Giovanni Falcone

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Italian. (June 2023) Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the Italian article. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Italian Wikipedia article at [[:it:Giovanni Falcone]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|it|Giovanni Falcone}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Giovanni Falcone
Born	(1939-05-18)18 May 1939 Palermo, Italy
Died	23 May 1992(1992-05-23) (aged 53) Capaci, Italy
Cause of death	Assassinated by the Sicilian Mafia
Nationality	Italian
Alma mater	University of Palermo
Occupation	Magistrate
Known for	Investigations into the Mafia
Spouse	Francesca Morvillo ​ (m. 1986)​
Signature

Giovanni Falcone (Italian: [dʒoˈvanni falˈkoːne]; 18 May 1939 – 23 May 1992) was an Italian judge and prosecuting magistrate.^[1][2] From his office in the Palace of Justice in Palermo, Sicily, he spent most of his professional life trying to overthrow the power of the Sicilian Mafia. After a long and distinguished career, culminating in the Maxi Trial in 1986–1987, on 23 May 1992, Falcone was assassinated by the Corleonesi Mafia in the Capaci bombing, on the A29 motorway near the town of Capaci.

His life parallels that of his close friend Paolo Borsellino. They both spent their early years in the same neighbourhood in Palermo. Though many of their childhood friends grew up in an environment in which the Mafia had a strong presence, both men fought against organised crime as prosecuting magistrates.^[3] They were both killed in 1992, a few months apart. In recognition of their tireless effort and sacrifice during the anti-mafia trials, they were both awarded the Gold Medal for Civil Valor and were acknowledged as martyrs of the Catholic Church. They were also named as heroes of the last 60 years in the 13 November 2006 issue of Time.^[4]