Addiopizzo Travel to repaint the faded NO MAFIA Sign

AddiopizzoTravel.it

Addiopizzo Travel will commemorate the assassination of Giovanni Falcone by repainting the sign that written after the days when the Palermitan judge was killed with his wife and bodyguards on May 22, 1993.

Addiopizzo Travel provides ethical tours of Sicily. We do this by taking tourists to those businesses who have said “no” to the Mafia’s requests for protection money. The name given to this protection money is ‘Pizzo’, join us and you will travel “mafia-free” and ‘pizzo-free’! From AddioPizzoTravel.it

Giovanni Falcone (18 May 1939 – 23 May 1992) was a Sicilian/Italian prosecuting magistrate born in Palermo,Sicily. From his office in the Palace of Justice in Palermo, he spent most of his professional life trying to overthrow the power of the Mafia in Sicily. After a long and distinguished career, culminating in the famous Maxi Trial, he was killed by the Corleonesi Mafia in May 1992, on the motorway near the town of Capaci. From Wikipedia.com

Italian politician wants to sell Sicily to the US

Mario Borghezio, an Italian politician from the Northern League, is not new to controversy and discriminatory offenses. Now that the Northern League is in deep troubles because of scandals that touch the top leaders of his party and imply even business relations between the party and the ‘Ndrangheta, he  goes off even louder saying that the Italian regions of Sicily and Campania should be sold to the US to free Italy from the Mafia and reduce the Italian debt.

For Borghezio, it is always Roma ladrona‘s fault even when the ladri is them… It is never the fault of the petty Italian ruling class that has not been capable to put together a country smaller than Texas after 150 years. Listen here for yourself (unfortunately, Italian ONLY).

 

Sicily in the news

We have been away for a while. In the meantime, Sicily has not been waiting for us to be in the news.  Here is a little catching up with what has happened in the past weeks.

Beginning April 21, Getty Villa guests will be able to view items from the ancient city of Morgantina.

Emanuele Viscuso has brought a slice of Italy to Miami. The founder of the Sicilian International Film Festival, now under way through April 17, visited in 2000 and decided to put down roots.

Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark shot a final round 69 to win the Sicilian Open by 1 shot, holding off England’s Chris Wood who equaled the course record with an 8-under 64 on Sunday April 15.

A 4.3 magnitude earthquake has struck in the sea off Italy’s Sicily, sending residents into the streets but with no immediate reports of victims or injuries, officials said on April 13.

Mount Etna erupts not far from Zafferana Etnea village on April 13.

One of Sicily’s most ambitious winemakers, Planeta, has taken on a new challenge by tackling its French competitors head on with its first Brut Classic to be released this year. April 5

Fountains of lava and ash spew out of Mount Etna, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, in the early morning of April 1 on the Italian island of Sicily.

A city clerk in Palermo is being investigated over alleged irregularities in the issuing of voting card duplicates. March 30

In one of the most extraordinary discoveries in recent years, an opera that experts say is the long-lost first work by Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1834) was found during an archeological dig in Sicily.

The Sicilian mafia pockets more than a third of all the money allocated by the central government in Rome for public services on the island, according to a study to be presented at the Royal Economic Society’s 2012 annual conference. March 23

Source: GoogleNews
Photo: Castellammare del Golfo (TP) by Joe Zarba

 

Azienda Agricola Biologica Titone in Sicily Is Awarded with the Best Olive Oil in Italy

Flos is the Latin word for “the best” and Flos Olei has as its objective the profiling of the world’s best olive oils and their producers. Marco Oreggia, a Rome-based journalist and expert in wine and olive oil, is its publisher, and he jointly edits it with Laura Marinelli. Oreggia was behind another guide to olive oils, which was called L’Extravergine, but the current guide has supplanted it. This is the third year for Flos Olei and Flos Olei 2012 will be launched in Rome in late November. The guide is in both Italian and English and costs €30.

The producers listed in the guide are also competitors for some 20 prizes, and the results of the competition have already been announced. The Olive Oil Mill of the Year award went to the Italian producer, Azienda Agraria Viola, an Umbrian family business that consistently produces award-winning results. The Best Extra Virgin Olive Oil of the Year prize went to the Azienda Agricola Biologica Titone in Sicily, for their Titone, a DOP Valli Trapanesi Biologico. Both of these are organic producers, like many in the top 20 list.

Source: The Olive Oil Times

Paolo Pizzo from Catania Wins Gold Medal in Fencing

We always talk about soccer when we post sport news, but this time we are proud to write about fencing. Yes, fencing. Catania is hosting The World Fencing Champions from October 8-16, 2011.

On Wednesday October 12, Paolo Pizzo was the surprise winner of the epee title as host Italy continued to dominate the fencing world championships. Matteo Tagliariol was the favorite for the title, but the Olympic champion was upset by eventual semifinalist Park Kyoung-doo of South Korea in the opening round.

Pizzo, competing in his hometown of Catania, edged Bas Verwijlen of the Netherlands 15-13 in the final for his first major medal, giving Italy its third gold of the championship after Valentina Vezzali and Aldo Montano won Tuesday’s opening events.

Source: The Mainichi Daily News

Palermo Is the Most Visited Destination in Sicily in 2011

Tourists flocked to the Sicilian capital this year. According to the Servizio Turistico Regionale – a department of the Sicilian region, domestic arrivals increased by 34,46% and international arrivals by 42.83%. Bednights increased as well: 16,24% and 27.02%. From January through July 2011, Palermo accounted for 334,769 arrivals and 710,740 bednights.

Most international arrivals come from France, then Germany UK, Spain, Scandinavia, Czech Republic, Russia and US.

Two Million Euros Near the Southern Sicilian City of Agrigento Confiscated from the Mafia

Police  impounded assets worth two million euros near the southern Sicilian city of Agrigento on the orders of anti-mafia prosecutors. The assets included apartments, land and companies.

The assets are allegedly owned by three men earlier detained on suspicion of belonging to the Sicilian mafia in the Agrigento area. They were named as Pietro Antonio Derelitto, 48, Antonio Giuseppe Perricone, 57 and Diego Gioacchino Guarneri, 43.

Anti-mafia investigators allege Perricone met jailed mafia ‘boss of bosses’ Bernardo Provenzano at his isolated rural hideout near the Sicilian mafia stronghold of Corleone in 2006. The alleged meeting took place two days before Provenzano’s arrest in 2006 after 43 years on the run.

Source: adnkronos.com

Lampedusa Riots – Video

Unfortunately, the situation is getting worse in Lampedusa. Migrants clashed with residents.

Tribute to Salvatore Licitra

Salvatore Licitra was a young promising tenor with Sicilian origins. He had an accident while riding his motor scooter in Modica (RG) on September 5, 2011 and died a few days after. Here is a video of him singing “E Lucevan le Stelle” from Tosca.

Video (3:22min)

Etna Erupts

Mount Etna is having an active summer this year. The highest volcano in Europe erupted on August 5. Its ashes created a few problems for the nearby Fontanarossa Airport in Catania. Tourists are flocking to the area to view the show of the lava flow. For an idea, please look at the video below or these spectacular pictures.

The activity seems under control now and the airport is back to normal business.

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