A Modern Italian Renaissance

When Hillary Rodham Clinton came to Palermo in 1999, her visit put the official stamp of approval on the Sicilian capital as a secure tourist destination. After decades of open Mafia war, the city was finally quelling crime, restoring order and emerging as yet another not-to-be missed Italian cultural gem. Clinton — then the First Lady, now a Senator from New York — was most interested in ingratiating herself with Sicilian-American voters back home. But she was telling the truth when she praised Palermo's efforts to get out from under the Mafia's shadow, which have led to a drop in the...