It was 5:56 pm in the afternoon when the terror attack took place. A bomb placed by the Sicilian Mafia (Cosa Nostra) caused an explosion that ripped through a stretch of motorway near the town of Capaci.
According to an IPSOS poll released on the 30th anniversary of his death, Falcone is considered by two-thirds of Italians to be a national hero and someone who dedicated his life to fighting the Mafia in both Sicily and Italy.
About 58 per cent of the people surveyed replied that they believed Falcone knew that the Cosa Nostra was planning to kill him.
Another interesting fact found by this poll is that 71 per cent believed that he was left to fight the Mafia on his own.
Around 42 per cent of people said they think that the entire truth of the matter has yet to be revealed to the public.
Falcone’s colleague and friend, Paolo Borsellino, was brutally killed two months later by another bomb placed by the Cosa Nostra.
In Italy, these two people are widely known and respected because they lifted the veil on the Mafia phenomenon, which forced Italian institutions and citizens alike to participate in organised crime.
As Falcone once said: “The Mafia is by no means invincible; it’s a human fact and like all human facts it has a beginning and will also have an end”.
Every year on May 23, various events are held to commemorate the death of the 53-year-old magistrate Falcone in the Capaci massacre.
