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Mafia emerges
In 1860 Garibaldi, the Italian commander in the struggle to unify Italy, landed in Sicily and after kicking out the Spanish, declared himself dictator and set a new ruling class of governors while Italian Unification was being debated in Rome. However, this had little actual effect on the Mafia, for Garibaldi chose men who were in the upper crust of society, and these men already had ties to the Mafia. During this period of uncertainty, crime and violence surged.Integrating Sicily into Italy pro -
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Sicilian Mafia
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Location
While Italy strived for international recognition, they understood that like the empires that had ruled Sicily before them, that Sicily was an important place for power to manifest. It showed the rest of the Mediterranean that the Italians had succeeded in gaining control of Sicily, and hence political legitimacy. However, this shows that the Mafia already had strong ties to legitimate institution. -
Mafia bebefits from land redistribution
During the period of Risorgimento the Mafia began to take on a new role in Sicilian politics. In an effort to redistribute wealth in Sicily,one person was only allowed to buy a given amount of land, however, the Mafia through extensive organization to by up the majority of land per capita in Sicily. However, contrary to the intent of the Italian government (which was to give back to the peasantry) this redistribution of the land only perpetuated their position in society. -
First Mention
The first evidence we have for the Mafia is in an account by one Dr Galati. Galati was certainly not the first to be persecuted by the Mafia, but he was the first person to leave a detailed account of his dealings with them. Dr. Galati was subject to threats of violence from a local mafioso, who was attempting to oust Galati from his own lemon grove in order to move himself in.Eventually he was forced to flee the country after a series of attempts on his life. -
First enquiry
ntil 1876 there were no inquiries into the Mafia: how it functioned, and its administration were still very much clouded by its mystique. But in 1876 two Tuscan deputies, Sonnino and Franchetti conducted an unofficial inquiry into the lowest classes of Sicily. They arrived in Sicily unannounced and interviewed the least important people, as to not raise suspicions. This way they were able to understand the everyday intricacies of coexistence with the Mafia. -
New Orleans was the site of the first Mafia incident
New Orleans was also the site of the first Mafia incident in the United States that received both national and international attention. On October 15, 1890, New Orleans Police Superintendent David Hennessey was murdered execution-style. It is still unclear whether Italian immigrants actually killed him or whether it was a frame-up against the feated underclass immigrants. Hundreds of Sicilians were arrested on mostly baseless charges, and nineteen were eventually indicted for the murder. -
Black Hand operaations
Mafia groups in the United States first became influential in the New York City area, gradually progressing from small neighborhood operations in poor Italian ghettos to citywide and eventually international organizations. The American Mafia started with La Mano Nera, "The Black Hand", extorting Italians (and other immigrants) around New York city. -
Widespread
By the turn of the century the Mafia had become very powerful and widespread throughout Italy in the face of widespread unemployment and poverty that permeated not only Sicily, but the rest of Europe as well. Many of the underprivileged began to immigrate to America to find better jobs to support their families. It is speculated that this is when the Mafia formally entered America and began to set up shop. -
USA used Mafiosi in ivanision of Italy
United States used Italian connections of American Mafiosi during the invasion of Italy and Sicily in 1943. Lucky Luciano and other Mafiosi, who had been imprisoned during this time in the U.S., provided information for U.S. military intelligence and used Luciano's influence to ease the way for advancing troops. -
the Apalachin Conference.
In 1957, the New York State Police uncovered a meeting of major American Cosa Nostra figures from around the country in the small upstate New York town of Apalachin. This gathering has become known as the Apalachin Conference. -
First Mafia War
The Ciaculli massacre on 30 June 1963 was caused by a car bomb that exploded in Ciaculli killing seven police and military officers sent to defuse it after an anonymous phone call. The bomb was intended for Salvatore "Ciaschiteddu" Greco, head of the Sicilian Mafia Commission and the boss of the Ciaculli Mafia family. -
Sicilian Mafia Commission is exposed
The Sicilian Mafia Commission, known as Commissione or Cupola, is a body of leading Mafia members to decide on important questions concerning the actions of, and settling disputes within the Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra. It is composed of representatives of a mandamento -
Second Mafia war
he Second Mafia War, which is sometimes referred to as The Great Mafia War or the Mattanza, involved the entire Mafia and radically altered the power balance within the organization. Even more so than the first one, the Second Mafia War involved a staggering amount of violence, with upwards of a thousand homicides. The dates of the war are sometimes given as 1981 to 1983, but while the majority of the violence did occur during these years, the first shots had been fired in 1978, and the instigat -
Mafia Protests
n June 2002, some 300 Mafia prisoners declared a hunger strike, calling for an end to the isolation conditions and objecting to parliament's Antimafia Commission proposal to extend the measure. Apart from refusing prison food, the inmates had been constantly banging the metalwork of their cells. The protest itself seemed to prove the law's ineffectiveness. -
"Ten Commandments"
In November 2007 Sicilian police reported to have found a list of "Ten Commandments" in the hideout of mafia boss Salvatore Lo Piccolo. Similar to the Biblical Ten Commandments, they are thought to be a guideline on how to be a good, respectful honorable mafioso.