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.