Nicholas Whithorn
@nickwhithorn.bsky.social
Legal Translator and University Lecturer based in Messina. Sicily, mafia, Italian justice system.
Mafia Chronicles: nicholaswhithorn.substack.com
Mafia Chronicles: nicholaswhithorn.substack.com
Reposted by Nicholas Whithorn
46 years since the murder of Piersanti Mattarella on 6th January 1980 (see linked thread) and still nobody has been held responsible. Recent revelations of neo-fascist co-operation with Cosa Nostra may provide stimulus to reopen this line of inquiry but experience teaches us to remain skeptical.
Piersanti Mattarella is one of those rare beasts in Sicily, an honest and principled Christian Democrat politician, at a time when his party in the region is dominated by figures such as Salvo Lima, Andreotti's man in Sicily, and Vito Ciancimino, Mayor of Palermo, colluding with the mafia >> 2
January 6, 2026 at 2:37 PM
46 years since the murder of Piersanti Mattarella on 6th January 1980 (see linked thread) and still nobody has been held responsible. Recent revelations of neo-fascist co-operation with Cosa Nostra may provide stimulus to reopen this line of inquiry but experience teaches us to remain skeptical.
46 years since the murder of Piersanti Mattarella on 6th January 1980 (see linked thread) and still nobody has been held responsible. Recent revelations of neo-fascist co-operation with Cosa Nostra may provide stimulus to reopen this line of inquiry but experience teaches us to remain skeptical.
Piersanti Mattarella is one of those rare beasts in Sicily, an honest and principled Christian Democrat politician, at a time when his party in the region is dominated by figures such as Salvo Lima, Andreotti's man in Sicily, and Vito Ciancimino, Mayor of Palermo, colluding with the mafia >> 2
January 6, 2026 at 2:37 PM
46 years since the murder of Piersanti Mattarella on 6th January 1980 (see linked thread) and still nobody has been held responsible. Recent revelations of neo-fascist co-operation with Cosa Nostra may provide stimulus to reopen this line of inquiry but experience teaches us to remain skeptical.
Total silence from Meloni on Trump's threats to Greenland. After all the help Frederiksen has given her on immigration issues this year you'd think Meloni would offer at least timid support.
January 6, 2026 at 9:41 AM
Total silence from Meloni on Trump's threats to Greenland. After all the help Frederiksen has given her on immigration issues this year you'd think Meloni would offer at least timid support.
5th January 1948, antimafia activist Peppino Impastato is born in Cinisi, in the Province of Palermo. He is killed by Cosa Nostra on the same day that the Red Brigades murder former Italian PM Aldo Moro in 1978 [Thread] >> 1
January 5, 2026 at 9:48 PM
5th January 1948, antimafia activist Peppino Impastato is born in Cinisi, in the Province of Palermo. He is killed by Cosa Nostra on the same day that the Red Brigades murder former Italian PM Aldo Moro in 1978 [Thread] >> 1
Reposted by Nicholas Whithorn
Last night's edition of "Report" on Rai3 was so depressing, highlighting how investigations into the Capaci & via D'Amelio bombings have systematically avoided looking at evidence of involvement of neo-fascist groups. Seeing interviews with now aged protagonists reminds us we're running out of time.
ReportRai3 on Instagram: "🔴 Esclusivo: Lo Cicero racconta i sopralluoghi di Stefano delle Chiaie sui luoghi della strage di Capaci
Anni dopo la strage di Capaci, la nota informativa del capitano Cava...
2,191 likes, 33 comments - reportrai3 on January 4, 2026: "🔴 Esclusivo: Lo Cicero racconta i sopralluoghi di Stefano delle Chiaie sui luoghi della strage di Capaci
Anni dopo la strage di Capaci, la n...
www.instagram.com
January 5, 2026 at 3:21 PM
Last night's edition of "Report" on Rai3 was so depressing, highlighting how investigations into the Capaci & via D'Amelio bombings have systematically avoided looking at evidence of involvement of neo-fascist groups. Seeing interviews with now aged protagonists reminds us we're running out of time.
Last night's edition of "Report" on Rai3 was so depressing, highlighting how investigations into the Capaci & via D'Amelio bombings have systematically avoided looking at evidence of involvement of neo-fascist groups. Seeing interviews with now aged protagonists reminds us we're running out of time.
ReportRai3 on Instagram: "🔴 Esclusivo: Lo Cicero racconta i sopralluoghi di Stefano delle Chiaie sui luoghi della strage di Capaci
Anni dopo la strage di Capaci, la nota informativa del capitano Cava...
2,191 likes, 33 comments - reportrai3 on January 4, 2026: "🔴 Esclusivo: Lo Cicero racconta i sopralluoghi di Stefano delle Chiaie sui luoghi della strage di Capaci
Anni dopo la strage di Capaci, la n...
www.instagram.com
January 5, 2026 at 3:21 PM
Last night's edition of "Report" on Rai3 was so depressing, highlighting how investigations into the Capaci & via D'Amelio bombings have systematically avoided looking at evidence of involvement of neo-fascist groups. Seeing interviews with now aged protagonists reminds us we're running out of time.
Yesterday Meloni rushed to describe US intervention in Venezuela as "legitimate". In a reversal of their usual roles, Salvini is the cautious one talking about diplomacy as the "highroad for solving international disputes" and "peoples' right to decide their own future.
January 4, 2026 at 7:18 PM
Yesterday Meloni rushed to describe US intervention in Venezuela as "legitimate". In a reversal of their usual roles, Salvini is the cautious one talking about diplomacy as the "highroad for solving international disputes" and "peoples' right to decide their own future.
Reposted by Nicholas Whithorn
I suspect Meloni will come to regret rushing in to support Trump's actions like this. She's usually much more cautious.
Meloni supports Trump:
"The Italian government does not consider military action to be the way to end totalitarian régimes but ... considers defensive interventions against hybrid attacks on security to be legitimate, such as in the case of state entities that supply & facilitate drug trafficking."
"The Italian government does not consider military action to be the way to end totalitarian régimes but ... considers defensive interventions against hybrid attacks on security to be legitimate, such as in the case of state entities that supply & facilitate drug trafficking."
Sviluppi sulla situazione in Venezuela, nota di Palazzo Chigi
Il Presidente del Consiglio, Giorgia Meloni, ha seguito gli sviluppi in Venezuela fin dalle loro primissime evoluzioni. L’Italia ha sempre sostenuto l’aspirazione del popolo venezuelano a una transizi...
www.governo.it
January 3, 2026 at 6:17 PM
I suspect Meloni will come to regret rushing in to support Trump's actions like this. She's usually much more cautious.
They're just making it up as they go along.
Gallego on Fox: "The president was very clear he wants to occupy VZ, he wants to take the oil. Nothing in what they've said so far in justification is the reason why they went to get Maduro. But going forward, he doesn't have the approval of the Congress or American public for an occupation of VZ"
January 3, 2026 at 6:56 PM
They're just making it up as they go along.
I suspect Meloni will come to regret rushing in to support Trump's actions like this. She's usually much more cautious.
Meloni supports Trump:
"The Italian government does not consider military action to be the way to end totalitarian régimes but ... considers defensive interventions against hybrid attacks on security to be legitimate, such as in the case of state entities that supply & facilitate drug trafficking."
"The Italian government does not consider military action to be the way to end totalitarian régimes but ... considers defensive interventions against hybrid attacks on security to be legitimate, such as in the case of state entities that supply & facilitate drug trafficking."
Sviluppi sulla situazione in Venezuela, nota di Palazzo Chigi
Il Presidente del Consiglio, Giorgia Meloni, ha seguito gli sviluppi in Venezuela fin dalle loro primissime evoluzioni. L’Italia ha sempre sostenuto l’aspirazione del popolo venezuelano a una transizi...
www.governo.it
January 3, 2026 at 6:17 PM
I suspect Meloni will come to regret rushing in to support Trump's actions like this. She's usually much more cautious.
Washing his hands of that. Now Venezuela is his new toy.
Trump on Russia-Ukraine: "They both have done some pretty bad things. Look, that's Biden's war. That's not my war."
January 3, 2026 at 6:12 PM
Washing his hands of that. Now Venezuela is his new toy.
Reposted by Nicholas Whithorn
Meloni supports Trump:
"The Italian government does not consider military action to be the way to end totalitarian régimes but ... considers defensive interventions against hybrid attacks on security to be legitimate, such as in the case of state entities that supply & facilitate drug trafficking."
"The Italian government does not consider military action to be the way to end totalitarian régimes but ... considers defensive interventions against hybrid attacks on security to be legitimate, such as in the case of state entities that supply & facilitate drug trafficking."
Sviluppi sulla situazione in Venezuela, nota di Palazzo Chigi
Il Presidente del Consiglio, Giorgia Meloni, ha seguito gli sviluppi in Venezuela fin dalle loro primissime evoluzioni. L’Italia ha sempre sostenuto l’aspirazione del popolo venezuelano a una transizi...
www.governo.it
January 3, 2026 at 4:08 PM
Meloni supports Trump:
"The Italian government does not consider military action to be the way to end totalitarian régimes but ... considers defensive interventions against hybrid attacks on security to be legitimate, such as in the case of state entities that supply & facilitate drug trafficking."
"The Italian government does not consider military action to be the way to end totalitarian régimes but ... considers defensive interventions against hybrid attacks on security to be legitimate, such as in the case of state entities that supply & facilitate drug trafficking."
Meloni supports Trump:
"The Italian government does not consider military action to be the way to end totalitarian régimes but ... considers defensive interventions against hybrid attacks on security to be legitimate, such as in the case of state entities that supply & facilitate drug trafficking."
"The Italian government does not consider military action to be the way to end totalitarian régimes but ... considers defensive interventions against hybrid attacks on security to be legitimate, such as in the case of state entities that supply & facilitate drug trafficking."
Sviluppi sulla situazione in Venezuela, nota di Palazzo Chigi
Il Presidente del Consiglio, Giorgia Meloni, ha seguito gli sviluppi in Venezuela fin dalle loro primissime evoluzioni. L’Italia ha sempre sostenuto l’aspirazione del popolo venezuelano a una transizi...
www.governo.it
January 3, 2026 at 4:08 PM
Meloni supports Trump:
"The Italian government does not consider military action to be the way to end totalitarian régimes but ... considers defensive interventions against hybrid attacks on security to be legitimate, such as in the case of state entities that supply & facilitate drug trafficking."
"The Italian government does not consider military action to be the way to end totalitarian régimes but ... considers defensive interventions against hybrid attacks on security to be legitimate, such as in the case of state entities that supply & facilitate drug trafficking."
Reposted by Nicholas Whithorn
You know who would have stayed on X?
The Weimar Republic.
The Weimar Republic.
January 2, 2026 at 3:26 PM
You know who would have stayed on X?
The Weimar Republic.
The Weimar Republic.
Reposted by Nicholas Whithorn
2. Russia isn’t a great power, so stop thinking of it as one.
January 1, 2026 at 4:55 PM
2. Russia isn’t a great power, so stop thinking of it as one.
Reposted by Nicholas Whithorn
Bulgaria, welcome to the Euro! 🇪🇺🇧🇬
Добре дошла в еврото, България! 🇪🇺🇧🇬
Добре дошла в еврото, България! 🇪🇺🇧🇬
December 31, 2025 at 11:29 PM
Bulgaria, welcome to the Euro! 🇪🇺🇧🇬
Добре дошла в еврото, България! 🇪🇺🇧🇬
Добре дошла в еврото, България! 🇪🇺🇧🇬
In his traditional New Year's Eve address to the nation, President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella describes those who refuse peace because they feel stronger as "abhorrent" and says that "our democracy is strong enough to overcome any obstacle."
Messaggio di fine anno del Presidente della Repubblica Sergio Mattarella
Messaggio di fine anno del Presidente della Repubblica Sergio Mattarella
www.quirinale.it
December 31, 2025 at 10:27 PM
In his traditional New Year's Eve address to the nation, President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella describes those who refuse peace because they feel stronger as "abhorrent" and says that "our democracy is strong enough to overcome any obstacle."
Reposted by Nicholas Whithorn
Watch Soulemane Kone from Ivory Coast score his first ever try for "Briganti Librino" under-18s rugby team in Catania. When he arrived in Sicily on a migrant boat two years ago, alone aged just 15, he didn't even know what rugby was.
Dalla Costa d'Avorio a Librino: la storia di Soule, in meta verso la libertà
YouTube video by La Sicilia
m.youtube.com
December 31, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Watch Soulemane Kone from Ivory Coast score his first ever try for "Briganti Librino" under-18s rugby team in Catania. When he arrived in Sicily on a migrant boat two years ago, alone aged just 15, he didn't even know what rugby was.
Watch Soulemane Kone from Ivory Coast score his first ever try for "Briganti Librino" under-18s rugby team in Catania. When he arrived in Sicily on a migrant boat two years ago, alone aged just 15, he didn't even know what rugby was.
Dalla Costa d'Avorio a Librino: la storia di Soule, in meta verso la libertà
YouTube video by La Sicilia
m.youtube.com
December 31, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Watch Soulemane Kone from Ivory Coast score his first ever try for "Briganti Librino" under-18s rugby team in Catania. When he arrived in Sicily on a migrant boat two years ago, alone aged just 15, he didn't even know what rugby was.
The Italian Council of Ministers approves new support package for Ukraine. Deputy PM Salvini skips the meeting.
December 30, 2025 at 9:26 PM
The Italian Council of Ministers approves new support package for Ukraine. Deputy PM Salvini skips the meeting.
Variant of Umberto Eco's Eternal Facsism characteristic n° 8, "the enemy is at the same time too strong and too weak."
putin’s notion that we are a great powerful civilization but also we are constantly helplessly victimized by the west -- it’s the same combination of entitlement plus victimhood that you find in the US far-right. No wonder they like him
December 30, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Variant of Umberto Eco's Eternal Facsism characteristic n° 8, "the enemy is at the same time too strong and too weak."
So it's more dictator's bunker than Presidential ballroom.
Trump on the ballroom: "It's bigger than I told you. It's, you know -- after realizing we're gonna do the inauguration in that building, it's got all bulletproof glass, it's got all drone, they call it drone-free roof. It's dronessss -- won't touch it. It's a big beautiful safe building."
December 30, 2025 at 9:07 AM
So it's more dictator's bunker than Presidential ballroom.
Reposted by Nicholas Whithorn
The President of the United States appears to be getting regular IV infusions, the public doesn’t know anything about it, & the DC media evidently doesn’t care.
We are months into the mystery of Trump’s hands, the White House is lying, & I’ve seen a grand total of one serious news story about it.
We are months into the mystery of Trump’s hands, the White House is lying, & I’ve seen a grand total of one serious news story about it.
Trump looked pretty rough today -- note that both of his hands are discolored
(Joe Raedle/Getty)
(Joe Raedle/Getty)
December 29, 2025 at 1:40 AM
The President of the United States appears to be getting regular IV infusions, the public doesn’t know anything about it, & the DC media evidently doesn’t care.
We are months into the mystery of Trump’s hands, the White House is lying, & I’ve seen a grand total of one serious news story about it.
We are months into the mystery of Trump’s hands, the White House is lying, & I’ve seen a grand total of one serious news story about it.
Reposted by Nicholas Whithorn
At dawn on 28 December 1943, the 7 Cervi brothers, Gelindo (42), Antenore (37), Aldo (34), Ferdinando (32), Agostino (27), Ovidio (25) & Ettore (22), are executed by an Italian fascist firing squad in Reggio Emilia for their partisan activities [Thread] >> 1
December 27, 2024 at 6:47 PM
At dawn on 28 December 1943, the 7 Cervi brothers, Gelindo (42), Antenore (37), Aldo (34), Ferdinando (32), Agostino (27), Ovidio (25) & Ettore (22), are executed by an Italian fascist firing squad in Reggio Emilia for their partisan activities [Thread] >> 1
Reposted by Nicholas Whithorn
5.20 a.m. on Monday 28 December 1908, the prosperous Sicilian port city of Messina is mostly asleep. The evening before saw the inauguration of the city's new public lighting system and a Christmas performance of Verdi's opera "Aida" at the Vittorio Emanuele Theatre [Thread] >> 1
December 28, 2024 at 3:12 PM
5.20 a.m. on Monday 28 December 1908, the prosperous Sicilian port city of Messina is mostly asleep. The evening before saw the inauguration of the city's new public lighting system and a Christmas performance of Verdi's opera "Aida" at the Vittorio Emanuele Theatre [Thread] >> 1