Mafioso

Mafioso may refer to:

See also

Mafioso (film)

Mafioso is a 1962 Italian black-comedy film directed by Alberto Lattuada. The film stars Alberto Sordi as a factory manager who visits his hometown in Sicily and is tasked with performing a hit for the mafia. It was awarded Best Film at the San Sebastian Film Festival.

Plot

Antonio Badalamenti, a Sicilian who has been settled for many years in Northern Italy and is employed in a car factory in Milan, takes a vacation with his family, leaving behind the modern conveniences of his home in northern Italy, to visit his ancestral home in Sicily and introduce his blond, northern-Italian wife, Marta, to his mother, father and other relatives back home.

While his wife suffers in the comparatively rustic conditions of her husband's hometown and has trouble adapting to the culture of Sicily, Antonio becomes reacquainted with his childhood friends. He also pays a visit to the local don, Don Vincenzo, who is a crime boss. The don smooths over some problems Antonio had with a deal to buy some property on the island, and in return, Antonio is tasked with carrying out a hit for the mob. As an outsider with no strings attached and a crack shot, Antonio is seen as a perfect candidate.

Sicilian Mafia

The Sicilian Mafia, also known as Cosa Nostra ("our thing"), is a criminal syndicate in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct. Each group, known as a "family", "clan", or "cosca" or "cosche" in Sicilian, claims sovereignty over a territory, usually a town or village or a neighbourhood (borgata) of a larger city, in which it operates its rackets. Its members call themselves "men of honour", although the public often refers to them as "mafiosi". The Mafia's core activities are protection racketeering, the arbitration of disputes between criminals, and the organizing and oversight of illegal agreements and transactions.

Following waves of emigration, the Mafia has spread to other countries such as the United States, Canada, and Australia.

Etymology

The word "mafia" originated in Sicily, though its origins are uncertain. The Sicilian adjective mafiusu (in Italian: mafioso), roughly translated, means "swagger," but can also be translated as "boldness, bravado". In reference to a man, mafiusu in 19th century Sicily was ambiguous, signifying a bully, arrogant but also fearless, enterprising, and proud, according to scholar Diego Gambetta. In reference to a woman, however, the feminine-form adjective "mafiusa" means beautiful and attractive. The Sicilian word mafie refers to the caves near Trapani and Marsala, which were often used as hiding places for refugees and criminals.