INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE   Download slides “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