Placido Rizzotto

Who was Placido Rizzotto?

Placido Rizzotto was an Italian socialist peasant and trade union leader from Corleone, who was assassinated by Sicilian Mafia boss Luciano Leggio. Pieces of Rizzotto's mutilated body were discovered two years later at the bottom of a cliff with his limbs chained up, and a bullet hole in his head. When he was killed, Rizzotto was doing activist work with farm laborers, trying to help them take over unfarmed land on large estates in the area.

On May 24, 2012, nearly 65 years after his death, his remains were reburied in Sicily with state honors. The Italian government recognized in this way his achievement in standing up against the Italian mafia.