Local authorities have given shop owners a law they couldn’t refuse, banning mafia-related and Godfather-themed merchandise.
Local gift shops and airports can no longer sell any memorabilia related to the mafia or Francis Ford Coppola’s Godfather series, which takes a lot of inspiration from the Italian mafia.
Telegraph Rome Correspondent Nick Squires said authorities in Sicily want to squash “negative stereotypes” about Sicily being the “home of the mafia”.
“People might say it's all sort of light-hearted, but actually it reflects many years of murders and intimidation and extortion and an illegality that is very much still alive,” he told Moncrieff.
“This isn’t new - last year, the ferry companies were told by the regional government, don't allow the sale of this stuff on onboard gift shops.”
Mr Squires visited a Sicilian town that has not banned mafia merch yesterday – and they think the ban is over the top.
“This stuff was on display, and they sort of obviously tried to shrug it off and said selling a t-shirt which portrays Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone from the Godfather, has got nothing to do with illegality,” he said.
“I have to say, if anyone's interested in getting mafia-related socks, you can have those - those are nice, and there's fridge magnets.”
Mafia merch ban
Others have argued that the ban is a waste of time for police.
“I saw a magistrate down in Agrigento, the town where this stuff’s been banned, saying we’ve got way more serious problems to deal with in terms of illegality than mafia-related socks,” he said.
“He pointed to a very specific issue - Sicily's had a horrendous drought at the moment, obviously partly caused by climate change and by hot temperatures.
Marlon Brando as Don Corleone in The Godfather. Image: Allstar Picture Library Limited. / Alamy Stock Photo“But also, people are saying by the fact that the mafia nicks a lot of water, takes water supplies illegally for its various businesses and that that's massively exacerbated the drought situation.
“The magistrate was saying forget about the fridge magnets – we need to concentrate on the more serious stuff.”
Mr Squires noted the mafia in Sicily has taken “a big hit” in the last decade, including several significant ‘godfather’ arrests.
Listen back here:
