The Italian State Police hosted the Lecce-based theater company “Tènemos Recinti Teatrali” in Rome to pay tribute to and remember the figure of Joe Petrosino, the Italian-American police officer killed by the mafia. The play, performed, conceived, and written by Dr. Maria Francesca Mariano, tells the story of the police officer who was tragically killed.

The theatrical performance aims to promote a culture of legality and offer ethical reflections on the topic. Among those present was Nino Melito Petrosino, the great-grandnephew of the slain officer.

Joe Petrosino was an Italian-American man who fulfilled his dream of becoming a police officer. After emigrating with his family from Padula, in the province of Salerno, to the United States in 1873, he began working as a shoeshiner on the street in front of the New York Police Department. He started gathering information on mafia activities in Little Italy and collaborating with the police officers. It was his sense of justice and pride in his Italian heritage that led him to fight against the "mafioso" stereotype associated with the Italian community and those who perpetuated it. Thanks to his determination and skills, he was able to wear the uniform, thwarting a Black Hand ambush aimed at the New York Police Commissioner. Joe made his way up, forming a friendship and mutual respect with the then Police Commissioner, Theodore Roosevelt, who later became the President of the United States in 1901. His career quickly rose, earning him a promotion to the rank of Lieutenant. To further investigate the Black Hand, he pursued a lead in Sicily. Unfortunately, his work was interrupted when he was shot and killed by mafia gunfire at the age of 49 in Palermo on March 12, 1909.

Today, his memory lives on through the sense of justice that fuels the work of the men and women of the Italian State Police.