"Paci Paciano”

In the records of the court of Vincenzo Zogno Tacky, said “Paci Valley”, is described as:

“Height rather high. Età d’anni 30 about. Corporatura regular. Blacks with curly hair braided in the forehead and ears, with tail tied to the French about three inches long. Scintillini blacks, wide as far as the border of the ears. Barba ra, routinely razed. Shining eyes. Chin full, color of the face, olive Rover and banned. Soles disguise himself in a thousand ways, and eke of woman, speaks the dialect of Bergamo, mixed with crude Veneto, and must be fitted with two knives, guns double-barreled shotgun”. In the acts of baptism is to be born in Poscante 1776. He was treacherously murdered the 1806. But it was a bandit, that for his exploits, remained alive in popular memory with “Passator cortese”, who took from the rich to give to the poor, and also entered the ranks of the characters in the puppet theater. Some episodes from the life of “Paci Valley” they are collected by Moses Torricella1

An old legend says that the Bridge dell'Ambria (and not that of Sedrina, as is commonly thought) he jumped, to escape arrest.

Tradition dictates that the “Paci” a day passed over this bridge, in order to attend the appointment with the daughter of an innkeeper of Sedrina. These, however, had alerted the garrison Napoleonic hiding near the bridge: once there he was banished die out they would have closed every avenue of escape. The bridge rises high on the narrow gorge of the river and fearful. Suddenly the “Paci” he found himself hopelessly closed between two teams advancing years by the two heads of the bridge itself.

“Finally, they also take the old foxes!”, said the graduated.

“But not this hair!”, answered, ready and bold, the reckless brembanino: climbed over the railing and jump, launched into space, plunging into the water of a deep hole, through the narrow cliffs. He reached the opposite bank, while they followed him the wrath of the police gunshots.

In its report of 4 June 1806 to the Minister and Secretary of State Aldini the Direct

General of Police, Diego Guicciardini, wrote:

“Against the now famous Tacky was useless any attempt. I had to have pubic hair care a bounty of a hundred sequins in favor of the person who takes sixty to live and to kill him. I am moved to take this step, after, attached, divem two times he was able to escape, killing the two guides and leaving three policemen and wounded another guide”.

Finally the police, incapable of taking the opposite Pacchiana, it had with the trap. Promise a prize to a certain Carcino (said “Artichoke”), who had joined him and with him 1 teva the mountains Como near Gravesend; the 4 August 1806, persuaded by prize, with a stroke of trombone, the Karkinos killed comrade, immersed in the Guicciardini gave notice to the Minister, with a ratio of 13 September 1806, also communicated with the arrest of a certain Cattaneo, who had attempted to use the name of the p gnawed Tacky, to extort money.

To prove the killing of Tacky, the Karkinos then had to hand over to the police : head, that was brought to and displayed on Fara Bergamo, where he executed them criminals. The Paciana won immortality in the popular imagination, becoming a symbol for social justice. It is the power of the epic folk and storytelling to figure that by itself, without further demonstrations.

(1) Mose Torricella, “Episodes from the life of Paci Paciana… “, Tipograna Litostampa Manighetti & C, Bergamo 1880.