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.1
References
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.