Sicilian city bans mafia memorabilia to polish image before it becomes cultural capital in 2025

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Souvenir shops on the Italian island of Sicily often feature mafia items, from magnets and t-shirts to bottle openers and shot glasses.

The Sicilian mafia is still active on the island, engaging in criminal activities such as extortion, drug trafficking and kidnapping.

Agrigento is a city in southern Sicily that still struggles with the mafia. In 2025, the city will also be the cultural capital of Italy.

In order to improve its international image and tackle the glorification of the criminal organization, the city has decided to ban the sale of mafia souvenirs.

Sicilian town bans mafia souvenirs

Francesco Miccichè, the mayor of Agrigento, has banned the sale of souvenirs with mafia images.

It is common to find images and symbols of the underworld organization on merchandise, including Sicilians in traditional clothing, carrying a sawn-off hunting rifle in their hands, a so-called ‘lupara’.

The regulation hopes to improve the way in which tourists to see the city and send a clear signal that the activities of the criminal organization will not be tolerated by local authorities.

“Since the sale of such products in the territory of Agrigento is a humiliation for the local community, which has been committed for years to spreading a culture of legality, I order a ban on the sale of any type of object that praises or in any way refers to the mafia and organised crime,” the mayor told the Italian press.

Local police have been given the power to carry out inspections gift shops in the city and issue fines as prohibited products are found. How much companies have to pay has not yet been confirmed.

Agrigento is clearing out its images in preparation for becoming Italy’s Capital of Culture in 2025

The ban comes as Agrigento prepares to become Italy’s capital. capital of culture next year and wants to draw attention to the country’s cultural wealth rather than its mafia heritage.

The city council says the cultural programme will include 44 new projects that explore humanity’s relationship with nature.

One of the main events is a concert by the Italian opera-pop trio Il Volo in the Valley of the Temples.

Tourists are already flocking here in droves UNESCO World Heritage with archaeological remains dating back to when the island was an ancient Greek colony in the 6th and 5th centuries BC.

The town itself is a palette of ancient, medieval, baroque and modern architecture and there is a notable archaeological museum.