The Sicilian Decree : When the Old World Calls, There’s No Refusing

Southern Italy is a land of breathtaking beauty and ancient tradition. Its sun-drenched hills, rugged coastlines, and bustling cities have inspired poets and painters for centuries. Yet beneath the olive groves and cobbled streets, a darker legacy takes root—one woven from the threads of secrecy, violence, and betrayal. This is the world of the Italian Mafia.

For over a century, the word “Mafia” has conjured images of ruthless men in shadowy rooms, bound by blood oaths and codes of silence. But the reality is infinitely more complex and more chilling. In the heart of Southern Italy, three great criminal syndicates have risen from poverty and oppression to become some of the world’s most powerful and feared organised crime groups: the Cosa Nostra of Sicily, the Camorra of Naples, and the ‘Ndrangheta of Calabria.

Each of these organisations was born from the unique history and hardship of its homeland. The Cosa Nostra emerged in the lemon groves and sulphur mines of Sicily, where foreign rulers and local landlords oppressed the peasantry for centuries. The Camorra flourished in the chaos of Naples, a city forever shaped by conquest, poverty, and survival against the odds. The ‘Ndrangheta’s roots stretch deep into the rugged hills of Calabria, a region isolated by geography and tradition, where family loyalty meant everything—and betrayal meant death.

These syndicates have carved their names into the annals of crime through acts of shocking audacity and cruelty. They have assassinated judges, infiltrated governments, and built global empires on the profits of drugs, extortion, and murder. Their legends are filled with larger-than-life figures: Don Vito Cascio Ferro, the iron-fisted boss who ruled with charm and terror; Raffaele Cutolo, the “Professor” who reigned with a philosopher’s mind and a killer’s heart; and the silent lords of the ‘Ndrangheta, whose power is whispered of but rarely seen. Yet the Mafia is not just a story of criminals and crimes. It is also the story of those who have stood against them—often at the cost of their own lives. Judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, gunned down in their crusade for justice, became martyrs for a new Italy. Journalists, police, and ordinary citizens have risen to fight back, refusing to be cowed by threats or bloodshed.

In this book, we journey into the heart of Mafia power and mystery, tracing the evolution of these three syndicates through their most infamous cases. We witness the birth of the Cosa Nostra, the wars of the Camorra, and the global reach of the ‘Ndrangheta. We meet the men and women who shaped these worlds, the victims who paid the ultimate price, and the heroes who dared to break the code of silence.

This is not just a catalogue of crime. It is a chronicle of a society forced to confront its shadows and fight for its soul. Through blood oaths and betrayals, vendettas and victories, the people of Southern Italy have waged a battle for justice that still rages today.

Step inside the world of “Mafia Mysteries.” The truth is stranger—and more terrifying—than fiction.