Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea; along with surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Siciliana (Sicilian Region).

The region is known for being the origin of the crime syndicate called Mafia, also know as La Cosa Nostra (in English "our thing"), that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering.