A city break to discover the places that have become a symbol of the civil anti-mafia movement and of the rebellion against racketeering. An unusual (and completely safe) way to see Palermo, where each stop offers inspiration for a reflection on the phenomenon of the mafia and on the civil mobilization against mafia power.
Meeting Point: Check-in at B&B and specially selected holiday homes
Day 1: Arrival - Palermo
We recommend planning your arrival for the afternoon. Autonomous transfer to Palermo and check-in to the selected B&B.
Please note that the accommodation hospitality of our weekends in Palermo is cared for by B&B and holiday homes located in the historical center we have chosen because their owners adhere to the ethical “Addiopizzo” circuit - structures that have decided to openly take sides and refuse to pay the mafia. In this way, you will meet the healthiest part of the city, contribute to the development of an ethical economy, and prove that being on the side of legality is convenient.
Day 2: Palermo, NO Mafia!
The walking tour is guided by our cultural mediators - locals with an interest in their own culture and the more obviously social aspects. The walk of about 3 hours takes place in the historical center and allows you to dismantle the clichés on Sicily and to meet a city much different from the one told by films and popular culture.
Your tour leads from the opera house Teatro Massimo to Piazza Beati Paoli, passing through the famous and picturesque market of the Capo and Piazza della Memoria, where the memorial dedicated to the magistrates killed by the Mafia was inaugurated in 2006. Your guide will also take you to the cathedral and to city hall, symbols of the union between mafia and institutions. Finally, Piazza Magione, in the Arab neighborhood of the Kalsa, the pulsating heart of the city: here, where the criminal presence is still very marked, where the anti-mafia judges and victims Falcone and Borsellino spent their childhood. This neighborhood - where many still live in conditions of extreme poverty - is the focus of the social projects carried by the Addiopizzo committee, the association that made the anti-racketeering movement of the city possible.
Along the way, you will see many shop windows displaying their sticker advertising their participation in the campaign for critical consumption “Pago chi non paga” ("I pay who does not pay"): They are merchants who said NO to the racket, publicly stating that they do not want to pay the “pizzo” protection money.
The tour concludes with a street food tasting at the Antica Focacceria San Francesco, a historic Palermo eatery that is also a symbol of the rebellion of entrepreneurs against the pizzo: The owners had the courage to denounce those who forced them to pay protection money, marking a turning point in the history of fighting the racket in Palermo.
Day 3: Free time in Palermo - Departure
Free day for autonomous visits to or around the city: Palermo offers a lot of sightseeing opportunities, museums, churches, and gardens unique in Europe!
We recommend you plan your departure for the late afternoon or evening so you have time for autonomous visits or to participate in another one of our excursions.
