An illegal party of VIPs was interrupted by the intervention of the Guardia di Finanza and the Port Authority in the protected reserve and off limits for tourists of Isola delle Femmine, in the Palermo area. The party had been organized to celebrate the birthday of two twins from Palermo, Vito and Antonio Triolo, both doctors. The group had moved for the celebrations from a venue on the mainland to the more exclusive location managed by the Lega Protezione Uccelli and off limits because in this period some species of birds nest there. Annoyed by the noise, the inhabitants of the town in which the island falls called the coast guard who arrived in force.
The prosecutor’s office opens an investigation to ascertain the dynamics
Once the guests were identified, the Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation. ‘It wasn’t a party, but a video clip to be made on the islet commissioned by the two twins, who had the authorization of the owner of the islet, the Marchesa Paola Pilo Bacci’, defends Maurizio Giglio – retired petty officer of the Coast Guard and also responsible for the maritime office of Isola delle Femmine – now a Palermo deejay known as ‘Mauriziotto’, who made the guests dance at the party. “I am not the organizer of the event on the island” – said DJ Mauriziotto (now retired who for years was an employee of the coast guard and also responsible for the maritime office of Isola delle Femmine). “I only agreed to act as a DJ for the video clip. I read the authorization from the owner and I was assured that both the Port Authority and the managing body for the creation of the video clip had been notified – adds Maurizio Giglio – We know how it ended. I reiterate that there was no desire to damage the island but to make a video on the four fundamental elements of nature for the Greek philosophers, water, air, earth and fire”.
Lipu: “For a party or to shoot a video, it was still an invasion”
For Lipu, however, whether it was an illegal party for a double birthday, or a ‘mission’ for a video authorized by the owner that was supposed to serve to promote the islet that gives its name to Isola delle Femmine – a small municipality in the Palermo area that looks at it from the mainland a few hundred meters away – it was still an invasion. It was carried out by about eighty members of the city’s ‘good’ bourgeoisie. Now an investigation is underway to understand how it was possible that this small protected paradise, among the most important landing places for birds that come here to nest, was taken by storm, despite the ban even on guided visits until June 30.
Lipu: “Under any circumstances, it is not possible to invade a protected area”
“We asked – explains the general director of the Italian Bird Protection League, Danilo Selvaggi – the intervention of the police, who arrived quickly (coast guard, finance, carabinieri), interrupting the party and identifying the participants. The situation was a carpet of butts, plastic cups, plastic and glass bottles and wood piled up to make a bonfire. Some of the participants had a sign saying ‘Save the Planet'”. The Lipu manager insists: “It may well be that in this initiative there was – at least in some, in a small part – good faith, but we can no longer allow ourselves, in the twenty-first century, in the heart of the environmental crisis, for a “protected area in full nesting phase – when even our guided tours are suspended”.
