In 2008 the award-winning film Gomorrah stormed the big screen, exposing the day-to-day realities of the Camorra – a branch of the Italian Mafia that operates in and around the cities of Naples and Caserta in the Italian region of Campania.
Directed by Matteo Garrone, the film was based on Roberto Saviano’s book which exposed the territory and business connections of this merciless organisation. Since the book’s publication, Saviano has received several death threats from “GodFather” style Camorra exponents and as such has now been forced to flee his native Italy for his own safety.
As the film’s first anniversary fast approaches, here are five facts about the Camorra that you might not know:
1. The Naples rubbish crisis, which saw its peak in January 2008, has proven how deep-rooted the Camorra’s influence is within local government. Making millions of euros from the transport and illegal dumping of waste, the Camorra has also been accused of sabotaging plans for new incinerators.
According to Italy’s National Research Council, the Camorra-controlled waste disposal has poisoned the environment in such a way that people living in some parts of the Campania region are three times more likely to get liver cancer than those living elsewhere in the region.
2. Majority of companies that pitch for public works contracts are financed by the Camorra, guaranteeing themselves a substantial income flow and the reputation of an enterprise that creates jobs for the area.
3. In order to launder monies, the Camorra builds exuberant shopping centres within the Campania region, despite there being a lack of consumer demand.
4. Members of the Camorra often have strategic relationships with political figures showing them their support with votes in return for help and favours.
5. For over twenty years the Government has tried to widen the motorway running between Salerno in Campania and Reggio Calabria, a town in the toe of the Italian heel, but given the Camorra’s monopoly over the area and the local construction companies, this has yet to happen.
Directed by Matteo Garrone, the film was based on Roberto Saviano’s book which exposed the territory and business connections of this merciless organisation. Since the book’s publication, Saviano has received several death threats from “GodFather” style Camorra exponents and as such has now been forced to flee his native Italy for his own safety.
As the film’s first anniversary fast approaches, here are five facts about the Camorra that you might not know:
1. The Naples rubbish crisis, which saw its peak in January 2008, has proven how deep-rooted the Camorra’s influence is within local government. Making millions of euros from the transport and illegal dumping of waste, the Camorra has also been accused of sabotaging plans for new incinerators.
According to Italy’s National Research Council, the Camorra-controlled waste disposal has poisoned the environment in such a way that people living in some parts of the Campania region are three times more likely to get liver cancer than those living elsewhere in the region.
2. Majority of companies that pitch for public works contracts are financed by the Camorra, guaranteeing themselves a substantial income flow and the reputation of an enterprise that creates jobs for the area.
3. In order to launder monies, the Camorra builds exuberant shopping centres within the Campania region, despite there being a lack of consumer demand.
4. Members of the Camorra often have strategic relationships with political figures showing them their support with votes in return for help and favours.
5. For over twenty years the Government has tried to widen the motorway running between Salerno in Campania and Reggio Calabria, a town in the toe of the Italian heel, but given the Camorra’s monopoly over the area and the local construction companies, this has yet to happen.
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