Sicily orders ban on sale of mafia souvenirs

Godfather-themed gifts promote ‘negative stereotypes that humiliate the community’, say officials

It has long been synonymous with the murderous deeds of the Cosa Nostra organised crime network, but the island of Sicily is now cracking down on the sale of mafia-themed souvenirs in an effort to move away from negative stereotypes.
Island authorities say T-shirts and mugs depicting Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone from The Godfather and knick-knacks that make light of the bloody feuds carried out by the Sicilian mafia are tarnishing the island’s reputation.
Many of the novelty items feature cartoonish depictions of mafiosi, wearing black berets and with a “lupara” or shotgun slung across their backs.
The town of Agrigento, one of the biggest tourist draws because of its nearby cluster of ancient Greek temples, has decreed that shops must no longer sell such souvenirs.
The mayor, Francesco Miccichè, said the sale of mafia-themed products “humiliates the community, which has for years been committed to spreading the culture of legality”.
He said he was ordering a ban on “any type of object that praises, or refers in any way and form, to the mafia and organised crime”.
Police will inspect shops to make sure they are no longer selling the prohibited merchandise and there will be fines for businesses that do not comply.
The ruins in the Valley of the Temples, just outside Agrigento, are said to be the finest examples of ancient Greek architecture outside Greece and draw huge numbers of visitors.
In parallel with Agrigento’s ban, the island’s government has ordered airports to stop selling mafia memorabilia.
Alessandro Aricò, the councillor in charge of transport and infrastructure, wrote to managers at the airports of Palermo, Catania and Trapani, as well as those on the tiny islands of Lampedusa and Pantelleria, telling them to clear terminal shops of such products.
Sicily needs to “maintain a dignified image stripped of the usual negative stereotypes”, especially at entry points like airports, he said.
“Let the sale of mafia-themed merchandise and souvenirs end in the shops and commercial areas of Sicilian airports.”
It is not the first time Sicily has tried to curb the sale of such items.
Last year, the regional government decreed that ferries that ply to and from Sicily should be banned from selling mafia-themed trinkets in their gift shops.
Cosa Nostra is made up of a coalition of families and clans, known in Italian as “cosche”, with each having a monopoly on operating in a designated area, engaging in drug dealing, extortion and protection rackets.
The Sicilian mafia is believed to have originated in the 19th century, although some authorities believe its roots go back further than that.