Sicily’s History Offers Us Knowledge For Today

Sicily’s history offers us many lessons. Since the 13th century Modica (pictured) has been a prosperous and important city. For centuries it was the seat of its own county that enjoyed political independence and economic and cultural influence. The resource-rich surrounding landscape with agriculture as its economic engine has made Modica and Ragusa province wealthy…

A Sicilian Super Hero: Blessed Father Pino Puglisi

Giuseppe “Pino” Puglisi was killed in Palermo on September 15, 1993, his 56th birthday. A courageous defender of the poor in the Sicilian capital’s inner city neighborhood of Brancaccio, Blessed Father Puglisi worked tirelessly to convince young people that there was a better life than organized crime. He was extremely outspoken about the Mafia and…

Critical Consumption

Speaking of shopping… When visiting Sicily, please patronize stores and restaurants that display the sign (pictured), Addiopizzo. When you do, you are supporting a business owner who refuses to pay “protection money” (i.e., extortion money) to organized crime. When you support such businesses, you are expressing an anti-mafia position and helping dis-empower criminal organizations that…

This You Can Refuse

These souvenirs of “A Mafiusa” and “U Mafiusu” look cute. You can buy the woman “mafiosa” for your refrigerator to hold your weekly food shopping list or the “mafioso” to post up a coupon for a discount at the hardware store; however, there is nothing cute about the Mafia. This centuries-old crime organization pervades Sicily’s…