Free Sicilians (; ; SL) is a Sicilian nationalist and pro-

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

political party. The party was founded in 2016 in order to revive the island's right to self-government.

History

Free Sicilians was founded by Massimo Costa, Antonella Pititto and Enzo Cassata. The party was launched on 3 January 2016 during a meeting in

Pergusa Pergusa is an Italian village of Sicily. It is a ''frazione'' of Enna, the administrative seat of the same-named province. Geography Pergusa lies in hills about 10 km south of Enna. Pergusa is reached by the ''Enna-Gela Road'', which allow ...

. On the same occasion, the economist Massimo Costa, professor at the

University of Palermo The University of Palermo () is a public university, public research university in Palermo, Italy. It was founded in 1806, and is currently organized in 12 Faculties. History The University of Palermo was officially founded in 1806, although it ...

, became president of the party. Free Sicilians took part in the

local elections Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

for the first time in the spring of 2017, presenting its own mayoral candidate and its own electoral list in

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 ...

, capital of Sicily. Ciro Lomonte, an architect and scholar of the Salingaros Group, was chosen as mayoral candidate. During his electoral campaign, Lomonte focused on the issues of the

urban renewal Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...

, the identity revival of Palermo and the violations of the

Statute of Sicily A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wil ...

by the Italian Government. Lomonte gained 4787 votes (1,76%), while the list gained 4041 votes (1,71%). Roberto La Rosa, a lawyer and former deputy secretary of the ''Sicilian National Front'', was chosen as

presidential Presidential may refer to: * "Presidential" (song), a 2005 song by YoungBloodZ * Presidential Airways (charter), an American charter airline based in Florida * Presidential Airways (scheduled), an American passenger airline active in the 1980s * ...

candidate for the 2017 regional election. Free Sicilians was the only pro-independence party competing for the

Sicilian Regional Assembly The Sicilian Regional Assembly () is the legislative body of Sicily. While it has a long history as an autonomous entity, the modern Region of Sicily was established by Royal Decree on 15 May 1946, before the Italian Republic. The Regional Assem ...

in 2017. "Economic independence" was the key concept of the electoral campaign. According to the party's program, this key concept would be pursued through the adoption of the

special economic zone A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. SEZs are located within a country's national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increas ...

and a

complementary currency A complementary currency is a currency or medium of exchange that is not necessarily a national currency, but that is thought of as supplementing or complementing national currencies. Complementary currencies are usually not legal tender and the ...

called ''

Tarì Tarì (from Arabic language, Arabic طري ''ṭarī'', lit. "fresh" or "newly minted money")Cardini, p. 26 was the Christians, Christian designation of a type of gold coin of Islamic origin minted in Sicily, Malta and Southern Italy from about ...

'', like the ancient coin of the

Kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily (; ; ) was a state that existed in Sicily and the southern Italian peninsula, Italian Peninsula as well as, for a time, in Kingdom of Africa, Northern Africa, from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 until 1816. It was ...

.''Regionali Sicilia, La Rosa: "Puntiamo a indipendenza economica e Zes"''

ANSA Ansa (Latin for "handle") or ANSA may refer to: Organizations * Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata, Italian news agency ** Ansa Mediterranean or ANSAmed, section of the above * Applied Neuroscience Society of Australasia * Association of Norw ...

, 28 October 2017. During the campaign, La Rosa also suggested the creation of the Sicilian national football team as other autonomous regions and unrecognised states did before Sicily. La Rosa gained 14,656 votes (0.70%), while the list gained 12,600 votes (0.66%). In December 2017 Ciro Lomonte was chosen as provisional secretary until the first Congress of the party.

Ideology

Free Sicilians believes that Sicily is a

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

stateless nation A stateless nation is an ethnicity, ethnic group or nation that does not possess its own sovereign state.''Dictionary Of Public Administration'', U.C. Mandal, Sarup & Sons 2007, 505 p. Use of the term implies that such ethnic groups have the rig ...

with its own political history, language, culture, traditions and national identity.''Manifesto per lo Stato di Sicilia''
– Official website. The party describes the current political and economic condition of Sicily as a case of

internal colonialism Internal colonialism is the uneven effects of economic development on a regional basis, otherwise known as " uneven development" as a result of the exploitation of minority groups within a wider society which leads to political and economic inequal ...

. In particular, Free Sicilians complains the persistent non-implementation of the Autonomous Statute of Sicily and, for this reason, aims to gradually achieve the full independence of the island in order to create a sovereign state. The party describes its ideology as " souverainist", in opposition to the excesses of

globalization Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...

International relations

The responsible for the international relations of Free Sicilians is Alfonso Nobile delegate for relations with European Free Alliance. On February and March 2018, Free Sicilians hosted the first delegations of

Catalan nationalist Catalan nationalism promotes the idea that the Catalan people form a distinct nation and national identity. A related term is Catalanism (, ), which is more related to regionalism and tends to have a wider meaning, most people who define themsel ...

parties (''

Estat Català Estat Català (, literally "Catalan State") is a pro-independence nationalist historical political party of Catalonia (Spain). History Estat Català is a historical pro-independence political party in Catalonia, Spain. It was founded by Franc ...

'', ''

Esquerra Republicana The Republican Left of Catalonia (, ERC; ; generically branded as ) is a pro-Catalan independence, social democratic political party in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia, with a presence also in Valencia, the Balearic Islands and th ...

'') at its headquarters in Palermo. In December 2017 Free Sicilians has congratulated the Corsican nationalist alliance ''

Pè a Corsica Pè a Corsica () was a Corsican nationalist political alliance in France, which was calling for more autonomy for Corsica. More specifically, it was a coalition of the two Corsican nationalist parties active on the island; that is, the modera ...

'' for the success in the Corsican territorial election. In 2018 and 2019, the party entered in dialogue and collaboration with many other similar movements, in other territories of the Italian Republic and European Union, namely Comitato Libertà Toscana (Committee Liberty Tuscany), along with Patto per l'Autonomia (Pact for Self-government) and Patrie Furlane (Friulian Home), which are active in Friuli-Venetia Giulia region.

Leadership

*President: Massimo Costa (2016–2017) Armando Melodia (2018 - 2021) Gianluca Castriciano (2021 - 2022) Carmelo Sardella (2022 - 2023) Ciro Lomonte (2024 - present) **Deputy President: Antonella Pititto (2016–2018) *Secretary: Ciro Lomonte (2017– 2024) Eliana Esposito (2024 - present) **Deputy Secretary: Marco Lo Dico (2021– 2024)

Electoral results

Regional Councils

References

External links

Official website
{{Italian political parties Political parties in Sicily Sicilian nationalist parties Separatism in Italy Secessionist organizations in Europe Political parties established in 2016 2016 establishments in Italy Political parties of minorities in Italy