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INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE
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“Men die, their ideas carry on
walking on other men’s legs”. This statement by prosecutor Giovanni Falcone perfectly
explains the extraordinary historical continuity of the Sicilian mafia.
In this course
we will study the history of the Sicilian mafia, tracing its progression from
its origins in the modern age up until the
present day. In the second part of the course we will also study the
relationships between the Sicilian and the American Cosa Nostra, and the
costantly expanding role of the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta and the Neapolitan Camorra
in Italy and internationally.
The key topics that
we will study are: the origins of the Mafia, the mafia in the 19th century, the
first antimafia movement of the Fasci Siciliani, the attack of fascism
against the mafia and its rebirth with WWII, the Sack of Palermo, the new dimension with Cosa Nostra
and the the Drug Trade, the rise to power within Cosa Nostra of the
Corleonesi and the excellent
cadavers of the period between the late 70's and the early
80's, the Maxi-Trial, the massacres of 1992-3, and finally the expanding role of the mafias in
Italy and their relationships with other organized groups around the world in the last 15 years.
About the Professor:
Lorenzo
Picchi graduated from the University of Florence in April 2000
and is currently working on a PH.D in history. His main field of research is the history of the Italian
mafia.
Lorenzo teaches
History and
History of the Italian Mafia
at the Fairfield University in Florence, the University of New Haven in Florence,
the Richmond University in Florence, and the George Mason University in Florence.
He is the
Editor-in-Chief of
the
newspaper
The Florence Newspaper
and has published
several
articles on the history of Italy and on the history
of the mafia
on Italian newspapers
and journals.
His research interests include:
the
history of the mafia from 1992 to 2006; the
rise of agrarian fascism in Tuscany; the Italian front in WWI through the
letters and the diaries of the soldiers, and the role of the Masonic Lodges in influencing Italian politics
from the end of WWII up until the present day.
Contact Lorenzo Picchi: lorepicchi@hotmail.com
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