Venice.” Cities like Vieste, Mattinata and Manfredonia are of vital importance to the Mafia because controlling them means controlling the drug trade.
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Italy;Apulia;Mattinata;2021

Coastal patrol at dawn with the Financial Guard, as part of the Frontex program.
The area of Gargano has always been used for smuggling because of its jagged coastline and natural inlets.
Since the post-war period, local mafias established relationships with Balkan mafias for the smuggling of cigarettes; in recent years, trafficking has extended to both cocaine and marijuana. It’s very difficult to trace the sale and distribution on the coastal paths to the Umbra Forest.
“The Adriatic Sea has been a borderland since the days of the Republic of Venice.” Cities like Vieste, Mattinata and Manfredonia are of vital importance to the Mafia because controlling them means controlling the drug trade.
Italy;Apulia;San Marco in Lamis;2021 Marianna Luciani at the monastery of San Marco in Lamis. A few months before a first life sentence condemns one of the executioners of the killing husband. He was not the only one to have participated, but three years after the murder of Aurelio and Luigi, for Marianna and her sister-in-law it's a first concrete sign of the investigations made.
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Italy;Apulia;San Marco in Lamis;2021

Marianna Luciani at the monastery of San Marco in Lamis.
A few months before a first life sentence condemns one of the executioners of the killing husband. He was not the only one to have participated, but three years after the murder of Aurelio and Luigi, for Marianna and her sister-in-law it's a first concrete sign of the investigations made.
Italy;Apulia;Foggia;2021 Mortuary announcements in Foggia. The announcement on the bottom right is dedicated to Mario Nero, a historical antimafia figure in Gargano. Mario Nero saw the culprits of the Panunzio murder in 1992 and was the only witness to go to the police station. From that day on, his life was destroyed; he was forced to flee his hometown with his family, and the state had no real witness protection program to keep him safe. For 30 years he lived far away from home and eventually his exasperated family left him. In January 2021, he died in Liguria and no funeral home printed his mortuary announcement for fear of retaliation. Some managed to distribute anonymously a few hundred copies around the city under the name "honest Citizens of Foggia.”
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Italy;Apulia;Foggia;2021

Mortuary announcements in Foggia.
The announcement on the bottom right is dedicated to Mario Nero, a historical antimafia figure in Gargano.
Mario Nero saw the culprits of the Panunzio murder in 1992 and was the only witness to go to the police station. From that day on, his life was destroyed; he was forced to flee his hometown with his family, and the state had no real witness protection program to keep him safe. For 30 years he lived far away from home and eventually his exasperated family left him. In January 2021, he died in Liguria and no funeral home printed his mortuary announcement for fear of retaliation. Some managed to distribute anonymously a few hundred copies around the city under the name "honest Citizens of Foggia.”
Italy;Apulia;Foggia;2021 Don Francesco, parish priest of Pius X Church. He felt drawn to the church after working as a security guard, an experience that taught him and his family what it means to be exposed to extortion. He then committed himself to helping other victims of the Mafia, becoming a reference point for the neighbourhood.
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Italy;Apulia;Foggia;2021

Don Francesco, parish priest of Pius X Church.
He felt drawn to the church after working as a security guard, an experience that taught him and his family what it means to be exposed to extortion. He then committed himself to helping other victims of the Mafia, becoming a reference point for the neighbourhood.
Italy;Apulia;Borgo Mezzanone;2020 Interior of a house in Borgo Mezzanone. In the village near Foggia, families have been living together for years and are now under eviction because they are not recognized as homeowners.
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Italy;Apulia;Borgo Mezzanone;2020

Interior of a house in Borgo Mezzanone. In the village near Foggia, families have been living together for years and are now under eviction because they are not recognized as homeowners.
Italy;NO LOCATION;2020 A man repents in a hotel room in a city in northern Italy. He refused to kill a magistrate and was put under the protection by the state, but after various incidents he and his family have never been completely safe.
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Italy;NO LOCATION;2020

A man repents in a hotel room in a city in northern Italy. He refused to kill a magistrate and was put under the protection by the state, but after various incidents he and his family have never been completely safe.
Italy;Apulia;San Marco in Lamis;2021 Cave of Zazzano, known as the cemetery of the Mafia. Even in ancient times the cave was associated with sinister legends. Now, since 2009, the cave has become infamous for its use by the Gargano Mafia as a 100 meters deep dump to dispose of the bodies of members of rival clans, or of those who opposed them. The identities of some of the bodies found there have never been discovered.
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Italy;Apulia;San Marco in Lamis;2021

Cave of Zazzano, known as the cemetery of the Mafia. Even in ancient times the cave was associated with sinister legends. Now, since 2009, the cave has become infamous for its use by the Gargano Mafia as a 100 meters deep dump to dispose of the bodies of members of rival clans, or of those who opposed them. The identities of some of the bodies found there have never been discovered.
Italy;Apulia;Vieste;2021 Vieste, the tourist capital of Puglia. Forty percent of the people who visit Puglia in the summer, pass by this small town on the Gargano coast. Repeated incidents of the theft have caused many inhabitants to leave the old town district, while the tourist appeal, and its subsequent revenue, exposed entrepreneurs to threats from the Mafia clans of Monte Sant'Angelo. The man in charge, Angelo Notarangelo, was killed in 2015, causing an internal feud between those loyal to him and those looking to become the new boss. The fight left a blood trail of 12 deaths in recent years.
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Italy;Apulia;Vieste;2021

Vieste, the tourist capital of Puglia.
Forty percent of the people who visit Puglia in the summer, pass by this small town on the Gargano coast. Repeated incidents of the theft have caused many inhabitants to leave the old town district, while the tourist appeal, and its subsequent revenue, exposed entrepreneurs to threats from the Mafia clans of Monte Sant'Angelo. The man in charge, Angelo Notarangelo, was killed in 2015, causing an internal feud between those loyal to him and those looking to become the new boss. The fight left a blood trail of 12 deaths in recent years.
Italy;Apulia;Vieste;2021 Portrait of the owner of a beach resort that has been burned down in Vieste, as he assesses the damages. The fire happened during the night and investigations are in progress. Incidents of this kind are typically tied to extortion or threats to entrepreneurs forcing them to hire trusted men of the mafia families in order to guarantee them a salary. Portrait of the owner who is assessing the damages.
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Italy;Apulia;Vieste;2021

Portrait of the owner of a beach resort that has been burned down in Vieste, as he assesses the damages.
The fire happened during the night and investigations are in progress.
Incidents of this kind are typically tied to extortion or threats to entrepreneurs forcing them to hire trusted men of the mafia families in order to guarantee them a salary.
Portrait of the owner who is assessing the damages.
Italy;Apulia;Borgo Mezzanone;2020 Borgo Mezzanone, area of the "Case Gialle". A little more than twenty minutes by car from Foggia, the village is famous for its ghetto which is home to many immigrant workers exploited by corporals in the countryside. On the other hand, entire families unhappy with coexistence instead there are problems of social unease because many of them are not legally recognized that they can live there. In addition to this, many families close to the Società Foggiana occupy the vacant houses knowing that they will not be touched or no one will protest out of fear.
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Italy;Apulia;Borgo Mezzanone;2020

Borgo Mezzanone, area of the "Case Gialle".
A little more than twenty minutes by car from Foggia, the village is famous for its ghetto which is home to many immigrant workers exploited by corporals in the countryside. On the other hand, entire families unhappy with coexistence instead there are problems of social unease because many of them are not legally recognized that they can live there. In addition to this, many families close to the Società Foggiana occupy the vacant houses knowing that they will not be touched or no one will protest out of fear.
Italy;Apulia;Cerignola;2020 “Pietra di Scarto” cooperative in Cerignola: founded to welcome and reintegrate people coming from difficult pasts. Many of its members were linked to criminal activities in Cerignola and after serving their sentences, found the possibility to work legally again.
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Italy;Apulia;Cerignola;2020

“Pietra di Scarto” cooperative in Cerignola: founded to welcome and reintegrate people coming from difficult pasts. Many of its members were linked to criminal activities in Cerignola and after serving their sentences, found the possibility to work legally again.
Italy;Apulia;Foresta Umbra area;2021 "Cacciatori di Puglia” (Puglia hunters) training inside a building in the heart of the Umbra Forest. A special unit capable of operating in complex territories is fundamental in the fight against the Mafia in Gargano. The members of the unit are expert speleologists, specialised in lightning raids, which is why it’s important for them to train continuously.
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Italy;Apulia;Foresta Umbra area;2021

"Cacciatori di Puglia” (Puglia hunters) training inside a building in the heart of the Umbra Forest. A special unit capable of operating in complex territories is fundamental in the fight against the Mafia in Gargano. The members of the unit are expert speleologists, specialised in lightning raids, which is why it’s important for them to train continuously.
Italy;Apulia;San Severo;2020 "High Impact" police operation in San Severo carried out at dawn. The city is one of the main squares of the Fourth Mafia, the families present are linked both to the Foggiana Society and to the Gargano Mafia.
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Italy;Apulia;San Severo;2020

"High Impact" police operation in San Severo carried out at dawn.
The city is one of the main squares of the Fourth Mafia, the families present are linked both to the Foggiana Society and to the Gargano Mafia.
Italy;Apulia;San Marco in Lamis;2020 The land of the Luciani brothers. Both were killed in August 2017 because they were probably witnesses to the Romito murder. These local farmers took care of plantations of tomatoes, courgettes and various cereals. Now the business is carried on by Aurelio's eldest son.
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Italy;Apulia;San Marco in Lamis;2020

The land of the Luciani brothers. Both were killed in August 2017 because they were probably witnesses to the Romito murder. These local farmers took care of plantations of tomatoes, courgettes and various cereals.
Now the business is carried on by Aurelio's eldest son.
Italy; Apulia; Foggia; 2020 Giovanna and Lino Panunzio, the wife and son of Giovanni Panunzio. After the death of Giovanni, they carry on the memory of the entrepreneur through the association "Giovanni Panunzio.” Lino Panunzio settled for a quiet life in order to continue the work of his father, and now makes a living as a warehouseman outside Foggia. He restored the car his father was driving when he was killed in order to feel closer to him.
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Italy; Apulia; Foggia; 2020

Giovanna and Lino Panunzio, the wife and son of Giovanni Panunzio.
After the death of Giovanni, they carry on the memory of the entrepreneur through the association "Giovanni Panunzio.”
Lino Panunzio settled for a quiet life in order to continue the work of his father, and now makes a living as a warehouseman outside Foggia. He restored the car his father was driving when he was killed in order to feel closer to him.
Italy;Apulia;Foggia;2021 Containers demolished by the municipality of Foggia. In this area, some families continue to live in the remaining containers despite the request for eviction. Housing deprivation is aa plague of the city that exposes the people who live there to ask for help from the mafia gangs to find alternative housing in exchange for favors.
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Italy;Apulia;Foggia;2021

Containers demolished by the municipality of Foggia.
In this area, some families continue to live in the remaining containers despite the request for eviction.
Housing deprivation is aa plague of the city that exposes the people who live there to ask for help from the mafia gangs to find alternative housing in exchange for favors.
Italy;Apulia;Foggia;2020 Memorial outside the bar where Francesco Traiano was killed. The bar manager died a month after the robbery. Five minors were arrested after the the investigation into his death.
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Italy;Apulia;Foggia;2020

Memorial outside the bar where Francesco Traiano was killed. The bar manager died a month after the robbery. Five minors were arrested after the the investigation into his death.
Italy;Apulia;San Marco in Lamis;2020 Marianna Luciani at home with her daughter. Her husband Aurelio was killed in 2017 along with his brother. They were unwilling witnesses to a murder in the town of San Marco in Lamis, chased down and slaughtered while on the road. The tragic case shocked the public, pushing the Fourth Mafia to the top of law enforcement’s priorities. The child never met her father, Marianna gave birth 3 months after the death of her husband.
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Italy;Apulia;San Marco in Lamis;2020

Marianna Luciani at home with her daughter.
Her husband Aurelio was killed in 2017 along with his brother. They were unwilling witnesses to a murder in the town of San Marco in Lamis, chased down and slaughtered while on the road. The tragic case shocked the public, pushing the Fourth Mafia to the top of law enforcement’s priorities. The child never met her father, Marianna gave birth 3 months after the death of her husband.
Italy;Apulia;San Severo;2021 Hotel Florio, where Raffaele Cutolo founded the "Società Foggiana” together with other criminals of the area, on January 5th, 1979. At the time, Cutolo was a fugitive, having escaped from the judicial psychiatric hospital of Aversa. His intentions were to find the best men in Puglia to extend his power all the way to Naples, but the Foggiana Society became an autonomous reality in itself that considered collaborations, but not submission with its Neapolitan big sister.
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Italy;Apulia;San Severo;2021

Hotel Florio, where Raffaele Cutolo founded the "Società Foggiana” together with other criminals of the area, on January 5th, 1979.
At the time, Cutolo was a fugitive, having escaped from the judicial psychiatric hospital of Aversa. His intentions were to find the best men in Puglia to extend his power all the way to Naples, but the Foggiana Society became an autonomous reality in itself that considered collaborations, but not submission with its Neapolitan big sister.
Italy;Apulia;Foggia;2021 Children in front of a trash bin on fire. Ten families at the threshold of the city are under eviction and live in housing considered unliveable by the technicians of the municipality. The housing problem has never been solved in Foggia, where several hundreds of people have been living in dangerous conditions for more than 30 years.
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Italy;Apulia;Foggia;2021

Children in front of a trash bin on fire. Ten families at the threshold of the city are under eviction and live in housing considered unliveable by the technicians of the municipality.
The housing problem has never been solved in Foggia, where several hundreds of people have been living in dangerous conditions for more than 30 years.
Italy; Apulia; Foggia; 2021 Foggia, the capital of the province. The city is divided between three major families that in times of rivalry or allegiance, command economically and politically over the population. The municipality, at risk of dissolution due to the Mafia, has recently changed its council.
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Italy; Apulia; Foggia; 2021

Foggia, the capital of the province.
The city is divided between three major families that in times of rivalry or allegiance, command economically and politically over the population. The municipality, at risk of dissolution due to the Mafia, has recently changed its council.
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