Lorenzo Panepinto

Lorenzo Panepinto (; January 4, 1865 – May 16, 1911) was an Italian politician and teacher. He was the founder of the Fascio dei lavoratori (Workers League) in his hometown Santo Stefano Quisquina, editor of the newspaper La Plebe and member of the Comitato della Federazione Regionale Socialista. He was killed by the Sicilian Mafia.

Early years Born in Santo Stefano Quisquina in the Province of Agrigento, he became a primary school teacher and an artist. His great passion was painting and the other was politics. In 1889 he was elected city councilor in the democratic-republican group inspired by Giuseppe Mazzini, challenging the traditional powers.

In the United States

In 1907 he traveled to the United States. They had left their country, but not their radical ideas. They fitted in seamlessly with the labour culture of workers from Spanish and Cuban origin in the struggle for better labour conditions.

But they also financially supported the setting up of the agricultural cooperative Unione agricola in their original hometown San Stefano Quisquina in 1902. They invited Panepinto for a trip that would last eight months.

Death On May 16, 1911, he was assassinated in Santo Stefano Quisquina, just before the entrance of his house, with two gunshots in the chest. At the funeral, over 4,000 people followed the open coffin in procession. His killers were identified among the gabelloti with links to the Mafia, but the material killer was released by the Court of Catania in April 1914. No one has ever been convicted for the crime.

In Tampa the most popular socialist group of the city adopted his name after Panepinto's assassination. The group pledged a yearly stipend of 1,200 lire to the socialist section in their former hometown for work among the peasantry

In October 1920, the socialists of Santo Stefano Quisquina managed to conquer the city hall again, electing as mayor Giuseppe Cammarata, Panepinto's friend and collaborator, who continued the battle.