Niccolo Mainoni

Now I talked to both a mafia insider and a mafia prosecutor, both of whom believed that Calvi was working with the mafia. But Turone was adding another super secretive group into Calvi's world. What the heck was Propaganda 2? Even the group's name was mysterious. Propaganda 2. Was there a Propaganda 1?

Now I talked to both a mafia insider and a mafia prosecutor, both of whom believed that Calvi was working with the mafia. But Turone was adding another super secretive group into Calvi's world. What the heck was Propaganda 2? Even the group's name was mysterious. Propaganda 2. Was there a Propaganda 1?

What was this shadowy group, and why would Calvi, a fairly public banker, get involved with them? Well, I learned that Propaganda Due or P2, they're not your average Freemasons. Freemasonry's origins are murky, but it likely started 500 years ago as a trade group for actual masons in Scotland, as in stone and brick masons.

What was this shadowy group, and why would Calvi, a fairly public banker, get involved with them? Well, I learned that Propaganda Due or P2, they're not your average Freemasons. Freemasonry's origins are murky, but it likely started 500 years ago as a trade group for actual masons in Scotland, as in stone and brick masons.

From there, it spread to other professions and countries, eventually reaching the Americas.

From there, it spread to other professions and countries, eventually reaching the Americas.

George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Paul Revere, all Masons. There are still Masonic lodges and halls peppered around the U.S. Generally, it's more of a brotherhood type of community organization. But P2 in Italy... was a very different, elite kind of Masonic brotherhood. A bastion of uber-wealthy, occasionally hooded men plotting world domination.

George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Paul Revere, all Masons. There are still Masonic lodges and halls peppered around the U.S. Generally, it's more of a brotherhood type of community organization. But P2 in Italy... was a very different, elite kind of Masonic brotherhood. A bastion of uber-wealthy, occasionally hooded men plotting world domination.

So, obviously, I started digging deeper into what P2 was. It turns out, though, that this is hard. If you're ever looking for an easy way to challenge yourself, you might try reporting on a secret Italian society from the Cold War.

So, obviously, I started digging deeper into what P2 was. It turns out, though, that this is hard. If you're ever looking for an easy way to challenge yourself, you might try reporting on a secret Italian society from the Cold War.

I tried calling former members, friends of members, investigators, and sometimes I'd get through. Salve, Niccolò Mainoni di nuovo. Buongiorno, buonasera. Un documentario su Roberto Calvi, Licio Gelli e Propaganda 2. As I said before, I'm Uzi, il Disturbo.

I tried calling former members, friends of members, investigators, and sometimes I'd get through. Salve, Niccolò Mainoni di nuovo. Buongiorno, buonasera. Un documentario su Roberto Calvi, Licio Gelli e Propaganda 2. As I said before, I'm Uzi, il Disturbo.

Just following up and saying we would still really, really love to hear your thoughts. But when I told them I was interested in P2, they'd go off the record. Or just ghost me. P2, Propaganda 2. The world of Pitu Freemasons, I learned, was a world of smoke and mirrors, of double entendres and Cold War intrigue. But I was able to piece together eyewitness accounts from Pitu's early days.

Just following up and saying we would still really, really love to hear your thoughts. But when I told them I was interested in P2, they'd go off the record. Or just ghost me. P2, Propaganda 2. The world of Pitu Freemasons, I learned, was a world of smoke and mirrors, of double entendres and Cold War intrigue. But I was able to piece together eyewitness accounts from Pitu's early days.

Picture a mansion hidden on a remote hill in Tuscany. menacing-looking sculptures in the courtyard, including stone serpents with security cameras hidden in their eyes. Inside, exquisite marble halls lined with hanging portraits of 20th century dictators. Perón, Mussolini, Hitler,

Picture a mansion hidden on a remote hill in Tuscany. menacing-looking sculptures in the courtyard, including stone serpents with security cameras hidden in their eyes. Inside, exquisite marble halls lined with hanging portraits of 20th century dictators. Perón, Mussolini, Hitler,

Around a marble table, you might find a handful of new P2 initiates, dressed in satin robes, faces obscured by black hoods, sitting next to their grand master, Li Choujie, the only one who shows his face. He boasted about the ceremony years later on TV. Gelli described the dark uniforms, masks, and symbols of a flaming sword. He was the only one who knew all the recruits' identities.

Around a marble table, you might find a handful of new P2 initiates, dressed in satin robes, faces obscured by black hoods, sitting next to their grand master, Li Choujie, the only one who shows his face. He boasted about the ceremony years later on TV. Gelli described the dark uniforms, masks, and symbols of a flaming sword. He was the only one who knew all the recruits' identities.

According to one account, Gelli would lift a small axe above a table and slam it down, asking for new members to enter. The initiates were blindfolded, sweat maybe dripping from their forehead, as the Grand Master began to question them. Are you prepared to die in order to preserve the secrets of Propaganda Due? Do you proclaim yourself an anti-communist?

According to one account, Gelli would lift a small axe above a table and slam it down, asking for new members to enter. The initiates were blindfolded, sweat maybe dripping from their forehead, as the Grand Master began to question them. Are you prepared to die in order to preserve the secrets of Propaganda Due? Do you proclaim yourself an anti-communist?