Mafia in Italian literature

Literary/ Cultural Context Essay

Elgin Eckert (The Umbra Institute)

Ed. by Jo Ann Cavallo, Columbia University
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.6.1: Italian Writing and Culture, 453-present.
Vol. editors: Carla Bregman (Independent Scholar - North America), Jo Ann Cavallo (Columbia University)

Domains

Literature Topic

Dates

Date of occurrence c.1880-

Places

Italy (Location)

Resources

Recommended Reading

First occurrences of the term “Mafia”

The first known mention of the term “Mafia” occurs in 1658: it is the nickname given to Catarina la Licatisa -- nomata ancor Maffia (also called Maffia) -- and occurs in a list of heretics. According to Henner Hess’s study of the etymology of the word, it means boldness, ambition and arrogance (1). Two hundred and fifty years later, the folklorist Giuseppe Pitré (1841-1916) would record the word again in Palermo, with the meaning of “superiority, self-confidence, consciousness of being a man” (Hess 1). Explaining further, Pitrè wrote that the

Mafia is neither a sect nor an association, …

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2805 words

Citation: Eckert, Elgin. "Mafia in Italian literature". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 02 February 2017 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=19473, accessed 20 April 2024.]

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