Addiopizzo
Encyclopedia
Addiopizzo is a grassroots
movement established to build a community of businesses and consumers who refuse to pay "pizzo
" – Mafia
extortion money. 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 and businessmen, operates in the Palermo
metropolitan area, traditionally a Mafia stronghold.
. Realising they would be asked to pay a Mafia tithe
, they decided instead to organise against the pizzo. Frustrated with the Mafia's stranglehold on the local economy and political life, they peppered the city with stickers stating: "A whole people who pays the pizzo is a people without dignity. They organise manifestations wearing black T-shirts with the Addiopizzo logo, a broken circle with an X in the middle and the words "consumo critico" (critical consumption)."
In 2007, the association counted 210 traders and entrepreneurs as members and over 9,000 consumers committed to buy 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. Addiopizzo made headlines around the world when it launched a pizzo-free supermarket Punto Pizzofree in Palermo that opened in March 2008.
The Mafia extorts more than 160 million euro a year from shops and businesses in the Palermo region, with the island as a whole paying 10 times that figure, investigators estimate. Around 80 per cent of Sicilian businesses pay up a pizzo. According to Palermo University, the pizzo averages 457 euros (640 dollars) a month for retail traders and 578 for hotels and restaurants, but construction companies are asked to pay over 2,000 euros per month according to economic daily Il Sole 24 Ore
's figures.
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
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 but, barely nine months later, Grassi was dead.
, an anti-Mafia movement in Germany, established after the Duisburg massacre in August 2007, when, in front of an Italian restaurant six people were killed in a blood feud between 'Ndrangheta families.
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
movement established to build a community of businesses and consumers who refuse to pay "pizzo
Pizzo
Pizzo may refer to:* Pizzo, Calabria, a seaport in Calabria, Italy * Pizzo , imposed by a protection racket, a fee periodically collected by the Mafia from businesses...
" – Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
extortion money. It is a grassroots
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
social-conscience motivated consumer movement analogous to Fair Trade
Fair trade
Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as higher social and environmental standards...
. The group, led by a generation whose adolescence was characterized by the murders of anti-Mafia judges, journalists and businessmen, operates in the Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
metropolitan area, traditionally a Mafia stronghold.
History
In 2004, Addiopizzo began by five graduates who wanted to open a bar in PalermoPalermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
. Realising they would be asked to pay a Mafia tithe
Tithe
A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
, they decided instead to organise against the pizzo. Frustrated with the Mafia's stranglehold on the local economy and political life, they peppered the city with stickers stating: "A whole people who pays the pizzo is a people without dignity. They organise manifestations wearing black T-shirts with the Addiopizzo logo, a broken circle with an X in the middle and the words "consumo critico" (critical consumption)."
In 2007, the association counted 210 traders and entrepreneurs as members and over 9,000 consumers committed to buy 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. Addiopizzo made headlines around the world when it launched a pizzo-free supermarket Punto Pizzofree in Palermo that opened in March 2008.
The Mafia extorts more than 160 million euro a year from shops and businesses in the Palermo region, with the island as a whole paying 10 times that figure, investigators estimate. Around 80 per cent of Sicilian businesses pay up a pizzo. According to Palermo University, the pizzo averages 457 euros (640 dollars) a month for retail traders and 578 for hotels and restaurants, but construction companies are asked to pay over 2,000 euros per month according to economic daily Il Sole 24 Ore
Il Sole 24 Ore
Il Sole 24 Ore is an Italian national daily business newspaper owned by Confindustria, the Italian employers' federation.It was founded on 1965-11-09 as a merger between Il Sole, founded in 1865, and 24 Ore, founded in 1946. The headquarters are in Milan...
's figures.
One of the first to refuse to pay protection money was Libero Grassi
Libero Grassi
Libero Grassi was an Italian clothing manufacturer from Palermo, Sicily, who was killed by the Mafia after taking a solitary stand against their extortion demands, known as "pizzo" in Sicilian....
, a businessman from Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
. In January 1991, he wrote an open letter
Open letter
An open letter is a 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....
to the Giornale di Sicilia
Giornale di Sicilia
Giornale di Sicilia is an Italian daily national newspaper based in Palermo, Sicily. It is also the best-selling newspaper in Sicily.It was founded in 1860, immediately following the Expedition of the Thousand headed by Giuseppe Garibaldi; it was first published on June 7 under the name "Giornale...
, the local newspaper. Published on the front page, it was addressed to an anonymous "Dear Extortionist". It caused an uproar but, barely nine months later, Grassi was dead.
Example
Addiopizzo served as an example for Mafia? Nein danke!Mafia? Nein danke!
Mafia? Nein Danke! is an anti-mafia movement that was created in Germany after the Duisburg massacre in August 2007. Born...
, an anti-Mafia movement in Germany, established after the Duisburg massacre in August 2007, when, in front of an Italian restaurant six people were killed in a blood feud between 'Ndrangheta families.