The “Triangle of Death” is a large area of land located approximately 25 km northeast of the city of Napoli (Naples), Italy. The name was coined in reference to the area’s use as the largest illegal waste dump of toxic materials in Europe, following the toxic waste management crisis of the 1980s. However, the roots of this crisis are far deeper than initially suspected, as this article explores. The area has experienced a skyrocket in cancer related deaths due to exposure to the toxic waste from the illegal disposal, which is dumped by the Mafia organisation, the Camorra – one of the oldest and largest criminal organisations in Italy, dating back to the 17th century. My father and his family grew up in the Triangle of Death – and whether by pure coincidence or due to potential toxic fumes, my family and myself now have a cancerous genetic mutation, known as Familial Adenomatous Polyposis.
The Camorra
No, the Italian Mafia are not just some fictional villains made up for the Equalizer 3 – their threat to and control of the people of Napoli is very much real. The Camorra is a multi-billion-Euro criminal organisation, composed of independent groups, families and clans, as opposed to a centralised criminal gang. Through political patronage and powerful connections, the Camorra are able to maintain an image of social prestige. They are prone to using brute force, social leadership and a high political status to maintain their position as middlemen in Napoli, acting as a buffer between the local community and important political figures. These valuable political connections, and the heads of these Camorra families, have the ability to influence local and national politics; they are able to grant Napolitano (Neapolitan) politicians with influential electoral support, in order to claim benefits for their constituency. But how does this criminal organisation profit from dumping waste illegally in the Italian countryside, and why has it continued for so long?
Initial issues
Beginning in the 1980s, Napoli faced a series of significant issues in regards to the city’s waste disposal. Landfill sites were full, including Napoli’s main landfill site located in Pianura, which was overflowing with hazardous waste. With no regional waste management plans in place, a state of emergency was declared by Prime Minister Carlo Ciampi – but through to the 2000s, waste was continuing to build up in the streets. As incinerators failed to be built in time, the problem worsened, and the Camorra began to purchase land to rent out to a government contractor for storage of excess waste, effectively profiting off the crisis.
A violation of the right to life
A closer analysis of the issue reveals that the Camorra had orchestrated the entire problem, and then hijacked the solution. Since the 1980s, the Camorra had assumed control of the handling of waste disposal in Napoli. Companies were paying the Mafia organisation to dump the waste in fields, wells and lakes. The Camorra had managed to create a lucrative waste disposal business by charging less than official waste disposal companies, exploiting the failure of the Italian government and industrial waste companies to efficiently take control. Nearly 440 businesses in central and northern Italy had been using the Camorra’s illegal service, which contributed to the rapid rise in cancer related deaths in the region. On 30 January 2025, The European Court of Human Rights ruled that Italy had violated the right to life for the 2.9 million Italians who were living in the Triangle of Death, and ordered the government to develop a strategy to address and monitor the contamination and resulting health problems, including cancer.
Cancer rates and abnormalities
The Camorra dumped the excess waste, composed of heavy metals, toxic waste, chemicals and household rubbish, and burned these masses on the side of the roads. This created hazardous clouds of air pollution and toxic soil, forming the aforementioned Triangle of Death. With more than half of the regional land surrounding Napoli being used for agriculture, and over 11.6 million tonnes of toxic waste being buried and burned on this land, in 2008 the sale of dairy products from Napoli collapsed in both domestic and global markets. China even banned the sale of Mozzarella, and 12,000 cattle were killed due to high levels of mortality and abnormal foetuses being born on local farms. Even more worryingly, cancer rates have been on the rise in Napoli’s surrounding areas; the number of tumours found in women has risen by 40%, and those in men by 47%.
Money, money, money
Why get into such dirty business? Arrested Camorra member Nunzio Perella told Italian authorities that “the rubbish was gold,” as estimates suggest the Camorra were able to make 20 billion Euros a year by carrying out over 31,000 environmental crimes – 41% of which involved the recycling of cement and illegal waste dumping. But these ecoterrorist crimes have not just left scars on the land – they have ruined the lives of thousands of Napolitano citizens whose livelihoods have been ripped apart due to death, and the utter destruction of the land they call home. Locals feel abandoned, alone, and ignored, as they are forced to come to terms with the deaths of their loved ones and children, with the National Institute of Health stating it was crucial to address the excessive rates of tumours being found in babies in their first years of life.
Growing up in the Triangle of Death
I spoke to my Father, who grew up in Caserta, part of the Triangle of Death. To get from his house to school as a child he had to cross a road with a mountainous hill of rubbish. “It’s not just the Camorra – it’s the culture,” he told me. “Everyone knows, and no one does anything, so unless you have a strong government who truly cares, this issue will never be effectively solved.”
“People in the area don’t grow up fearful of the Camorra or toxic waste because it is the reality. It is normal. A classmate at my high school was the son of a Camorra boss, people came to my school with guns, and people climbed hills of burning rubbish to get home.” He explained to me that there are a lot of regular people in Napoli who are happy with the Camorras eco-Mafian rule; “if you go to prison, the Camorra will still pay them – they can still eat and their families are fine. If someone has nothing and dies, then their family will be given money by the Camorra.” Due to Napoli’s high youth unemployment rate of 43%, and no minimum wage, my father discussed with me his suspicions that there is a higher percentage of people working for the Camorra than reported, as the area has very few prospering opportunities, leaving people desperate and out of options. One of the reasons my dad left Italy was because he didn’t want to open a business in Napoli, knowing that if he did, he would have no choice but to pay the Camorra for protection.
Am I a Mafia victim thousands of miles away?
My Napolitano family has a cancer causing genetic mutation, which first occurred in my grandmother, then my father, and then me. Part of me can’t help but wonder if Napoli’s toxic waste dumping has had something to do with this, as my family lived in the Triangle of Death from the 1940s to 1990s. My great-grandparents both died young of cancer, my grandmother survived cancer, and my father and I both had to have a proctocolectomy to remove our large intestines. My close brush with cancer at the age of 19 left me wondering, am I a victim of the Mafia? Regardless of my fears, there are thousands of families in Napoli whose lives have been changed forever. With the Italian government facing little repercussions for the lives and land they have allowed the waste crisis to destroy, and the Camorra continuing to rule Napoli, will anyone ever be held accountable for this landmark case of eco-maffian crime? Instead of pushing for accessible, prosperous job opportunities and community events to solidify unity and alleviate local working class individuals from the necessity to commit crime to survive, the Italian government decided to open a landfill site inside a national park. It isn’t the excess of rubbish which has led to this tragedy for Napoli, it is the rubbish failures of the Italian government to counter the Camorra and truly aid the locals whose lives have changed forever. There is a solution to these environmental crimes – found in combating local poverty in order to weaken the grip of the Camorra, and properly punishing the businesses who use their services as a way to save money.