The clan's villa The power of Alfredo Zara
Casapesenna, province of Caserta. A small municipality of ten thousand inhabitants, one of the many epicenters of the criminal power of the Casalesi clan. Here there are no mafia wars, no public settling of scores. There is something bigger: a capillary control system, a parallel economy that for years has moved millions of euros without making noise.
Alfredo Zara is not a prominent boss. He is not Sandokan, he is not Francesco Bidognetti, but he is a piece of the machinery. One of those who make the Casalesi power machine work, ensuring protection, money laundering, and mediation in dirty business.
His villa on Via Raffaello IV Traversa n. 5 is the symbol of that system. An imposing residence, built with money that knows no lawful origins, with lavish interiors and impenetrable walls. It is not just a home: it is a stronghold of power.
In 1998, however, history changes. The State strikes hard. Major operations, arrests, convictions. The Casalesi begin to falter. Alfredo Zara comes under scrutiny; his villa is seized and then definitively confiscated in 1999.
When law enforcement crosses the gate, they find only rubble. The marble floors have been torn up, the fixtures ripped away, the electrical wires uprooted from the walls. Why? Because the Camorra has a clear rule: if something can no longer belong to the clan, it must be destroyed.
La villa resta così, abbandonata, un guscio vuoto che nessuno sembra voler toccare.
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Casapesenna, April 7, 2025 – An important date for the Paguro Youth Center and for the entire community:Paguro opens the new Co-Working Space, an open, functional, and inclusive environment designed towelcome young people, professionals, designers, activists, and those looking for a place to work, create, and collaborate.
From confiscated property to an international hub for young people and activists, the Paguro is a concrete demonstration of how the past does not define the future, but inspires it to become something new.
In 2011, the turning point. The Villa di Zara was entrusted to Agrorinasce and managed by Giovani Senza Frontiere.
