The global criminal organization, known as the Mafia, originated in the orange groves of the Conca D'Ora, the rich hinterland of Palermo, Sicily, during the early 19th century. It was here that the Mafia of the Gardens, a loose network of bandits, built up their industry of crime - the impresa criminale. This book shows how these rural bands resisted the encroachment of the Italian government in the 1840s, infiltrated it, took control of its agencies and so became the ruling power on the island. The book argues that the vast organization that operates across continents today remains, in structure, remarkably similar to the early rural operations, despite the enormous gulf in style and scale.