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Oct 1, 2024 · Sicilian Mafia, hierarchically structured organization of criminals in Sicily, Italy.The Sicilian Mafia is made up of a coalition of criminal organizations—called “families” or “clans” in English and cosche (singular, cosca) in Italian—which engage in extortion, smuggling, gambling, and the mediation of disagreements between other criminals.
- Mafia
Investigations conducted by U.S. government agencies in the...
- Mafia
The Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra (Italian: [ˈkɔːza ˈnɔstra, ˈkɔːsa-], Sicilian: [ˈkɔːsa ˈnɔʂː(ɽ)a]; "our thing" [3]), also referred to as simply Mafia, is a criminal society and criminal organization originating on the island of Sicily and dates back to the mid-19th century. It is an association of gangs which sell their protection and arbitration services under a common brand.
- The Mafia’s Sicilian Roots
- The Mafia on The Rise in Italy
- The Mafia in The 20th Century and Beyond
For centuries, Sicily, an island in the Mediterranean Sea between North Africa and the Italian mainland, was ruled by a long line of foreign invaders, including the Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs, French and Spanish. The residents of this small island formed groups to protect themselves from the often-hostile occupying forces, as well as from other reg...
In 1861, Sicily became a province of recently unified Italy. However, chaos and crime reigned across the island as the fledgling Italian government tried to establish itself. In the 1870s, Roman officials even asked Sicilian Mafia clans to help them by going after dangerous, independent criminal bands; in exchange, officials would look the other wa...
The Mafia’s influence in Sicily grew until the 1920s, when Prime Minister Benito Mussolini came to power and launched a brutal crackdown on mobsters, who he viewed as a threat to his Fascist regime. However, in the 1950s, the Mafia rose again when mob-backed construction companies dominated the post-World War IIbuilding boom in Sicily. Over the nex...
- 4 min
Investigations conducted by U.S. government agencies in the 1950s and ’60s revealed that the structure of the American Mafia was similar to that of its Sicilian prototype. (In the United States, the organization had adopted the name Cosa Nostra [Italian: “Our Affair”].) From the 1950s, Mafia operations were conducted by some 24 groups, or ...
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
This isn’t the kind of story that helps your children fall asleep at night, it is much, much darker. This is the history of the Sicilian Mafia, which has been the greatest and most powerful organized crime outfit the world over. The Sicilian Mafia is a renowned criminal organization. They are also well known as Cosa Nostra. While the ...
Aug 28, 2023 · The history of the Sicilian Mafia can be traced back to the late 19th century in western Sicily, where mafia frontmen and bosses began to establish their influence in the region. One of the major factors that led to the creation of Cosa Nostra was Gabellotto’s control over landlord-farmer relationships, which in turn gave rise to powerful mafia bosses in Sicily.
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If the Mafia was Sicilian by birth, the fight against it was also left to Sicilian judges, police, and prosecutors. They operated under the constant threat of death in conditions that were far from favorable. This is the story of the history of Sicilian Mafia. The story begins with the unification of Italy and continues to this day.
