Funeral procession with mopeds and fireworks disrupts Palermo's Ballarò market

A funeral procession through the city centre

On Monday morning, 9 November, a funeral for a convicted man turned into a noisy procession along the pedestrian zone of via Maqueda in central Palermo. About 100 people walked behind mopeds whose riders were not wearing helmets, while fireworks and bangers were set off along the route. The cortege then carried the coffin through the Ballarò market toward the Carmine church. Tourists in the area were left startled, and footage of the procession was widely shared on social media. The man had died in the days before, and at the time of his death he was under house arrest for health reasons.

Shuttered stalls and a social media call

Repubblica, as relayed by Il Fatto Quotidiano, reported that the Ballarò market stayed closed for mourning, with all its shutters lowered. AGI wrote that some TikTok influencers had stopped live streaming for two days out of respect for the family. After that, a call went out to close the market on the day of the funeral, and a collection was started to pay for the fireworks. Residents told AGI they felt abandoned in the face of a show of strength by people who still believe they run the area, and that nobody had checked or stopped the event. AGI described the episode as a fresh wound for a neighbourhood that has long sought to improve its image.

Conflicting accounts of the conviction

ANSA reported a first-instance sentence of 12 years for the 2016 attempted murder of a Gambian man, who was shot in the head on via Maqueda after an argument. ANSA also cited a sentence of nine and a half years for extortion of shopkeepers who were foreign nationals. AGI gave a further 13 years for the extortion. Il Fatto Quotidiano said the extortion conviction, aggravated by the mafia method, was final and gave the end of his sentence as 2050. Open said he was convicted definitively for both attempted murder and extortion. Il Fatto Quotidiano called him a mafioso and Open called him a mafia boss, while ANSA described him only as a convicted man. The outlets' figures do not match, so the sentences are reported here as published rather than confirmed.

Mayor and parliamentary reaction

Mayor Roberto Lagalla said the city could not accept scenes that undermine residents' sense of safety.

“Palermo cannot accept that entire streets and parts of the city become the stage for behaviour that fuels in citizens the perception that they are not protected.”

Lagalla added that municipal police posted at the Quattro Canti had flagged the procession promptly, allowing officers to stop it from continuing in that direction. He said this prevented scenes that were even more serious, as had already happened at other funerals in the past. Five Star Movement deputies Valentina D'Orso, Daniela Morfino and Davide Aiello announced a question in the Chamber of Deputies. They said the events at the Ballarò market must be clarified in every aspect and described the display as a challenge to the state.