From the microphones of Radio Aut, in Cinisi, Peppino Impastato attacked the mafia. He used the weapon of satire—sharp, relentless—this young man who had rejected the mafia legacy of his own family. But Peppino was no jester. He loved the classic texts of socialism, certainly rare at the time in what was, before the rise of the Corleone clan, the capital of the mafia.

At the farthest edge of the State, and in the heart of the mafia bourgeoisie’s power, he felt the urgent need for new ways and new rhythms in building democracy, fully aware of the context he lived in.

With this perspective, Peppino developed the first anti-mafia political lab ever experimented by the Italian left. With his friends, he founded Radio Aut, a frontline in the fight against the mafia. He became a constant source of inspiration and an example of civic engagement for younger generations.

He wrote poetry and ran for office with the Democrazia Proletaria party in the municipal elections of Cinisi as a city council candidate.

He was murdered by the mafia on May 9th, 1978, just a few days before the vote, on orders from mafia boss Gaetano Badalamenti. His body was blown up with TNT on the tracks of the Palermo-Trapani railway, staged to appear like a failed suicide bombing. The mutilated body was found on May 9th, 1978.