Starting in the 1870s, the government of the Brazilian Empire decided to encourage European immigration to cultivate the country’s forested areas and "whiten" the population. The government outsourced the recruitment of labor to private entrepreneurs, who relied on networks of agents in the countries of origin, often made up of friends, relatives, or priests. These agents spread the word that Brazil was the "land of plenty," where gold and diamonds were abundant for all. One such entrepreneur was Sabino Tripoti, a native of Teramo. A former Garibaldian, he had fought in the wars against the Bourbons and brigandage, later securing a position as a government official in Naples. However, in 1865, after being accused of mismanaging public funds, Tripoti fled to Argentina and then to Brazil. In 1871, his colonization project was approved by the Brazilian government; he was to bring 2,000 Italians to the agricultural colony of Alessandra (named after his wife), which he founded in the Paranà region. Tripoti began recruiting in Italy through agents, including his brother, successfully bringing 313 farmers from Abruzzo and Basilicata. However, things soon started to go wrong. Some heads of families, whom he claimed were "accustomed to the practices of the Camorra," refused to work, resorting to extortion instead, and many farmers, disillusioned with the living conditions, abandoned Tripoti’s colony in favor of public colonies, which received more attention from the state. The government had not only delayed the promised funds (causing many farmers to reconsider their decision to emigrate) but also failed to fulfill its commitment to develop infrastructure in the colony. Meanwhile, public opinion in Italy accused people like Tripoti of deceiving farmers, and the Italian government secured his extradition from Brazil for the 1865 embezzlement case. Tripoti was found innocent, but by then his project had failed; he returned to Brazil in 1877 and initiated a lawsuit to obtain financial compensation from the government, which was granted in 1884 to his wife, now a widow, as he had died two years earlier.