(ANSA) - ROME, AUG 23 - The Sicilian regional government on Friday told its airport handling companies to stop selling Mafia trinkets and memorabilia.
"Let the sale of merchandise and souvenirs on the Mafia theme end in the shops and commercial areas of Sicilian airports," said regional mobility councillor Alessandro Aricò.
The official wrote to the top brass at the management companies of the airports of Palermo (Gesap), Catania and Comiso (Sac), Trapani (Airgest), Lampedusa (Ast) and Pantelleria (Enac).
"Maintaining a dignified image stripped of the usual negative stereotypes is without doubt a firm line to be held in the place of first arrival of tourists and visitors reaching Sicily," he said.
Among the biggest-selling merch are the 'coppola' flat black cap and the 'lupara' rifle that old-style mafiosi sported in the Sicilian countryside, as well as Godfather film t-shirts.
(ANSA).