Sicily, newly appointed culture councilor self-purifies: off Facebook his bombastic inflammatory posts

The appointment of the new councillor for cultural heritage and Sicilian identity of the Sicilian Region, Alberto Samonà, in the League’s quota (formerly a member of the Youth Front and the 5 Star Movement), has caused much discussion: indeed, it was discussed even before his name was known, since this is the first time that Matteo Salvini’s party enters the island’s junta. So, ever since May 12, that is, since it became known that the new alderman would be assigned to the Carroccio, there has been a quarrel in Sicily, since many have considered, and continue to consider, inappropriate the assignment of an aldermancy that in its very name appeals to “Sicilian identity” to a party that, as is known, has never had a great feeling for the South.

But it is not only Alberto Samonà’s political affiliation that is the reason for the debate. The newly appointed alderman, a journalist and writer, had a Facebook profile that was not exactly... institutional: until this morning, scrolling through his wall, one could in fact find decidedly “incendiary” posts, namely famous quotations from Sciascia with an attached photo of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte accompanied by spokesman Rocco Casalino, cartoons through which Samonà expressed his preference for the fascist anthem Youth at the expense of Bella ciao, condolences to neo-fascist Stefano Delle Chiaie greeted with a “good trip commander,” up to more recent posts with ironic compliments to the president of the republic Sergio Mattarella for not spending words on coronavirus deaths (Feb. 24) or where the new alderman, while declaring himself “not a conspiracy theorist,” wondered about the possible artificial origin of the coronavirus (March 21), or where ours openly declared not to celebrate April 25 because it “divides Italians” (April 23).

Now it’s all gone, in the name of asanitization operation that has removed from the bulletin board the virus of content considered perhaps inappropriate for a culture councillor: all that’s left are cultural insights, quotes from authors (such as Carmelo Bene), bipartisan praise (e.g., to Calenda or Leoluca Orlando), or quiet daily posts extolling the practice of yoga, complete with a selfie in the tree position (evidently Indian ascetic practices are deemed acceptable to those who manage the culture of a region). The self-deprecation, however, missed something, since certain remnants can still be found: for example, a post from Sept. 15 in which Samonà published a photo of the tricolor flame, recalling that his professional status as a journalist did not prevent him from expressing his ideas (and consistently concluded with the phrase “revolution is like the wind,” the title of a hit by the far-right rock band Intolerance).

The web, however, has a long memory and, above all, an easy screenshot: Facebook users were therefore quicker than Samonà and saved copious collections of posts that the alderman did not have time to remove from his wall. Below is a small gallery of the posts you will no longer find on the profile of the Sicily Region’s new councillor for cultural heritage and Sicilian identity.

Update: This morning (May 19), the post with the tricolor flame and the Intolerance quote also disappeared from Samona’s wall. We add the screenshot to the gallery.

Sicily, newly appointed culture councilor self-purifies: off Facebook his bombastic inflammatory posts

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