Pago chi non paga

The most powerful and damaging stereotype associated with Sicily is that of the Mafia. Movies like “The Godfather” trilogy have romanticized this network of organized crime that permeated all corners of this island and has spread across continents. But there is nothing romantic or the least bit acceptable about the Mafia (Cosa Nostra in Sicily, ‘Ndrangheta in Calabria, Camorra in Naples). The anti-Mafia movement in Palermo started in the 1980s but it was not until the murders of Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino in 1992 that the population became mobilized and united in the fight against organized crime.

In 2003, a group of young Palermitans in their efforts to open a small business was approached to pay the pizzo (protection money) and decided that it was time to change the status quo by organizing entrepreneurs together to refuse to pay the pizzo. They started by plastering the city with stickers

and within a couple of years had about 100 businesses on their side. Their number has increased ten-fold (although still a small percentage of all businesses). The organization called itself Addiopizzo, and in addition to supporting businesses who resist the Mafia influence by means such as encouraging customers and assistance in filing police reports of extortion attempts, they also now run anti-Mafia tours. Linda, our Addiopizzo guide, spent three hours passionately explaining the effects of the Mafia on Sicily and the attempts to fight against this organized crime network.We visited the monument to the fallen anti-Mafia magistrates, all assassinated for the cause.

We also visited several merchants who proudly display the Addiopizzo logo on their shop windows.

We ended at Piazza San Francesco at the first restaurant that resisted the pizzo.

The restaurant has been around since 1834 and was a atmospheric spot for a typical Sicilian lunch – pasta with anchovies and pasta a la sarde (sardines).

We then returned to the B&B to pick up our luggage to transport to our next hotel (Ambasciatori) a 10 minute walk away. This hotel is the 180 degree opposite – old fashioned rooms, nothing sleek or modern about it but it does have an amazing rooftop bar and restaurant, with amazing views of city and port.