Addiopizzo () is a

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...

movement established in

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

to build a community of businesses and consumers who refuse to pay " pizzo"—

Mafia "Mafia", as an informal or general term, is often used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the Sicilian Mafia, original Mafia in Sicily, to the Italian-American Mafia, or to other Organized crime in Italy, organiz ...

extortion money.Mafia-free supermarket defies mob extortion
The Daily Telegraph, March 8, 2008To the Mafia's horror, pizzo-free shop opens Palermo doors
, AFP, March 8, 2008 It is a grassroots social-conscience motivated consumer movement analogous to Fair Trade. The group, led by a generation whose adolescence was characterized by the murders of anti-Mafia judges,

journalists A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and businessmen, operates in the

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

and

Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

metropolitan areas, traditionally Mafia strongholds.Sicilians grow defiant of Mafia
BBC News, April 11, 2008

History

Background

One of the first to refuse to pay protection money was Libero Grassi, a businessman from Palermo. In January 1991, he wrote an

open letter An open letter is a Letter (message), letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally. Open letters usually take the form of a letter (mess ...

to the '' Giornale di Sicilia'', the local newspaper. Published on the front page, it was addressed to an anonymous "Dear Extortionist". It caused an uproar, and barely six months later on 29 August 1991, Grassi was murdered by the Mafia.A Bullet For a Businessman
''Business Week'', November 4, 1991

Launch of Addiopizzo

In 2004, Addiopizzo began with five graduates who wanted to open a bar in

. Realising they would be asked to pay a Mafia tithe, they decided instead to organise against the pizzo.We won't pay you protection, traders tell Mafia
, ''The Daily Telegraph'', April 28, 2006 Frustrated with the Mafia's stranglehold on the local economy and political life, they peppered the city with stickers that were designed to mimic the look of obituary notices and that read: "A whole people who pays the pizzo is a people without dignity." They organized demonstrations wearing black T-shirts with the Addiopizzo logo, a broken circle with an X in the middle and the words ''consumo critico'' ("critical consumption").One Hundred Defiant Shopkeepers Say "We Don’t Pay Protection Money"
Corriere della Sera, May 5, 2006 In 2007, the association counted 210 traders and entrepreneurs as members and over 9,000 consumers committed to buying only at shops belonging to the "pizzo-free" list. Palermo police and the prefect have agreed to discreetly look after the member shops. Addiopizzo organized programs in more than 90 schools and educational institutes, with the participation of prosecutors and police. In May 2006 they organized a "pizzo-free" festival in one of Palermo's main squares.
, US Embassy Cable, December 6, 2007 Addiopizzo made headlines around the world when it launched the pizzo-free supermarket Punto Pizzofree in Palermo, which opened in March 2008.Shopkeepers revolt against Sicilian Mafia
''The Observer'', March 9, 2008 According to 2008 investigators' estimates, Mafia extorted more than 160 million euros every year from shops and businesses in the Palermo region, with the island of Sicily as a whole paying ten times that figure. Around 80 per cent of Sicilian businesses pay a pizzo.Italy's biggest business: the Mafia
''The Daily Telegraph'', October 24, 2007 According to Palermo University, the pizzo averages 457 euros ($640) a month for retail traders and 578 euros for hotels and restaurants, but construction companies are asked to pay over 2,000 euros per month according to figures published in the economic daily ''

Il Sole 24 Ore (; English: "The Sun 24 Hours") is the Italian financial newspaper of record, owned by Confindustria, the Italian employers' federation. is the leading financial daily in Italy. History and profile was first published on 9 November 1965 as ...

''. In 2006, Addiopizzo Catania was founded, with aims similar to those of Addiopizzo Palermo. Addiopizzo Catania works to fight against the Mafia by discouraging shop owners from paying pizzo, educating people, and challenging cultural norms. On 30 October 2012 a delegation of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

's Special Committee on Organised Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (CRIM) invited Addiopizzo Catania to submit a report of its activities, in order to underline the importance of international cooperation against organized crime.Report on the activity of "Addiopizzo Catania"
by Addiopizzo Catania to the Special Committee on Organised Crime, Corruption and Money Laundering (CRIM), October 30, 2012

Addiopizzo Travel

Addiopizzo Travel is a project of Addiopizzo that focuses on raising awareness among the many holidaymakers that travel to Sicily every year by helping travellers with finding "pizzo-free" hotels, restaurants, shops, etc. In addition, they run anti-mafia tours for schools, universities, and other interested parties.Addiopizzo Travel
/ref>

References

External links

Addiopizzo website

Addiopizzo Travel website

Addiopizzo Catania English website

National Post article
{{Authority control Antimafia 2004 establishments in Italy Crime in Sicily Economy of Sicily 21st century in Sicily History of Palermo Organisations based in Sicily