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The Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra (Italian: [ˈkɔːza ˈnɔstra, ˈkɔːsa-], Sicilian: [ˈkɔːsa ˈnɔʂː(ɽ)a]; "our thing"), also referred to as simply Mafia, is a criminal society 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 ...
Jun 1, 2024 · 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.
- 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...
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May 20, 2024 · Mafia, hierarchically structured society of criminals of primarily Italian or Sicilian birth or extraction. The term applies to the traditional criminal organization in Sicily and also to a criminal organization in the United States. Most scholars agree that the Mafia emerged in Sicily in the 19th.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Aug 28, 2023 · The Sicilian Mafia, known as Cosa Nostra, is an organized criminal network that has shaped the history and development of Sicily. Giovanni Falcone’s fight against mafia crime sparked a strong anti-mafia movement in Italy.
- Howstuffworks
Jan 28, 2018 · Sicilian Mafia - Cosa Nostra. The Sicilian gangs established the model for other mafias. They meted out local justice in the 1800s, then grew in power and sophistication. Cosa Nostra means...
Jun 5, 2021 · At the macro level, the Sicilian Mafia is no longer a player in international drug-trafficking and is now buying drugs for the local market from Neapolitan dealers.
