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destined for men and not rabbits. The family of one of my close friends had a villa in a remote property. The door of this villa was protected by a thick sheet metal and by a slot above it through which someone in the second floor could have put a shotgun and shoot anyone attempting to break in. In addition, at least a room facing each side of the house had thin slits from which one could shoot. I always wondered what was the reason behind all this, but I was repeatedly told that any personal affront or wrong had to be cleaned with blood. Except in the few instances of seduction I never fully understood what these affronts were. Maybe I was too young. During my stay in Corleone some thirty murders took place. Among these there was even the murder of a police captain who was the father of another friend of mine. There were never witnesses. At night sometimes one could even see men standing in a corner, wearing the long hooded shepherd cloak (the tabarru), probably to hide a shotgun and waiting to accomplish a vendetta. If you were walking in the streets and saw such figures you slowly walked across to the other side of the street and quickly asked yourself if you had been a good boy. During the night occasionally shotgun blasts could be heard and invariably someone was found dead in the morning. Corleone, much larger than Fallo, offered some activities for young people. There was a very active Catholic Club where we could go to |  |
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meet, play games and talk. There was also a sort of drama club that gave some dramatic performance in a church hall during the year. In Corleone many families had reunions at which local musicians played. These musical groups included guitar, mandolin, banjos, accordion, clarinets, and saxophones. The popular dances at these get together were the mazurka, the waltz, the fox trot, the tango and the evenings always finished with a square dance (the quadriglia). This was the first opportunity I had ever had to dance. Dances also gave the boys the "legitimate" opportunity to dance and talk with girls who usually never interacted with boys (except in school) in daily life. Boys easily develop friendship and a sense of camaraderie. In Corleone friendship developed loyal bonds. Here I had quite a few good friends with whom I studied and played. I was "adopted", I soon learned their dialect, but I was not a Sicilian. A "continental" Italian in Sicily can easily be recognized by the way he pronounces the "c" and the "d" when he speaks Sicilian. I was able to be their friend and enjoy their loyalty without ever becoming involved in their family feuds. While in Corleone my uncle Giovanni Mariano had returned as war prisoners were being released by the allies and repatriated. He was a wonderful man with great understanding and a very pleasant personality. During the years we lived together in Corleone he played well the role of a father for me. I completed the third and fourth year of the "Ginnasio" in Corleone from |
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