Ex-Mafia Lands Used To Produce Wine

What happens to ex-Mafia property? Well, Centopassi vineyards is using it to grow some grapes and produce some wines.

A new project is taking land seized from the Mafia and reintegrating it with the legal economy in regions of Italy. They plan to create 300 acres of vineyards and almost 2,000 acres of olive and citrus trees, grains, and vegetables plants.

Of course, project leaders faced problems like arson fires (to intimidate them) and mafiosi defaulting on loans for their property, leaving it in the hands of the bank.

But the overall project produced half a million bottles of wine in 2011, and Centopassi bottles are each dedicated to someone assassinated by the Mafia. The Sicilian Economic Commissioner hopes that "What was an emblem of the economic force of the Mafia is now becoming a symbol of Sicily's rebirth."