Joe Petrosino International Award

A civic award in the heart of the Vallo di Diano

The Joe Petrosino International Award is the annual event through which the Municipality of Padula, in the province of Salerno, commemorates its most renowned fellow citizen while simultaneously promoting the theme of legality in a territory—the Vallo di Diano—that experiences the issue of organized crime as a wound that has never fully healed. Promoted by the International Association "Joe Petrosino" ETS, chaired by Pasquale Chirichella, the award reached its twenty-second edition in 2025, confirming itself as one of the longest-running civic events in inland Campania.

Who was Joe Petrosino

Giuseppe Petrosino was born in Padula on August 30, 1860, and emigrated to the United States as a young boy at the age of thirteen. After becoming an officer with the New York Police Department, he founded the famous "Italian Squad" and developed pioneering investigative techniques to counter the ties between American criminal gangs and Sicilian mafia organizations. He was assassinated in Palermo on March 12, 1909, during an investigative mission: he was the first US police officer killed in the line of duty abroad. Today, his figure is an international symbol of integrity and sense of duty, and the award that bears his name has an international vocation.

The ceremony at the Certosa di San Lorenzo

The awards ceremony takes place in the Refectory Hall of the Certosa di San Lorenzo, the vast monastic complex in Padula listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1998. The ceremony, traditionally held in the morning, brings together civil and military authorities, representatives of the judiciary, local mayors, and school delegations. Alongside the ceremony, the program usually includes a visit to the Joe Petrosino House Museum, set up in the historic center in the police officer's birthplace, where documents and testimonies of his life and investigative work are preserved.

Recent winners

The award is presented to individuals, organizations, and associations that have distinguished themselves in the fight against organized crime and in the defense of the rule of law. Among the recognitions of recent years:

• 2025 (XXII edition): Chief Prosecutor of Catania Francesco Curcio, justice witness Mario Cavallaro, investigative writer and journalist Stefano Baudino, and the commander of the Carabinieri Operational Department of Palermo Domenico Lapadula, in addition to mentions for journalists Paolo De Chiara and Fabiana Pacella and for representatives of the Carabinieri, Traffic Police, and Financial Guard of the territory.
• 2024 (XXI edition): Lecce magistrates Maria Francesca Mariano and Carmen Ruggiero, both under police escort; spouses Antonino Candela and Francesca Inga as justice witnesses; Father Antonio Coluccia, the "street priest" committed to fighting drug dealing in Rome; and officers of the Carabinieri.
• 2023: Among others, prosecutor Gianfranco Donadio, journalist under escort Marilena Natale, and Graziella Accetta, mother of an innocent victim of the mafia.

An event designed for schools

An important part of the event is aimed at students from schools in the Vallo di Diano and neighboring provinces: the direct testimonies of magistrates, justice witnesses, and threatened reporters turn the ceremony into a public lesson on the price of legality. It is in this light that the recurring message of the event should be read: Petrosino's memory not as a mere commemoration, but as "active memory," a stimulus never to look the other way.

Padula and the Joe Petrosino Day

In July 2026, the municipal administration led by Mayor Michela Cimino established the "Joe Petrosino Day," which will be celebrated every year on August 30, the date of the officer's birth, with cultural initiatives, school meetings, and commemorative moments. The initiative, born from a proposal by the International Association Joe Petrosino, complements the Award and confirms how much Petrosino's figure is now an integral part of the identity of this corner of Campania.

Why come to Padula

Attending the Award is also an opportunity to discover one of the most extraordinary monumental complexes in Southern Italy. The Certosa di San Lorenzo, founded in the 14th century, is striking for its great cloister, the elliptical staircase, and the monumental kitchens; a few steps away, the village of Padula preserves alleys, churches, and the House Museum dedicated to its most famous son. The Vallo di Diano, with the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park in the background, completes an itinerary that combines civic commitment, heritage, and landscape.