Matteo Messina Denaro's Final Journey: From Birthplace to Resting Place

From Castelvetrano, where he was born and raised, and later became a boss of Cosa Nostra, to Castelvetrano, where he returned for the last time to be interred in the family chapel erected by his father Francesco Messina Denaro. Thus, yesterday morning marked the end of Matteo Messina Denaro's final journey, as he passed away on Monday, September 25th, at the San Salvatore Hospital in L'Aquila.

Photographers, journalists, and TV crews were positioned behind a barrier, a few steps from the cemetery entrance, kept at a distance by law enforcement officers who guarded the cemetery entrance. And so, in front of a small group of family members, the curtain fell on the life of the last great fugitive of Cosa Nostra.

At 8:11 in the morning, the hearse escorted by the police arrived, followed by three family cars. A peripheral route was chosen, thus excluding the procession from passing through the center. The funeral agency's vehicle traveled on the A29 Palermo-Mazara del Vallo highway and exited at the Campobello di Mazara junction, not the one in Castelvetrano, precisely to prevent the procession from reaching the center.

Awaiting the hearse of the Castelvetrano boss was the entire Messina Denaro family, gathered except for the elderly mother Lorenza Santangelo and sisters Rosalia and Patrizia, who are incarcerated. With one hand resting on the hearse's rear window and the other holding a bouquet of yellow roses, Salvatore Messina Denaro, a former banker, bid farewell to his brother. In the years of his fugitive status, he had become Matteo's alter ego, managing the affairs of the mafia family and consequently being sentenced for it. However, welcoming the boss's body were also his two sisters, Bice and Giovanna.

Before the brother, the sisters Giovanna and Bice had arrived at the cemetery. The first is the widow of Rosario Allegra, who died in 2019 while detained under strict prison conditions. Bice, on the other hand, is the wife of Gaspare Como, who is also incarcerated. Alongside the boss's two sisters, there were also his children Francesco Allegra and Stella Como.

Among the relatives was also the brother-in-law Vincenzo Panicola, the husband of Patrizia Messina Denaro, who was released from prison after serving his sentence. However, his wife still has two years left to serve. Alongside his brother-in-law were also his sons Vito and Francesco. On the other hand, the niece Lorenza Guttadauro, a lawyer and daughter of the Palermo boss Filippo Guttadauro, and Rosalia Messina Denaro, the sister detained after the boss's arrest on January 16, arrived in a car following the hearse. In a blue SUV, the daughter Lorenza, who only took her father's surname at the end of August and had been with him in his final days, covered her face with a bag upon exiting the cemetery after nearly an hour of interment.

Matteo Messina Denaro was laid to rest in the family chapel, which bears a large plaque at the top of the facade with the inscription "Family of Francesco Messina Denaro". Among the other chapels, it stands out the most, sealed by an iron door adorned with floral motifs and glass, with an image of Jesus in the upper part. It is adorned with a plant on the right and a marble statue of Venus, which until a few weeks ago was located inside.