Beautiful Italian town cracking down on popular tourist item ahead of deadline

This beautiful Italian island has brought in a new ban in an effort to clean up its image and highlight its cultural wealth rather than its Mafia history.

The city of Agrigento, in southern Sicily is preparing to become Italy’s cultural capital next year. 

In Sicily’s souvenir shops, you can often find Mafia-themed merchandise, from magnets and t-shirts to bottle openers and shot glasses.

The Sicilian mafia continues to operate on the island, engaging in criminal activities such as extortion, drug trafficking and kidnapping.

Agrigento, a town in southern Sicily still grappling with Mafia control, is also set to be the Italian Capital of Culture in 2025.

In an effort to alter its global image and curb the glamorisation of the criminal organisation, the town has decided to prohibit the sale of Mafia-themed souvenirs.

Francesco Micciche, Agrigento’s mayor, has implemented a ban on the sale of souvenirs featuring the Mafia.

It’s common to see images and symbols of the underworld organisation on merchandise, including Sicilians in traditional attire holding a sawn-off shotgun known as a ‘lupara’.

The ordinance hopes to change how tourists perceive the town and send a clear message that the criminal organisation’s activities are not condoned by local authorities.

The mayor of Agrigento said: “Considering that the sale of such products in the territory of Agrigento humiliates the local community, which has been committed to spreading the culture of legality for years, I order a ban on the sale of any type of object that praises, or refers in any way and form, to the mafia and organised crime.”

Local police have been granted the authority to inspect gift shops and issue fines if prohibited items are found, although the exact fine amount is yet to be determined.

Agrigento plans to highlight its rich cultural heritage rather than its Mafia connections.

The city council has announced a cultural programme featuring 44 new projects exploring the relationship between humans and nature.