Aversa rewards the Sardinian general who challenged the Casalesi: "That night we conquered fear"

A barrage of shots in the middle of the night, a bullet in the shoulder, the car riddled in front of the cemetery. And he, instead of giving in to panic, led his men, returned fire and then had himself taken to the hospital, even indicating what to do.

It is nights like this that measure the value of a commander and now, thirty years later, Aversa does not forget and returns that honor with honorary citizenship to Mariano Angioni, from Quartu , now a retired division general, then a young captain of the Carabinieri in command of the city Company.

It is the way a city says “thank you” to those who, between 1987 and 1992, risked their lives to protect it, responding to enemy fire with firmness and a spirit of service . A commander who, even before his rank, was proud of the respect of his men and of an entire territory - among the most difficult in Italy - when the Camorra “ruled” and the Casalesi clan was at the height of its power.

"In those years," he says, "organized crime was a suffocating presence. If I receive this recognition today, it is only thanks to my carabinieri, their sacrifices and the support of the judiciary. We lived frenetic years, made of arrests, investigations, traps and sleepless nights often far from our families."

The name of the Sardinian general is linked to one of the most important pages in the fight against the Camorra: the Santa Lucia blitz, on the night of December 12, 1990. A secret summit between the big names of the clan had been discovered thanks to confidential information. Angioni had gathered the available men in the barracks and led the action in person. "There were few of us, it was late, but we knew that this could be a good opportunity. There was a firefight, one of my collaborators was hit on the bulletproof vest, but we managed to get in and make them surrender."

Six of the clan's leaders ended up in handcuffs : Francesco Schiavone di Nicola, known as "Sandokan", Francesco Bidognetti, known as "Cicciott'e mezzanotte", Salvatore Cantiello, known as "O' Carusiello", Raffaele Diana, known as "Rafilotto", Francesco Schiavone di Luigi, alias "Cicciariello" and Giuseppe Russo, alias "Peppe o' padrino". Among those arrested was also the deputy mayor of Casal di Principe, Gaetano Corvino, who had made his home available for the summit.

But Angioni has faced more than one raid . He foiled a car bomb attack on the Aversa barracks in 1989, resisted the popular attack on the Carabinieri station in San Cipriano the same year, "attacked by the crowd following the arrest of the nephew of a local boss," and, in 1987, he countered the explosion at the Casal di Principe station. "Sometimes we arrived with arrest warrants and found nothing: they already knew we were coming. But our strength was (and is) the network of garrisons on the territory: small barracks that guarantee control and information."

Born and raised in Quartucciu, Angioni enlisted at 14 at the Nunziatella, then moved on to the Modena Academy and the Officers' School in Rome : "Against my mother's will, I was an only child," he admits with a smile. He lived a "street" career, as he himself defines it.

First in Umbria, where he also contributed to the solution of the Bulgari-Calissoni kidnapping and the arrest of those responsible, recovering part of the ransom . Then Campania, Tuscany, and finally his return to teaching, today as a university professor in Umbria.

"I return to Sardinia only two or three times a year, but I remain very attached to my land: that is my homeland." But Aversa was something special for him . "The greatest satisfaction? Seeing that today that territory has changed skin. Back then it was all under the Compagnia di Aversa, an enormous responsibility. But also a great honor."