Visiting Palermo this summer? After checking out the goods in the airport’s duty-free shopping area, you might want to check out Palermo’s “Mob-free” shopping. Bloomberg reports that 106 shops and businesses in Palermo, that refuse to give in to mafia extortion have teamed up to offer mob-free shopping. They were inspired by a local clothing-maker who was gunned down 15 years ago.
The Bloomberg article notes that “more than 80 percent of businesses in Palermo hand over a monthly tax to the Sicilian mob, known as Cosa Nostra, according to Italy’s chief antimafia prosecutor Piero Grasso.” A list of the Palermo business owners taking a stand against the Mafia can be found at www.addiopizzo.org For a Palermo city guide and day trips outside the city, see Dream of Italy’s Special Report: Sicily