Sicilians grow defiant of Mafia
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In the Cosa Nostra's stronghold of Palermo, Sicily's sprawling port capital, the Mafia have ways and means of knowing if you are turning a profit. And inevitably they want a cut."It starts with them glueing over your keyhole," explains Cecile Lambert, a young member of an association, Addiopizzo, that aims to free the city's shopkeepers from the tyranny of extortion payments. "That's a clear signal that they are looking for the pizzo."
The pizzo - or protection money - is paid monthly and the sum is even negotiable. If you are unable, or unwilling, to interpret the Cosa Nostra's symbolic language then they are usually more than happy to make it clearer.
"You might find your shop window smashed, or even your car set on fire," she explains. But at last the old ways are being challenged.
Cosa Nostra is the name of the Sicilian Mafia - one of several mafias operating in southern Italy.
"This used to be the type of cap often worn by mafiosi, they'd wear it straight, like this," Mr Messina says of the brightly coloured caps near the entrance, pulling one over his unruly hair.
"But the company is called La Coppola Storta (Jaunty Cap) because we wear it differently, at an angle. It's about reclaiming and re-interpreting a symbol, giving it a positive meaning."
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