cidma: mafia and anti-mafia center guided visits

We visited CIDMA in mid-February, having first arranged and paid for a tour via email the day before. We drove there from Palermo and found a place to park our van very close to the museum. Happy about that as it was pouring down and freezing cold in a dark and hill-top Corleone.We were met at the museum at 3 pm by Marilena, the only time available for tours in the winter months. We spent about an hour being shown around the rooms of exhibits and Marilena really brought to life the awful history portrayed on the walls, primarily by the photographs of Letizia Bataglia and her daughter Shobha.Staggering, too, was the first room which contains all the files from the maxi-trials: box after box of Court transcriptions line the walls.We came away with feelings of great sadness for Justices Falcone and Borsellino, as well as for General Dalla Chiesa - and their loved ones and colleagues - who worked endlessly for justice and had their lives taken from them in the fight against the Mafia.Thank you Marilena and CIDMA for such an honest and heart-felt history of your Sicile.

We had a great private tour with Massimiliana. Learn so much is a hour! Tour started on time! A lot of pictures to tell the stories. A steal of €5.00 each!

It was a little bit tricky to get to Corleone. AST run an infrequent bus service from Palermo which takes around 90 minutes through beautiful countryside. The town itself is small and was very quiet in January but we thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the CIDMA museum. As our visit was during low season we emailed in advance to make a reservation. The tour takes about an hour and was a fascinating and shocking insight into this sad aspect of Sicily's history. Our guide talked us through the history of the anti mafia movement and used the extremely graphic photographs of Mafia murders to illustrate aspects of how they operate. I hadn't fully appreciated how much influence mafiosi still have in the sadly corrupt system - albeit less violently than in the past. Thought provoking and a good counterpoint to the more ancient history of most other tourist attractions. In short, a bit of a pain to get to but worth it if you have the time or can detour to get there.

The guide told me the story of the mafia and the fight against it very vividly. It was very interesting and educational. The words of the 2 judges who got killed in the process of convicting the mafia bosses will stay in my mind.

We were very impressed by our visit to the museum today. The tour was just one hour but so interesting and all the more so by the large photographs that illustrated the history the tour guide related. The guide was so knowledgeable but did not seem weighted down by the tragic history of the past. She conveyed a youthful optimism that is needed to ensure that Italians fell free to speak out against the scourge we know as "The Mafia".

When you are near Corleone a visit at at the CIDMA is absolutly recommendable. Young guides give a inside view into to real world of the mafia in Sicily. You will learn, that the real Mafia has nothing to do with the famous movies and that they were brutal and ruthless. But that there are a lot of fine people which fought against them.Go, visit that unique museum.

This is a unique, educational and enlightening experience and is a must for those looking to understand Sicily. Our tour guide was fantastic and very prompt. We booked 2 days in advance via email in English and our booking confirmed. Corleone town has small streets and many are one way so we parked just 400-500 yards from the Museum and walked in which seemed a good option. Not many places nearby for lunch so we popped into a nice mini-mart for picnic stuff.

Great perspective from those that live(d) amidst the atmosphere of the mafia and not the movie. You only need an hour but worth your time.

It is interesting place to visit. Very easy to find your way around a small town Corleone. Learn a lot about mafia and anti-mafia movement. The tour guide was very kind and informative. Warm recommendations.

We just wanted to visit the Mafia town Corleone as we knew it from different movies. But what we learnt to know about the origin, the way of acting and the nowaday business of Mafia was fascinating and sometimes breathtaking. My son (14) was even deeply impressed about the true story of Mafia in Sicily. So to make terms short: if you are in Sicily and have a little bit time, go to Corleone (the trip through the mountains itself is worth it), visit the museum. In our point of view it is a must. Many, many thanks to the enthusiastic 19-year-old guide, you did a real great job.

This museum is just amazing. We stayed in Corleone just to visit it and did not regret it. The guided visite is compulsory and only at a certain time in English, but it's better this way. The guides are enthousiastic and really share their convictions. The pictures on the walls are really moving. Go there, do not miss it, and talk about it !

Absolutely worth visiting for anyone remotely intested in the sicilian mafia. The guide, who is from Corleone, was extremely well prepared and was very vivid in his way of explaning and also open to questions. The visit to this museum was one of the highlights of our whole trip to Sicily!

We learned so much of this visit. The girl who took us round was so passionate about the museum. We are now well informed about the Mafia past and present. The photographs told their own stories. Well worth a visit.

We've visited CIDMA museum in Corleone in August 2013, it was one of the most interesting tours in Sicily so far, thanks to the great guy who was determined to tell us the stories about everything thats held in the museum! We recommend to everyone who visits Sicily to go to this museum and learn the true story about mafia and nowadays antimafia movement, its really really worth hearing and learning it all.By the way, Corleone is just a tiny spot in the bag of the impressions treasure we will bring from Sicily. The whole island is just amazing!

i loved the tour the girl who did the tour was very good and really get in to details, she told everything as if it came out of her heart and she really cares that people get to know the story. loved the tour! just one tip for the tourguide speak a bit slower so it is easyer to understand :-)