L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JULY 13, 2017 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano MANUELA CARACCIOLO I n the heart of Sicily, there w a s o n c e a t o w n c a l l e d Corleone, the birthplace of a m a f i a b o s s o f t h e l i k e s o f B e r n a r d o P r o v e n z a n o ; h i s bloody history, in reality and on screen, has transformed this place into a stereotype of mafia violence that defames the name of this beautiful island. But fortunately, this land has a second identity: the perception of Sicily has been now changing for a few years, thanks to coura- geous people who want to clean up their land from the fame of terms such as corruption, crime, or omertà [a code of secrecy]. This is what "Addiopizzo!," a p r o j e c t t h a t u s e s t o u r i s m t o restore the dignity that had once been taken from Sicily by refus- ing mafia protection, is based on. An open, fluid, dynamic movement that operates from the bottom up, becoming the symbol of a "cultural revolution" against mafia's ostracism. The initiative arises as critical consumers' fur- t h e r a n s w e r t o t h e " p i z z o " [ m o n e y p a i d f o r p r o t e c t i o n ] applied to the tourism industry. A courageous choice, made b y o v e r 7 0 0 l o c a l e c o n o m i c businesses, that brought about a fundamental change in attitude: a study done in 2007 by SOS Enterprise, an anti-racket associ- ation, found that 70% of Sicilian c o m m e r c i a l b u s i n e s s e s a r e f o r c e d t o p a y C o s a N o s t r a [another name for the Sicilian Mafia meaning "Our Thing"] to get protection, creating a multi- m i l l i o n a i r e i l l e g a l e c o n o m y financing crime. R e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f " A d d i o p i z z o ! " e x p l a i n h o w , beginning in 2004 in Palermo, a group of people insurged and began to spread the message that "Rebelling against this slavery is risky but necessary: a country fully subjected to this law is a country without dignity." It was further suggested to involve law enforcement whenever neces- sary, to show it is possible to stand up for one's rights and freedom. Since then, other groups have b e e n f o r m e d i n C a t a n i a a n d Messina, expanding the initia- t i v e e v e n t o C a l a b r i a a n d Naples, an answer of beauty to the Hell people must face. T o u r s o f C o r l e o n e a n d Palermo, for instance, manage to reveal these cities' hidden beau- ty, a beauty made of history, art and culture, that shines through ashes. In Corleone the sacred is one with the profane: known as the town of the 100 churches, its many monasteries and chapels make space also to Falcone and Borsellino Square, honoring the two magistrates killed by the Mafia in 1992. In recent years, Corleone has also become home to the Museo Anti-Mafia, where several items and photos reconstructing the history of some of the most grue- some Mafia killings, integral part of Sicilian history itself, are kept. Along with it, the museum contains a library and a large legal archive with documents pertaining to the most important Mafia trials of the 1980s, thanks t o w h i c h h u n d r e d s o f M a f i a bosses and Mafiosi were jailed. Many of the homes confiscat- ed to the Mafia have been trans- formed in accommodation struc- tures such as Bed and Breakfast, or assigned to young entrepre- neurs working in the food and wine industry. Others have been transformed in holiday homes. In Palermo, poignant is the presence, in the beautiful park of Villa Garibaldi, of a statue dedi- cated to Joe Petrosino, a New York City police officer killed by the Mafia in 1909, extraordi- nary testimony to a century of violence. A l w a y s i n P a l e r m o , a n "Addiopizzo" member guides tourists around the alleys and streets of its historical centre, f o l l o w i n g t h e f o o t p r i n t s o f Mafia-fighting history. Teatro Massimo, il Mercato del Capo, P i a z z a d e l l a M e m o r i a a l Tribunale, Piazza Beati Paoli, t h e P a l e r m o C a t h e d r a l , t h e Police Headquarters, the Town Hall: every step offers inspira- tion to reflect upon the Mafia and the civil movement born against it. Participants to the tours have also the opportunity to meet businessmen and shop owners who said no to pizzo, adhering to the "Pago chi non Paga" (I pay those who don't pay) ethical consumerism campaign, promot- ed in the city by the people of "Addiopizzo" in support of all those who rebelled against the Mafia. Another seminal stop is the A n t i c a F o c a c c e r i a S a n Francesco, a historical Palermo restaurant, the owners of which had the courage to report their extortionists. And we can't help but cite the curious initiative "La Coppola Storta," a project filled with important values, twisting and reinventing the coppola, a typi- cal Sicilian hat. The initiative wants to bring new life to the name and diffusion of Sicilian craftsmanship around the world a n d , m o r e i n g e n e r a l , t o t h e image of Sicily itself, through a careful plan of cultural and sus- tainable merchandising, focused on the production of typically Sicilian products with recycled materials. " S i c i l y i s r i c h i n c r e a t i v e resources: talented craftsmen, extraordinary designers, excel- lent graphic artists," explains Francesca Vannini Parenti, a businesswoman of La Coppola Storta, "and yet there are no businesses willing to produce and launch these talents. This is what is missing. Palermo is still far too removed from the fash- ion world, there are no incen- tives, ideas, or calls for young entrepreneurship. In short, there are many creators, but few man- ufacturers. A virtuous circle must be created. " I t h a s b e e n n e c e s s a r y t o develop a conscience based on values stronger than those we wanted to fight. It has been nec- essary to work with profound passion to create a new, vital image for the coppola, an image that mirrors its real identity. That image, today, finally con- quered the imagination of the general public, recapturing the coppola's real identity." "The coppola storta" has a store in Palermo - in the beauti- ful via Bara all'Olivella where m a n y " p u p a r i " ( m a k e r s o f S i c i l i a n m a r i o n e t t e s c a l l e d "pupi") still survive and fran- c h i s e s i n V i e n n a , T u r i n a n d other European cities. Another interesting project, FAIRSUD, has also developed in the past year. FAIRSUD is a non-profit organization intend- ing to enhance the prototype of Sicilian regional experience, e s p e c i a l l y o f t h e a r e a s o f R a g u s a , C a l t a n i s s e t t a a n d Palermo. Crucial for the initia- tive is the enhancement of an ethical business model that, on o n e h a n d , g u a r a n t e e s c o n - sumers' purchasing rights asso- ciated with goods or services related to a specific territory; on the other, it contributes to the c r e a t i o n o f a n e w b u s i n e s s model, oriented towards the highest respect of workers, envi- ronmental and social sustainabil- ity and the creation of solidarity networks and non-traditional protection. Hence, FAIRSUD's proposal f o r a P h i l o s o p h i c a l a n d Managerial Training School: an itinerant training path, in which non-profit organizations' best practices - organization, motiva- tion, leadership, reputation, and creativity - contribute to the birth of a new executive class for organizations and associa- tions. This scientific experimen- tation laboratory will develop the topics already proposed by the Community Studies Center, widening the analysis with the contribution of lecturers from the universities of Palermo and Padua. T h e o b j e c t i v e ? U s i n g Socratic discussion to develop topics such as ethical production organization and to export a non-profit paradigm in the south of Italy, France, Spain Portugal and Greece. It can be said there is, indeed, a light at the end of the tunnel for Sicily today: "Men pass, ideas remain. Their moral con- victions remain and will contin- ue to walk on the legs of other men." Just as Giovanni Falcone once said. Living with a difficult past: how the people of Sicily have been working to erase the island's association with the mafia LIFE PEOPLE MOVIES MUSIC BOOKS "La Coppola Storta," a project filled with important values, twisting and reinventing the coppola, a typical Sicilian hat. Photo courtesy of "La Coppola Storta"

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