Parma, 9 September 2026 – Former President of the Italian Senate Pietro Grasso, former National Anti-Mafia Prosecutor and current President of the Scintille di futuro Foundation, will be at the University of Parma on Friday, 18 September at 3:00 PM in the Aula dei Filosofi for an event centered on the presentation of his latest book, ‘U Maxi. Dentro il processo a Cosa Nostra' (Feltrinelli, 2026).
The event, which is open to all interested participants, is organized by the Department of Law, Political and International Studies. It will open with greetings from Rector Paolo Martelli. Pietro Grasso will be joined in discussion by Persio Tincani, Professor of Philosophy of Law at the University of Parma.
The event will be held in italian.
From the Book Description of ‘U Maxi. Dentro il processo a Cosa Nostra' (Feltrinelli, 2026)
“This book takes readers into Palermo’s bunker courtroom and places them in the front row, where Italy stopped remaining silent. The Maxi Trial was not merely a judicial proceeding: it was a national epic of blood and money, fear and resistance, where legal documents come alive through scenes, faces, and voices.
Pietro Grasso, one of its key protagonists, reconstructs with clarity and absolute rigor the intricate network linking the Mafia war to international heroin trafficking routes, rural Sicily to alliances with New York, the bank counters of Lugano to Palermo’s construction industry.
The narrative follows the rhythm of the trial itself: the arrival of victims’ families, testimonies interrupted by silence, and the wounded dignity of those seeking nothing more than justice. We encounter investigators who paid with their lives, such as Boris Giuliano and Emanuele Basile, as well as leading magistrates including Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino. We hear the voices of widows and the courage of women who joined the proceedings as civil parties. Facing them in the defendant cages are the other face of the country: the Corleonesi clan, major drug traffickers, former Mafia members turned state witnesses Tommaso Buscetta and Salvatore Contorno, respected figures from elite circles, and threats uttered with microphones left on.”
