Sicily funds Dolce & Gabbana film by Tornatore with €579,500 amid debt crisis

The Sicilian regional government, led by President Nello Musumeci, has allocated €579,500 in public funds to Dolce & Gabbana for the production of 'Devotion', a short film directed by Giuseppe Tornatore promoting Sicily. The film premiered on July 18, 2020, at the Teatro Antico in Taormina and is being screened across Sicily from August 1 to 16, 2020, in cities including Siracusa, Caltagirone, Castellammare del Golfo, Palermo, and Polizzi Generosa. The project includes local folklore setups and food and wine exhibitions supervised by master pastry chef Nicola Fiasconaro, a commercial partner of Dolce & Gabbana. The funding, approved on July 31, 2020, by the Regional Department of Productive Activities under assessor Girolamo Turano, comes at a time when Sicily carries a debt of €15 billion and the city of Catania is under special administration with €1.1 billion in debt. The decision has sparked criticism, notably from Alberto Samonà, the newly appointed Lega assessor for Cultural Heritage and Identity, who in a previous interview with Artribune outlined plans for a project called 'Ierofanie' focusing on Sicily's sacred heritage. Critics question whether the expenditure on a fashion brand's promotional film aligns with the government's stated goals of strengthening Sicilian identity.