Qthis weekend Palermo is at the center of world attention. Two hundred guests from every corner of the planet, one budget estimated at around one and a half million eurosElton John among those present: le wedding of Dua Lipa and Callum Turner transform the Sicilian capital into the wedding set of the year. But not the whole city is celebrating. Squares closed, confidentiality agreements imposed on residents, public spaces converted into private property for a weekend. Reasons enough to make discontent explode with shouts «Palermo is not for rent».
Dua Lipa wedding, the confidentiality agreement with the people of Palermo
The inhabitants of the areas affected by the events were asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement, the same instrument that is usually used to protect company secrets in large corporations. In practice: no photos, no videos on social media. And, a detail that has caused discussion more than any other, the obligation to communicate in advance how many people will be in their homes.
Squares closed to traffic by municipal ordinance. The Gallery of Modern Art closed to the publicwhile the couple’s guests can visit it freely. TO Bagheriawhere the reception is being held, parking restrictions are in force from 4 to 8 June: four days in which the city is effectively inaccessible to its own inhabitants.
A (torn) protest poster against Dua Lipa’s wedding in Palermo. ANSA / IGOR PETYX
The protest: «Palermo is not for rent»
It is in this context that at dawn on June 5th posters appeared on the walls of the historic center. «Our square is not your living room», «Palermo is not for the rich»«Freedom of movement». Signed by the permanent assembly “I open Palermo”a collective active for some time against overtourism, removed during the morning. The photos of the newlyweds had already made the rounds on social media before.
The point, the promoters explain, is not Dua Lipa. The point is that public spaces should not be able to be converted into private living roomsnot even for one night, not even for the wedding of the year.
Dua Lipa’s guest list and the Palazzo Gangi paradox
The singer and Callum Turner they stay at Villa Igieaone of the most exclusive historic hotels in the city. Among the guests are: names of Elton John, Charli XCX and Donatella Versace. The celebrations take place between Palazzo Gangi, the same one where Luchino Visconti filmed some scenes of The Leopard, and the Gallery of Modern Art.
One of the symbolic places of the Sicilian aristocracy, immortalized by Visconti, becomes the private property of a British pop star for a weekend. A short circuit that no one escapes.
The Sant’Anna Modern Art Gallery in Palermo, one of the locations chosen for the pop star’s wedding. (Photo by ALESSANDRO FUCARINI / AFP via Getty Images)
A debate that doesn’t just concern Palermo
Overtourism is not a Palermo problem. Venice, Florence, the Italian villages transformed into photographic sets: the list of places that in recent years have raised their voices against the pressure of exclusive tourism is long. What’s happening this week in Sicily is the more spectacular and more photographable version of a tension that the country knows well.
Dua Lipa and Callum Turner are getting married. Guests will come from all over the world. The flyers have already been removed. But the question that those posters raised, about who has the right to a city and how much it might cost to host someone else’s beauty and happiness, will remain on the walls even when the flowers in the bouquets have withered.
iO Donna © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED