Post by ~Wizeguy~ on Nov 29, 2003 18:16:29 GMT -5
Corleone wants shot of the mafia
Reuters in Rome
Thursday November 27, 2003
The Guardian
Corleone is not a "mafia town", says the lawyer who wants to change the Sicilian city's name.
A lawyer in the Sicilian town of Corleone has begun a petition to change its name, saying it has been made notorious by The Godfather books and films of the 1970s. Antonio Di Lorenzo wants the name changed to protect the innocent and stop people associating with the mafia, he says.
"Some people come all the way from countries such as Denmark to get married here, so they can say they got married in a mafia town," he said. "It's an historic illness that we have to cure. As an honest citizen, I can't tolerate this kind of stuff. If this is the problem, let's change the name."
Corleone was made famous by Don Vito Corleone, played at different ages by Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro in the Godfather films.
But it is the real-life birthplace of a number of mafia bosses whose ruthless bloodletting make the film look tame by comparison, including Toto Riina, who headed the mafia until his arrest in 1993, and his heir-apparent, Bernardo Provenzano, who has been on the run for four decades.
Mr Di Lorenzo said Corleone should revert to Cuor di Leone (Lion Heart), which is what it was called centuries ago. He wants a historical commission to decide.
"This is pure folly, total rubbish," countered Corleone's mayor, Nicolo Nicolosi. "Corleone and its people must take advantage of its fame to seek positive things such as the fight against the mafia and the economic and cultural advantage of everyone here," he said. "Our notoriety can help our rebirth."
Even anti-mafia campaigners ridicule Mr Di Lorenzo's scheme. "The only signatures he will get are his own and that of his wife," said Dino Paternostro, editor of the local anti-mafia newspaper, Citta Nuove.
via gaurdian.co
Reuters in Rome
Thursday November 27, 2003
The Guardian
Corleone is not a "mafia town", says the lawyer who wants to change the Sicilian city's name.
A lawyer in the Sicilian town of Corleone has begun a petition to change its name, saying it has been made notorious by The Godfather books and films of the 1970s. Antonio Di Lorenzo wants the name changed to protect the innocent and stop people associating with the mafia, he says.
"Some people come all the way from countries such as Denmark to get married here, so they can say they got married in a mafia town," he said. "It's an historic illness that we have to cure. As an honest citizen, I can't tolerate this kind of stuff. If this is the problem, let's change the name."
Corleone was made famous by Don Vito Corleone, played at different ages by Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro in the Godfather films.
But it is the real-life birthplace of a number of mafia bosses whose ruthless bloodletting make the film look tame by comparison, including Toto Riina, who headed the mafia until his arrest in 1993, and his heir-apparent, Bernardo Provenzano, who has been on the run for four decades.
Mr Di Lorenzo said Corleone should revert to Cuor di Leone (Lion Heart), which is what it was called centuries ago. He wants a historical commission to decide.
"This is pure folly, total rubbish," countered Corleone's mayor, Nicolo Nicolosi. "Corleone and its people must take advantage of its fame to seek positive things such as the fight against the mafia and the economic and cultural advantage of everyone here," he said. "Our notoriety can help our rebirth."
Even anti-mafia campaigners ridicule Mr Di Lorenzo's scheme. "The only signatures he will get are his own and that of his wife," said Dino Paternostro, editor of the local anti-mafia newspaper, Citta Nuove.
via gaurdian.co
