Mafia-Themed Food Gifts Spark Outrage With Italian Farmers

The Coldiretti, an association of Italian farmers, are fed up with Mafia branding. According to The Guardian, the association found nearly 300 restaurants outside Italy using Mafia-related names and themes. Many labels have played The Godfather, The Sopranos, or The Goodfellas, the sensational films that popularized the Mafia in American media.

“Continuing to associate Italy with the stereotypes and criminality of the mafia would seriously damage the country’s image,” said Alessandro Apolito, head of the Coldiretti branch. “But the most important issue is that it is a crime for mafia victims because hundreds of innocent people have been murdered by them or are suffering from their crimes.”

Apolito named Palermo, the capital of Sicily, as a victim of marketing crimes. Many Palermitani have been brutalized by mafia violence. Across Sicily, there is even the Adio Pizzo movement, which has seen the island’s shops, restaurants and businesses stand up to extortion, likewise Palermo’s No His Mafia Her memorial sheds light on the island’s mafia violence. acknowledging the past rather than ignoring it.

Such efforts are undermined by the mafia branding that Mr. Coldiretti wants to eliminate from the dish. “Even if it’s a joke, it’s scandalous to think that someone can buy this kind of thing,” Apolito said. is not acceptable.”