Dua Lipa and Callum Turner celebrate their wedding in Sicily

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• With more than 200 guests, pop star Dua Lipa and actor Callum Turner are celebrating a big wedding party in Palermo and the surrounding area.
• London newspapers criticized Palermo for having a past as a mafia stronghold.
• The Sun accused the celebrities of enjoying a wedding in "mafia chic".

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Celebrity wedding in Italy: Pop star Dua Lipa (30) and actor Callum Turner (36) celebrated a big party with more than 200 guests - not in Venice, which has often been the destination of celebrity wedding couples from all over the world, but in Palermo and the surrounding area.

Sicily's capital is better known as the location for classic films such as the mafia epic "The Godfather". The old image as a scene of organized crime once again caused trouble at the wedding. However, the couple and their guests were not deterred from celebrating.

Dua Lipa relaxed in all white

Dua Lipa ("Don't Start Now", "Houdini") and Turner ("The Boys in the Boat", "Fantastic Beasts") have been a couple since January 2024. They announced their engagement last summer. The wedding is said to have taken place on Sunday in a small circle at the old town hall in the London district of Marylebone. Turner is also repeatedly mentioned as one of the candidates for the new James Bond.

Dua Lipa appeared at the kick-off on Friday evening in a white dress with a plunging neckline at the back. She danced with Turner - beige suit, white shirt, no tie - in the open air. The two were not disturbed by the paparazzi: They greeted friends and family in a relaxed manner, including other celebrities such as fashion designer Donatella Versace and singers Charli xcx and Olivia Dean.

With vintage cars and bistro tables between the magnificent baroque buildings, Palermo was transformed into a kind of movie set.

Mayor complains about old clichés

The British tabloids are already hailing the "wedding of the year". However, some London newspapers also pointed out that Palermo had a past as a mafia stronghold. The Sun accused the celebrities of enjoying a wedding in "mafia chic". The Telegraph even dubbed one of the venues a "mafia nest" - and only turned it into a "former mafia nest" after protests from Sicily.

The reports sparked outrage on the island. Palermo's mayor Roberto Lagalla spoke of considerable damage to the reputation of his city. "Once again we are witnessing the use of a cliché that is as overused as it is unfair, reducing a complex, modern and dynamic region to a simple and insulting portrayal." Many Sicilians were also outraged by the reports on the Internet.

Celebrating in a magnificent villa with Elton John

In the city of 630,000 inhabitants, there is still a lot of talk about the mafia today, although its influence has diminished considerably thanks to tougher action by the state. In 1992, mafia opponents Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino were murdered in attacks. Today there are "anti-mafia tours" in Palermo to businesses that no longer pay protection money. At the same time, mafia souvenirs are still popular souvenirs for foreign tourists.

On Saturday, the party moved on to the neighboring town of Bagheria, where the celebrations continued in the 18th century baroque Villa Valguarnera. The Netflix series "The Leopard", which is based on the classic film of the same name by Luchino Visconti, was filmed there. The couple were driven up in a luxury limousine. In the garden, Elton John, who had the hit "Cold Heart" with Dua Lipa, played his classic "Your Song". The Ansa news agency reported that US singer Madonna was also said to have been seen.

Protests from residents: "Palermo is not for rent"

Lipa and Turner are staying in a five-star hotel. The business newspaper "Il Sole 24 Ore" estimates the cost of the party at up to four million euros. Several restaurateurs and other business people reported strict confidentiality clauses.

There were also protests against the celebrity crowd. Slogans such as "Palermo is not for rent" and "Our piazza is not your living room" can be read on posters and stickers. Behind this is a citizens' initiative called Apro Palermo (Open Palermo).

Italy has been a popular location for celebrity weddings for decades. Almost exactly a year ago, Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sánchez celebrated their wedding in Venice with great pomp. There was a lot of criticism because the couple flaunted their wealth and at the same time had all the venues for the celebration hermetically sealed off. George Clooney and Bastian Schweinsteiger had previously married in the lagoon city. Florence, on the other hand, was the choice of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West in 2014.