Experience Sicily

Tag: mafia

  • Day 16 of 16 Days of Sicily | Stories of Unknown Superheroes that Must Be Told

    On my last tour, one of my guests who has 100% Sicilian heritage asked me a question about the mafia. I responded, “I will talk about it – – a lot – – but when we are with the whole group. I’ll tell you some stories.” Discussing organized crime and corruption and how it has…

  • If You Must, A Mafia Museum In Sicily

    The town of Salemi, photographed, is a gem in western Sicily. Not only does it boast a very cool castle that dates back to Arab times, but, in addition to a remarkable St. Joseph’s Day feast tradition, its civic museum is outstanding. Before I tell you more about that, I must mention the busiate pasta…

  • 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…

  • Savoring Sicily, Day 11: Freedom from the Plague 

    This beautiful tree is so because it represents a movement. A movement driven by people who want to be free of a plague. In 1624, the bones of Santa Rosalia helped cure Palermo of an infectious disease. Well, over the last 24 years, the Falcone Tree has acted as a relic (and a memorial) for…

  • 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…