The 2012 Sicilian protests, also code-named by its organizers as Operation Sicilian Vespers (in Italian: Operazione Vespri siciliani), was a 5-day blockade of roads and seaports that brought Sicily and its economy to a standstill in January 2012. Similar protests affecting wider areas of Italy broke out in December 2013. The code name of the blockade refers to the Sicilian Vespers, the successful 13th-century rebellion against Angevin rule.