Regularizing and enhancing the weekly market is the objective of the municipal administration of Acireale, working to ensure that the historic Saturday fair regains its charm. For years the fair is set up weekly in the area of the Aci and Galatea stadium in the Tupparello district.
Mayor Roberto Barbagallo claims: “The Administration’s will is to protect and enhance the Saturday fair of Acireale, remodeling it and bringing it closer to the urban centre. We are thinking and working on the destination with the II, III and V Council Commissions. We have tried several times to identify alternative sites, but we have not yet managed to find solutions that really improve traffic and safety issues. We therefore start from a rationalization of the current area and from the improvement of the connection, thanks to the new management of the public transport service. Waiting to find a definitive destination that is compatible with the liveability of the city”.
Acireale, bring the weekly market back to the center
The councilor for Productive Activities, Laura Toscano, puts it this way. “The administration’s objective is to bring the weekly market back to the city center. Clearly, to do this, the traffic and safety requirements established by law must exist. Currently we have not yet found valid alternatives. However, discussions are underway with the offices to identify any suitable areas for a better solution. And thus resolve a thorny issue that has been dragging on for some time.”
Wanting to help the weekly Saturday market regain value and make the necessary improvements, a specific protocol was signed to ascertain the status of the operators and their existing stalls. An important dialogue was therefore started with the offices involved: Suap, Local Police and Taxes, in order to cross-check the data in possession.
Joint inspections carried out between the Municipal Police and Suap verified the presence and regular contributions of the operators, which number around 110. These investigations were useful as they revealed irregularities. Therefore interested parties will have a deadline of ten days to submit any deductions.
The weekly market of Acireale is one of the oldest in the area, in fact it was authorized on 27 March 1701 and confirmed with Royal Decree in 1813. The fair took place every Sunday of the year. On 4 March 1855 it was established that the market should be held on Saturdays every week of the year.
Now many citizens hope that the age-old dilemma of “moving yes, moving no” will be resolved. And there is a more convenient and definitive location for the market to regain the splendor and folklore it possessed in times gone by.
Giuseppe Lagona
