Sicilian town bans sale of mafia memorabilia

Agrigento bans souvenirs glorifying the mafia.

The mayor of the Sicilian city of Agrigento has banned the sale of mafia souvenirs in a bid to promote legality and prevent negative stereotypes about the Italian island.

The ban was announced after some shops in the city centre displayed souvenir figures depicting Sicilians in traditional dress and representing the werewolf sawed off shotgun, complete with the words “you mafiosi“.

The ordinance introduced by Mayor Francesco Miccichè prohibits tourist souvenir shops from selling “objects and images reminiscent of the mafia and mafiosi” or items that “in any way or form praise or refer to the mafia and organised crime”.

The ban states that the sale of such souvenirs “is a disgrace to the community of Agrigento, which for years has been spreading a culture of legality”.

The ban comes as the city on Sicily’s southern coast prepares for the prestigious role of Italian Capital of Culture in 2025.

In 2019, the authorities of the Agrigento Archaeological Park in the Valley of the Temples banned the sale of mafia souvenirs in its surroundings.

Photo credit: lindasky76 / Shutterstock.com.