Sicily's Mafia-free department store
Link | Link to Addiopizzo(Caption: 'An entire population that pays the pizzo is a population without dignity.')
Fabio Messina has never run a shop before and agrees that the supermarket he sunk his savings into and opened yesterday sells a rather eclectic array of goods, from marmalade and pot plants to pyjamas and wristwatches.
But it is a landmark in Palermo: all products and staff are 100 per cent guaranteed Mafia-free, supplied only by shops and producers which have stood up to Sicily's Cosa Nostra and refused to pay protection money.
'I decided it was right to give those traders who refuse to pay an extra opportunity,' said Messina, 29, a former boating instructor and bar owner and now owner of Punto Pizzofree. The 'Pizzo' refers to the €200 (£153) to €500 that up to 80 per cent of Palermo's shopkeepers pay the mob monthly to avoid a smashed window, a mysterious fire or a bomb under their car.
The store is part of an anti-Mafia groundswell that started four years ago when activists plastered Palermo with bill stickers stating: 'An entire population that pays the pizzo is a population without dignity.'
the latest
latest episodes
Dead pool anyone?
The guy's doing the right thing, but it's obviously not a fantastic choice from a safety perspective. More power to him.
"A population that accepts the TSA is a population without dignity"
I imagine most of us in the English speaking world think of mafioso as counter culture heroes; it really is odd to think of living somewhere mafia ruled. I hesitate to ask if there are any good documentaries?
Yeah, quite an honorable stance; he's definitely got some big brass ones.
But I sure hope he's prepared to guard his shop and his person/family with extreme vigilance around the clock.
Wow, this guy needs to get a goalie mask with a bullseye on it. Good luck, Fabio Messina, we hardly knew ye !
I wonder what his insurance bill is? For the store? Personal?
he's soon gonna sleep with da fishes, you know wha i mean?
They sell POT plants? This guy has plenty of other things to worry about than the mafia.
Take the cannoli and run, man.
Good for him. I hope to visit his grave, where I will say a solemn and sincere prayer. Thankfully, someone is standing up to those lazy, uneducated, no-talent, worthless criminals.
Pretty soon, you've got a population of shop owners who pay the pizzo so nobody knows they pay the pizzo.
Wow. I went to Palermo once and got ripped off by a Scooter Rental place for like 500 Euros. I went and talked to the police and they just scoffed and told me what I thought was a problem wasn't a problem.
They are such scammers over there!
Good pastries though...
"It really is odd to think of living somewhere mafia ruled."
You mean where you live, there's no organization that extorts 10-50% of your business and personal income "for your benefit"?
They sell POT plants?
Settle down, that's just the UK term for what we yanks call potted plants.
#13, at least that some of the money that we pay (I'm assuming you're talking about taxes) goes to fixing roads, school systems, etc. The money they pay goes no where but the Mafioso's pockets.
And if you're an American I hope you're not voting Democrat this year. You'll pay more for that wonderful healthcare they're promising.
Did you know in Canada the wait time for an OB/GYN to deliver your baby is 10 months? I hope you planned ahead!
#15 - As the grateful recipient of a tax-funded national heathcare system, I'd say that it's one of the pinnacles of our civilization. I really fail to see how one could effectively argue against it.
#4-I haven't seen any documentaries, but Roberto Saviano wrote a very courageous book about the endemic mafia problem in Naples.
http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9780374165277-0
I got ripped off by an unlicensed taxi for 80 Euros in Rome. On top of that, the shops in a particular area were giving kickbacks to tour guides who brought people there. I don't know if it's just because we weren't locals or what, but in Italy there seemed to be a huge culture of "take the money and run." Maybe it's different if you live there.
Good luck to this guy.
Anyone who's played Sam & Max Season 1 Episode 3 (The Mole, The Mob and the Meatball) knows that calling something "Mafia-Free" is just overcompensating.
http://telltalegames.com/samandmax/meatball