Palermo is the site of Cantarella’s base, placing the city at the top of the criminal hierarchy Creasy is trying to reach. It becomes a point of reconnaissance and planning: Creasy intends to inspect the base quietly, then uses what he learned on an earlier visit to shape his approach to Cantarella.

Place in the Mafia Network

Creasy describes Palermo as the seat of the final authority in the chain surrounding the kidnapping. Fossella, one of the two principal bosses in Milan, had arranged the kidnapping; Conti in Rome would receive a share, while Cantarella in Palermo took a piece of everything. In this account, Palermo represents not merely another local centre but the upper end of a system in which profits and responsibility extend across several cities.

Reconnaissance and Route

After discussing the network with Guido, Creasy decides to leave in two days by ferry for Palermo. He wants to take a quiet look at Cantarella’s base. His planned onward journey is by train to Reggio di Calabria, followed by a ferry to Malta. Palermo is therefore a deliberate stop in a larger route, approached for information rather than as a declared confrontation.

An Earlier Visit and a Concealed Plan

The narrative later reveals that Creasy had visited Palermo three months earlier and had already decided how he would get into Cantarella’s stronghold. He does not tell Guido the plan, despite Guido asking how they might gain entry. Palermo thus connects an earlier reconnaissance to Creasy’s later preparations, while the withheld details preserve the distinction between the friends’ collaboration and the part of the operation Creasy keeps to himself.