Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
age interest rate of 10%. An estimated 50% to
70% of shops in Naples are run with dubiously
sourced money. Mafia profits are also reinves-
ted in legitimate real estate, credit markets and
businesses around the world.
Although too many Neapolitans shrug their
shoulders in resignation, others are determined
to loosen the Camorra's grip. In the Sanità dis-
trict, people like parish priest Don Antonio
Loffredo and renowned artist Riccardo Dalisi offer youth the opportunity to learn artistic
and artisanal skills and help restore local heritage sites, including the Catacomba di San
Gennaro.
Across the city in Ercolano, elderly shopkeeper Raffaella Ottaviano made international
headlines for her refusal to pay the
pizzo
. Her courage has influenced other local traders
to say no, which in turn has led the local council to offer tax breaks to those who report
threats of extortion instead of giving in to the Camorra.
Not long ago, this willingness to publicly denounce the Camorra would have been
thought impossible, a fact that offers a glimmer of hope in a long, dark battle.
then 27-year-old would go down in history as
Italy's first cross-dressing mobster. In between
shaping his eyebrows, dabbing on lipstick and
dyeing his hair platinum blonde, 'Kitty' found
time to manage prostitution and drug rackets
for Naples' Scissionisti clan.
