The Casal di Principe residence of boss Walter Schiavone, identical to the one in Scarface, is set to become a symbol of seizure and reuse for social purposes.
Twenty-three years after the first preventive seizure and the subsequent bureaucratic process for its recovery for social purposes, the villa of former Casalesi boss Walter Schiavone is becoming a public asset available to the community: the luxurious Hollywood-style residence in Casal di Principe (built in the image and likeness of Al Pacino's villa in Scarface) has been transformed into a Rehabilitation centre for mental health, funded entirely by the Campania Region, and is expected to open within two months. The aim is to make the villa not only a public asset, but also a symbol of the fight against the Camorra through the confiscation of property assets and the social and public reuse of assets seized from the mafias.
The completion of the works was celebrated with a proper party, which also saw the inauguration of the photographic exhibition "C'era una volta… Hollywood" by Mario Spada, the photographer who also followed the filming of Gomorra. Some scenes from Matteo Garrone's film, based on Roberto Saviano's book, were in fact shot inside Schiavone's villa. The recovery and enhancement of the villa confiscated from the Camorra were entrusted by the municipality of Casal di Principe, in 2003, to Agrorinasce, the Agency for innovation, development and territorial security of Campania: work began in 2007, supported by a fund of one and a half million euros made available by the Campania Region.
Casal di Principe will from today be able to redeem its name, tarnished by the presence of the Camorra, as Mayor Renato Natale explained: "We are returning to the territory and community of Casal di Principe a new asset freed from the Camorra. We will work to ensure that this centre, which will be managed by the Asl Caserta, becomes an increasingly excellent centre for mental health rehabilitation." Vincenzo De Luca attended the celebration marking the end of the works in his capacity as president of the Campania Region: "This is an important turning point," he said, "even at a symbolic level, both for Campania and for Italy as a whole: because it redeems the image of a territory that until a few years ago was known only for the presence of the Camorra and waste. It is a victory for the State but also for the citizens of Casal di Principe, whom all Italians should thank." Casal di Principe shows that times have, perhaps, changed.