Nicola Barbato

He was one of the national leaders of the Fasci Siciliani dei Lavoratori (Sicilian Leagues) a popular movement of democratic and socialist inspiration in 1891–1894, and perhaps might have been the ablest among them according to the Marxist historian Eric Hobsbawm.His work on the psychology of paranoia in the journal of the mental hospital of Palermo in 1890, was judged positively by Cesare Lombroso and Enrico Morselli.[2] Although descendant from Arbëreshë,[3] he rejected the Albanian cause, which "was favoured by the moderates and clerics",[4] who actively sought to discourage churchgoers from joining the Fasci Siciliani.[5] Barbato was the classic country doctor who, by treating poor patients free of charge, had earned admiration and recognition, as well as unlimited trust.[1][2][6] Barbato was the animator of the Fascio and, according to contemporary witnesses, he "became the real boss (il vero padrone) of the district", challenging the traditional land-owning elite.[7] Other leaders included Rosario Garibaldi Bosco in Palermo, Giuseppe De Felice Giuffrida in Catania, and Bernardino Verro in Corleone.Famous are his Labour Day speeches on May 1 at Portella della Ginestra, where he used to speak to the crowd from a big rock that was later called the "stone of Barbato."[1][8] The Pianese fascio was "among the most dangerous because of its propagandistic activity, its revolutionary proposals and the influence it exerts over the other fasci," according to Giuseppe Sensales, Prime Minister Giovanni Giolitti’s Director of Public Security.Having obtained bail in June, on November 16, 1893, the court of Palermo inflicted a suspended sentence of six months' imprisonment and a heavy fine for the first offense, but was acquitted for the second one.[15] In 1903, he came into conflict with the central organs of the Socialist Party, controlled by the intransigent current of Enrico Ferri, who spoke out against participation in bourgeois governments.
The leaders of the Fasci Siciliani in the courtroom cage at the trial in April 1894
Member of Chamber of DeputiesCoratoCesenaPiana dei GreciKingdom of the Two SiciliesItalian Socialist PartyFasci SicilianiSicilianFasci Siciliani dei LavoratoridemocraticsocialistMarxistEric HobsbawmPiana degli AlbanesiUniversity of PalermopositivistpsychiatryCesare LombrosoEnrico MorselliNapoleone ColajanniArbëreshëFasci dei lavoratoriRosario Garibaldi BoscoPalermoGiuseppe De Felice GiuffridaCataniaBernardino VerroCorleoneLabour DaySan Giuseppe JatoSan CipirellomassacreSalvatore GiulianoGiovanni GiolittiFrancesco CrispiGaribaldi1895 general electionsFilippo TuratiItalian Chamber of DeputiesTurkish-Greek warGiuseppe GaribaldiRicciotti GaribaldiAmilcare Ciprianielected to Parliament in 1900Enrico FerriIndustrial Workers of the WorldItalian Reformist Socialist PartyItalian invasion of LibyaCiccio Cucciaelected to Parliament in 1919Nicola AlongiMaria CammarataVito CascioferroAgostino Lo Piano PomarGiacomo MontaltoGiovanni NoèLorenzo PanepintoNicola PetrinaAntonio Di RudinìLuigi LuzzattiBanca Romana scandalCaltavuturo massacreGiardinello massacreLercara Friddi massacreLunigiana revoltLuigi PirandelloIl giorno di San SebastianoPasquale Scimeca