When we think of the Mafia we often think of the movie The Godfather that paints an unrealistic picture of the Mafia and its history. Many people believe that the Mafia originated in Sicily and on my recent trip there for our honeymoon, I wanted to learn more about the real history behind the Mafia and where its at today.
The Sicilian Mafia is also known as Cosa Nostra and is a criminal organization that originated on the island of Sicily back in the 19th century. It is essentially an association of gangs that sell protection and arbitration services together. Today, the Mafia in Palermo is not one of violence like you see in the movies but it is very much still present. They exist primarily in requiring local business owners to pay protection fees to them, and will intimidate these businesses in ways that make them feel obligated to do so.
As of 2003, 80% of shops in Palermo were paying protection money to the Mafia.
The Anti-Mafia Movement
Today, there is a rather large anti-mafia movement happening in cities like Palermo. Organizations like Addiopizzo are providing much-needed services and support to business to help them fight back again the Mafia such as free legal services. They are also working to educate people (both tourists and locals) on responsible travel and consumption by creating a database online that showcases thousands of businesses you can shop at that do not pay the Mafia for protection.
Addiopizzo also offers tours. They offer a few to choose from but their most popular is their Palermo No Mafia Tour. This 3-hour tour takes you around Palermo to some key spots in the city as you learn about the anti-mafia movement in the city. It starts centrally at Teatro Massimo and heads to spots like the memorial dedicated to prosecutors and judges killed by the Mafia, with each stop on the tour being a reflection and a chance to learn about the dark history of the Mafia and the movement against their power.
Book the Palermo No Mafia Tour here
The No Mafia Tour
I found it interesting to learn about how the Mafia exists today and how they try and frame themselves as not being “bad” guys but just an alternative organization. They’ll ask businesses and entrepreneurs to make “donations” or a suggested “gift” and ensure they are never asking people for more than they can afford. However, this is just a tactic to try and frame their business model in a more positive light.
The tour with Addiopizzo was very informative and eye-opening. It was a great way to learn the history of the Mafia but I also loved how they showed us how to shop and dine more ethically while in the city by looking out for a special sticker in the businesses windows that showed they were part of the anti-mafia movement.
We visited places that I would’ve just walked by without knowing much about like the Wall of Legality Mural and Memory Square. It was a fantastic way to get a high level history of the city. When I travel, I often just prefer to explore a city on my own, but to truly learn about the Mafia in Sicily, I do feel like you need an expert and local so I would recommend this tour as a must-do if you’re visiting the city.
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