The hideout of former mafia boss Toto Riina has been inaugurated as a new station for Italy's carabinieri armed police force, in an event attended by Interior Minister Angelino Alfano.
The new police facilities on Palermo's Via Bernini had been the safe house where Riina, nicknamed "The Beast" because of his cruelty, had holed up until he was arrested on 15 January 1993.
He had evaded police for nearly 20 years.
Known for both for his craftiness and cruelty while running the Sicilian mob, Riina is serving a life prison sentence for an array of crimes.
"The state won, and the Mafia has lost," said Mr Alfano during the inaugural ceremony.
During the 1990s the Italian state stepped up its fight against the Sicilian Mafia, aided by civilian judges leading investigations.
Despite the success of that offensive, the Cosa Nostra remains influential in the economic and political life of certain areas.
The transformed police station has been named after Mario Trapassi and Salvatore Bertolotta, two police officers killed during the 1983 attack that killed anti-Mafia judge Rocco Chinnici.
