Informally or generally, a mafia is any of various criminal organizations that include, or bear a strong similarity to, the original Sicilian Mafia, the Italian-American Mafia, or other Italian organized crime …

Nov 15, 2025 · The Mafia emerged in Sicily in the 19th century during Italy’s unification, although some suggest it began in the late Middle Ages as a secret organization against foreign conquerors.

Oct 29, 2009 · The Mafia, a network of organized-crime groups based in Italy and America, evolved over centuries in Sicily, an island ruled until the mid-19th century by a long line of foreign invaders.

This website attempts to uncover the important individuals, events and locations in the history of the American Mafia, to dispel the false legends that have risen about that history, to offer plausible …

Learn how the Mafia formed in the 19th century and how it spread from Sicily to New York City and beyond

Learn all about the people and conditions that helped create the modern mafia here.

Nov 12, 2023 · The origins of the Sicilian Mafia are tangled up in romantic folklore that muddies the real history. These stories mix medieval legends, tales of foreign conquest, and 19th-century mythology …

La Cosa Nostra evolved from the Sicilian Mafia and is one of the foremost organized criminal threats to American society. Translated into English it means “this thing of ours.”

There are five main New York City Mafia families, known as the Five Families: the Gambino, Lucchese, Genovese, Bonanno, and Colombo families. The Italian-American Mafia has long dominated …

History Mafia groups in the United States first became influential in the New York City area, gradually progressing from small neighborhood operations to citywide and eventually international …