The Two Mafias: A Transatlantic History, 1888-2008 (italian And Italian American Studies)
by Salvatore Lupo /
2015 / English / PDF
4.4 MB Download
For many people, the term 'mafia' connotes a vast and powerful
organization originating exclusively in southern Italy. In this
bracing new history, however, renowned Italian historian
Salvatore Lupo argues that a realistic understanding of the mafia
phenomenon must avoid two seemingly opposed and persistent
depictions: one of a single octopus extending its tentacles from
Sicily to envelop the world, the other of thousands of small,
localized groups operating in relative isolation. Instead, the
mafia is best understood within the context of a network of
overlapping business, municipal, and familial relationships and
institutions. Mafia networks could cover a single rural village
like a tight mesh, but they could also forge connections between
areas as geographically remote as the Conca d'Oro citrus groves
and the Brooklyn waterfront. Their influence extended not just
from Italy to the United States, but in the other direction as
well, and in both instances they occupied a hazy social space
between legality and illegality. Moving from the first Italian
immigrants of the 19th century to the most recent historical
developments, Lupo's rigorous study reveals the mafia to be the
result of a complex cultural and social encounter that was shaped
by multiple, diverse environments.
For many people, the term 'mafia' connotes a vast and powerful
organization originating exclusively in southern Italy. In this
bracing new history, however, renowned Italian historian
Salvatore Lupo argues that a realistic understanding of the mafia
phenomenon must avoid two seemingly opposed and persistent
depictions: one of a single octopus extending its tentacles from
Sicily to envelop the world, the other of thousands of small,
localized groups operating in relative isolation. Instead, the
mafia is best understood within the context of a network of
overlapping business, municipal, and familial relationships and
institutions. Mafia networks could cover a single rural village
like a tight mesh, but they could also forge connections between
areas as geographically remote as the Conca d'Oro citrus groves
and the Brooklyn waterfront. Their influence extended not just
from Italy to the United States, but in the other direction as
well, and in both instances they occupied a hazy social space
between legality and illegality. Moving from the first Italian
immigrants of the 19th century to the most recent historical
developments, Lupo's rigorous study reveals the mafia to be the
result of a complex cultural and social encounter that was shaped
by multiple, diverse environments.
