My favourite Sicilian capital city is Palermo. I love its colours, energy and complexity.
On my blog, I'm starting a series of reflections based on my personal impressions of the Sicilian capital.
Today I talk about the city's association with the Mafia and how real recent history confirms it.
In Sicily, the Mafia isn't Marlon Brando, Al Pacino or Lucky Luciano, who are all idealised American mythology. Organised crime on the island has its origins in Sicily's history, which, apart from many invasions from foreign powers, also embodies much poverty in a once primarily agriculturally based society.
The first Mafiosi were illiterate, malicious thugs who used any means to extract money for their organisations. These were and are people with no conscious, cold-blooded killers who did things like dissolve children in acid, cut up their victims, and feed their bodies to swine. Most of the last Bosses have been captured or died. There was a period when organised crime and terrorism was a problem in Italy.
Read a little more about this disturbing time in Sicily's history and how things have changed or not.
Click here to read: First and lasting impressions of Palermo (Mafia)
