HOME / ENTERTAINMENT / TV

'Suburra: Blood on Rome' Season 3: True story of the Mafia Capitale investigation that inspired the franchise

Called the Mafia Capitale, the investigation into this ring of organised crime that operated in Rome and the Lazio region highlighted the Roman government's corruption

The set up of the original 2015 Italian political thriller 'Suburra' was captivating enough for Netflix to greenlight a prequel in 2017. Titled 'Suburra: Blood on Rome' or 'Suburra: La Serie', the three-season show focused on the rise of family rivalries and mob bosses, surrounding the Ostia Adamis and the Sinti Ancletis. Amping the action is corruption that runs rife both in the political landscape as well as the Church, deep within the walls of the Vatican.

But fictional as all of these characters might be, the core element of the plot — all of the action — has actually been inspired by the real-life investigation into the Italian organized crime organization Mafia Capitale. 

The subsequent investigation into the Mafia Capitale that operated in the city and the Lazio region brought to public light the involvement of the Roman government in stealing money among other criminal activities. From racketeering, loan sharking and money laundering to fraud, conspiracy, extortion, bribery and even drug trafficking, the city of Rome was found deep into the pits of corruption of every kind, reveal news reports from 2014.

When Rome's chief prosecutor Giuseppe Pignatone inspected into the matter, a network of corrupt politicians and criminals were found embroiled in the scandal that emerged. These people involved targeted the incoming immigrants in Italy, specifically surrounding migrant reception centers. They would use connections to secure contacts that would help them flourish by accepting payments for services that never actually happened. Sometimes these payments would be for substandard jobs too, but that's how lucrative their resources were.

Much like the series where newly elected Mayor of Rome, Amadeo Cinaglia (Filippo Nigro) is an ambitious, but active vulture reaping the benefits of his contacts with the crime overload Samurai, real-life former mayor Gianni Alemanno and mafia bosses Salvatore Buzzi and Massimo Carminati were also caught in the crime. They were accompanied by the members of the 'Ndrangheta and Carminati's former association like the Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari and Banda della Magliana.

These associates of Alemanno can be seen in the form of Aureliano (Alessandro Borghi) and Spadini (Giacomo Ferrara) — the two antiheroes of the 'Suburra' franchise.

Following the December 2014 arrest warrant issued against those busted, dozens of arrests were made, starting from the president of Rome's city council, the head of the city's public-housing division and the former president of Ostia. Alemano's 2015 indictment was on charges of corruption and illicit financing where he was found guilty of receiving €125,000 from the cooperatives' boss Salvatore Buzzi.

In 2017, allegations of external cooperation in a mafia association were filed. The same year, Carminati was also sentenced to 20 years in jail, which was appealed and reduced to 4 years in 2018. Just six months later, Buzzi was sentenced to 18 years and four months.

'Suburra: Blood on Rome' is the prequel to the original film and tracks the rise and fall of the Adamis and the Ancletis through the narratives of Aureliano and Spadini. Catch all the action this October 30 when Season 3 premieres with all six episodes on Netflix.