This Sicilian city bans mafia memorabilia

The Sicilian city of Agrigento is rightly tired of being culturally associated with its mafia heritage. To solve that problem, all mafia-related souvenirs are being removed.

Next year, Agrigento will be the cultural capital of Italy. For this reason, it wants to be remembered by tourists for its many spectacular and culturally relevant features rather than the notorious mafia activities on the island of Sicily. Unfortunately, the mafia is still active and prominent in the region, and its criminal activities (including extortion, drug trafficking and kidnapping, among many other practices) are often romanticized by tourists.

Agrigento, however, is having none of it. In an attempt to “clean up” the city and promote its positive image and culture, Francesco Miccichè, the mayor of Agrigento, has banned the sale of souvenirs featuring the mafia. Euronews defeated.

“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,” Miccichè told the Italian press, “I recommend a ban on the sale of any type of object that praises the mafia and organized crime or refers to the mafia in any way and in any form.”

As a result, local police are now allowed to inspect souvenir shops in the city, and those still caught selling mafia merchandise are fined. This isn’t the first time a city has wanted to ban a certain type of souvenir to protect its image. Earlier in June, a group of Barcelona politicians proposed a ban on offensive souvenirs that could promote homophobic and sexist jokes.

“(They) devalue the most visited streets in Barcelona,” said councillor Jordi Coronas, who helped propose the ban, at the time. “They are a sloppy bunch, which degrades the image of Barcelona as a tourist destination.”