Danilo Dolci; Sociologist Aided Peasants

Danilo Dolci, 73, a sociologist who organized Sicilian peasants in their fight against the Mafia for water rights. In the 1950s he set up a center near Partinico to research ways to stimulate growth in Italy’s underdeveloped south. A decade later, Dolci’s crusade helped peasants secure access to water to irrigate their small farms. He denounced many of the Christian Democrat politicians who controlled Sicily at the time for being close to Mafia bosses, who held and sold water rights at inflated prices. Dolci also led the contadini, or farmhands, in nonviolent strikes and marches for better treatment and such basic facilities as bathrooms. His work earned him international acclaim. A native of Trieste, Dolci also wrote poetry and prose on social issues. On Tuesday outside Palermo of a heart attack.