Cosca

For the village of Coşca in Vaslui County, see Ivăneşti.

A cosca (Italian: [ˈkɔska]; pl. cosche in Italian and coschi in Sicilian), in Sicily, is a clan or Sicilian Mafia crime family led by a capo.

The equivalent in the 'Ndrangheta in Calabria is the 'ndrina.

Etymology

A cosca is the crown of spiny, closely folded leaves on plants such as the artichoke or the thistle, which symbolizes the tightness of relationships between mafiosi.

References

• Blok, Anton (1974/1988). The Mafia of a Sicilian village 1860-1960. A study of violent peasant entrepreneurs, Long Grove (IL): Waveland Press, ISBN 0-88133-325-5
• Dickie, John (2004). Cosa Nostra. A history of the Sicilian Mafia, London: Coronet, ISBN 978-0-340-82435-1
• Servadio, Gaia (1976). Mafioso. A history of the Mafia from its origins to the present day, London: Secker & Warburg, ISBN 0-8128-2101-7