When discussing the Sicilian Mafia, it is difficult to capture the essence of this phenomenon. Sensationalist portrayals in mainstream media and cinema, along with the tendency to apply analytical categories developed for other criminal organisations worldwide, often distort its true nature. Most importantly, the dominant narrative that frames the Mafia merely as a criminal organisation obscures its fundamental characteristic: its role as a specific form of capitalist governance and exploitation.

The lecture is structured in three parts. The first provides a brief historical overview of the Mafia, examining both its origins and its modern evolution. Particular attention is given to its deep roots in the capitalist division of agricultural labour, as well as to the shift that occurred in the 1940s and 1950s, when the Mafia’s primary activities moved toward urban speculation and drug trafficking. This section also considers the cultural and political differences between the Italian and Sicilian contexts.

The second part analyses the life of Pio La Torre, a trade unionist and deputy of the Italian Communist Party who was assassinated by the Mafia in 1982. This section explores the history of peasant struggles in Sicily as well as the close relationship between the latifundium system, land reform, and Mafia governance.

The final section focuses on Peppino Impastato, a militant of Lotta Continua who was killed by the Mafia in 1978. It examines the relationship between the Mafia and the state in Sicily, as well as the role of heroin trafficking in twentieth-century Italy and Sicily.

8:30 p.m.

The lecture will be held in English.