We're putting more pressure on (Provenzano) and will ultimately get to him too

Anti-Mafia prosecutor Pierluigi Vigna

Mr Palazzolo is accused of being a Mafia middleman whose alleged role included buying property on behalf of Mr Provenzano.

Investigators say they also have evidence that Mr Palazzolo passed messages between known mafia members and Mr Provenzano.

The head of Sicily's military police, General Carlo Gualdi said Mr Palazzolo's arrest, in the Sicilian town of San Cataldo, was an important step in finding Mr Provenzano.

Blunder

And Italy's chief anti-mafia prosecutor, Pierluigi Vigna, also hailed the arrest, and said it brought police closer to Mr Provenzano.

"We're putting more pressure on him and will ultimately get to him, too," he said.

The alleged Mafia boss, who has been on the run for 30 years, has so far slipped through police fingers.

One alleged Mafia member was arrested when he could have been on the verge of delivering letters to Mr Provenzano, sparking allegations of a police blunder.

Officers are not even sure what their target looks like - their most recent picture of him dates from the early 1960s.