Sicily asks airports to stop selling mafia merchandise

Sicily’s regional government on Friday ordered its airport companies to stop selling mafia trinkets and memorabilia.
“Let the sale of mafia-themed goods and souvenirs stop in the shops and shopping areas of Sicilian airports,” said Alessandro Aricò, regional mobility councillor.
The official wrote to the top of the management companies of the airports of Palermo (Gesap), Catania and Comiso (Sac), Trapani (Airgest), Lampedusa (Ast) and Pantelleria (Enac).
“Maintaining a dignified image, stripped of the usual negative stereotypes, is without a doubt a guiding principle that we must follow when the first tourists and visitors come to Sicily,” he said.

Best-selling merchandise includes the ‘coppola’ flat black cap and the ‘lupara’ rifle, which were once worn by mafiosi in the Sicilian countryside, as well as T-shirts from the film Godfather.