Sicily is the homeland of the mafia. It is a beautiful island in the Mediterranean sea infested with endless series of vendettas, crimes and murders. The Sicilian Mafia is a loose confederation of about a hundred mafia families. Each of the mafia families claims sovereignty over a territory, usually a town, village, or neighborhood of a larger city, though they never fully conquered or legitimized their monopoly on violence by totally eradicating all other mafia families. For many years, individual Mafia families were the only governing bodies and have remained the true centers of power even after the creation of subordinate bodies in the 1950s, such as the Sicilian Mafia Commission.

Many Sicilians did not consider these men as criminal mothers, but as role models and imitated by the people; and as protectors, since the ruling government seemed to offer no protection to the downtrodden, poor, and weak. Even in the 1950s, many people still believed that the Mafia was not criminal, but rather stood for respect for the law, defense of all rights, and greatness of character. In Sicily, “Mafia” once meant something like pride, honor, and even social responsibility. It was like an attitude-cum-organization. Being a mobster also meant being honorable, noble and generous.

After the Revolution of 1848 and the revolution of 1860, Sicily had fallen prey to disorder, chaos and anarchy. The first Mafia families which at the time were small gangs of outlaws volunteered to fight in the revolt. The main reasons for this were believed to be the possibility of burning police records and evidence and killing police officers and witnesses in the chaos. Unfortunately, a new government was established in Rome and it became impossible for the mafia to carry out these actions without prosecution and retaliation from the state. As a result, they began to refine their methods and techniques during the second half of the 19th century. Protecting the large lemon trees and the immense estates of the local nobility became a lucrative but dangerous business. Palermo, the capital of Sicily, was initially the main area for these activities, but the rule of the Sicilian Mafia soon spread throughout Sicily. In order to strengthen the bond between the separate Mafia families and ensure higher profits and a safer work environment for all, it is possible that the Mafia, as it is today, was formed in the mid-19th century.

In 1860, the new unified Italian state took over both Sicily and the Papal States. As a result, the Popes were hostile to the state. In 1870, the Pope declared himself under siege by the Italian state and strongly encouraged the Catholic faithful to refuse to cooperate with the state. However, this did not result in violence in Sicily. Friction and resentment between Church and state gave a great advantage and opportunity to the Sicilian mafia who claimed to the common people that cooperating with police working for the state was anti-Catholic activity. Protection rackets, cattle rustling, and bribery of state officials were the main sources of income and protection for the early mob. The mob also borrowed Masonic oaths and rituals, such as the famous initiation ceremony.

During the fascist period in Italy, Cesare Mori, prefect of Palermo, used the special powers given to him to prosecute mafia families, forcing many mafiosi to flee abroad or risk imprisonment. Many of the mobsters emigrated to the United States. The fascist authorities declared that the mafia had been defeated. Although the mob had been severely weakened, it had not been defeated as claimed. Many mobsters were arrested and many died in the violence. People suspected of being involved with the mob were arrested and imprisoned without fair trials. The mafia was in an extremely serious situation and most of its activities were paralyzed.

After fascism, the mafia did not become powerful again in Italy until after the country’s surrender in World War II and the American occupation of Italy. The United States used the Italian connections of the American Mafia families during the invasion of Italy and Sicily in 1943. The American Mafia families provided information for American military intelligence and used their influence to facilitate the advance of troops. As a result, the arrested comrades and the brothers were released. Furthermore, the mob’s control of the ports prevented sabotage by any of the enemy agents.

Some say that the US deliberately allowed the mafia to regain its social and economic position as the “anti-state” in Sicily, and with the US-mafia alliance forged in the 1943 invasion, this became the turning point in the history of the Mafia. Others believe that the mafia exploited the chaos of post-fascist Sicily to reconquer its social base as it had done on previous occasions and there was no US-Mafia alliance.

After the invasion of Italy, the Americans were looking for governors and state administrators. They were wrongly told by their Sicilian mafia comrades who had aided in the invasion that the arrested mobsters were hardline anti-fascists who had refused to budge even under torture. Therefore, they were seen as potential governors and were appointed by Americans as mayors of cities and important government positions.

There was a serious internal conflict within the mafia in the early 1980s which resulted in large scale fights between the mafia families and also the assassination of several politicians, police chiefs and magistrates. The new generation of Mafia Families placed much more emphasis on “white collar” criminal activities compared to traditional organized crime enterprises.

A pentito is a captured mobster who collaborated with the judicial system to save himself from torture, prison, or capital punishment. the first great pentito was tommaso buscetta who had lost several allies in the war. This led to the Maxi Trial (1986-1987) which resulted in several hundred convictions of top mobsters. When the Italian Supreme Court upheld the convictions in 1992, the mafia took revenge. Politician Salvatore Lima was assassinated in March 1992. He had been the mafia’s main government connection and the mafia was clearly displeased with his services. Giovanni Falcone and his fellow anti-mafia prosecutor Paolo Borsellino, who were the main people behind the Maxi Trial, were murdered a few months later. This provoked a public outcry and a massive government crackdown in January 1993. More and more pentitos began to emerge. Many would have to pay a high price for their cooperation with the government through the murder of relatives.

Some of the mafia families, notably the Corleonesi, retaliated with a campaign of terrorism through a series of bomb attacks on various tourist spots on the Italian mainland that left 10 dead and 93 injured and caused serious damage to heritage. cultural. Bernardo Provenzano took over as head of the Corleonesi and stopped this campaign and replaced it with a campaign of calm. This campaign has allowed the mafia to slowly regain the power it once held. He was arrested in 2006, after 43 years on the run.

In the late 1990s, the weakened Sicilian mafia had to hand over most of the illegal drug trade to the Ndrangheta criminal organization. In 2006, it was estimated that the latter controlled 80% of the cocaine imported into Europe. However, the remaining activities of the mafia have remained the same and as strong as before. It now has a strong business extorting both large and small companies. It is estimated that the mafia leaks 7% of Italy’s production. The mafia has become one of the largest commercial companies in Italy with a turnover of more than 120 billion US dollars ($120,000,000,000) a year.