“Zero tolerance”. The announcement was made by the mayor of Agrigento, Franco Miccichè, who says he is “surprised” by the media outcry caused by his ordinance which prohibits the sale, by those who sell tourist souvenirs, of objects that recall the mafia. An “obvious and necessary” measure after a fellow citizen reported the presence, in the shop windows of the central Via Atenea, of magnets depicting ‘u mafiusu’ or ‘a mafiusa’ complete with coppola and shotgun, in some cases on board a car with the colors of the Italian flag. “For me it was natural to act immediately – he tells Adnkronos -, I find it humiliating to be labeled as ‘mafiosi'”. For some time the municipal administration, which is preparing for 2025, the year in which Agrigento will be the Capital of Culture, has been working to affirm the culture of legality. “We do it in schools and with 360-degree events. It is not tolerable, then, that this type of promotion of Sicily and the entire country is conveyed in the city”.
“Considering that the sale of such products in the Agrigento area humiliates the Agrigento community, which has been committed to spreading the culture of legality for years, the ban on the sale of any type of object that praises, or refers in any way or form, to the mafia and organized crime is ordered”, the ordinance reads. And the merchants seem to have immediately complied. “The gadgets have disappeared”, assures the mayor. The checks, entrusted mainly to the Municipal Police, will continue in the coming days to ensure compliance with the ordinance and fines will be issued for transgressors. “An ‘ignorant’ tourist could be attracted by these souvenirs, which convey a misleading message. It is therefore necessary to educate both merchants and tourists to purchase gadgets that truly represent a city, a Region and a State, which has paid a very high price in the fight against the mafia”. Applause comes from Confcommercio Sicilia, which supports the ordinance issued by the mayor. “In fact – the regional president of Confcommercio Sicilia, Gianluca Manenti, underlines to Adnkronos – let’s say more. We hope that other mayors of our Island can follow the same example”.
The issue has been debated for some time. “The first positions, in this regard, by associations that fight the mafia from every point of view date back over a decade – Manenti recalls -. Our confederation, then, is characterized by a specific ethical code that provides for working to protect legality and security and for the prevention and fight against all forms of crime, mafia-related, common, organized and otherwise. Our commitment, therefore, is to fight against any link with crime, both material and formal”. For Manenti “the stereotypes that come from certain puppets might seem like little stuff. But that’s not the case. The message that gets across, especially to foreign visitors, is devastating”. This is why Confcommercio will continue to “fight even against simple allusions to the mafia or organized crime”.
“The name of our Island must be associated with positive images and certainly not with the mafia – says Manenti -. That this signal comes from Agrigento, which will be the Italian Capital of Culture next year, is significant”. A step, that of the mayor of Agrigento, assures the number one of Confcommercio Sicilia that “we are appreciating very much” and that “we hope it can be the first of a long series”. Even if, he underlines, “it is truly embarrassing to be discussing these arguments again in 2024. But that’s how it is”. The mayor of Palermo, Roberto Lagalla, also opens up to the hypothesis. “The initiative from Agrigento could also be replicated here, where it is increasingly necessary to free ourselves from old and outdated stereotypes”, says the mayor, who in the next few days will meet with the municipal councilor Giuliano Forzinetti and with the council commission for Productive Activities to identify “the most suitable path”. Because if it is true that “Palermo, thanks above all to the results obtained by magistrates and law enforcement, has made great strides in freeing itself from the image of a mafia city”, it is equally true that “the battle to assert complete legality is still ongoing and requires the absolute commitment of everyone”.
Last year, gadgets and souvenirs ‘inspired’ by Cosa Nostra had already been banned on ferries connecting Sicily to Calabria thanks to an intervention by the Sicilian Regional Infrastructure Councillor, Alessandrò Aricò. Who returns to the subject today. This time the invitation is addressed to the top management of the airport management companies of Palermo (Gesap), Catania and Comiso (Sac), Trapani (Airgest), Lampedusa (Ast) and Pantelleria (Enac). In a letter, the member of the Schifani Council asks for a stop to the sale of mafia-themed objects in the shops and commercial spaces of Sicilian airports. “Maintaining a dignified image free from the usual negative stereotypes – writes Aricò – is undoubtedly a firm line to be taken in the places of first arrival of tourists and visitors who reach Sicily, such as the island’s airports”.
A ban that at the international airport ‘Falcone Borsellino di Palermo’ “has been in place for some time now”, as Gesap informs Adnkronos. The company that manages the airport of the Sicilian capital, in fact, has written to the sub-concessionaires asking for the withdrawal of similar souvenirs from the sales stands and a stop to their marketing. Now the order of the mayor of Agrigento, who assures: “I have received dozens of phone calls of approval, even from my fellow citizens”. “The mayor’s order is welcome – concludes Giuseppe Caruana, president of Confcommercio Agrigento -. The message sent through these souvenirs is distorted, a message that not only the people of Agrigento but all Sicilians have been strongly opposing for years. A message to be firmly condemned and which also represents an offense to our history and to the memory of those who sacrificed their lives in the fight against organized crime”.
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