A group of fifteen third year students from Coventry University are on a study trip to Sicily to look at the mafia and anti-mafia movements in the area.

Southern Italy has a long history of organised crime and even with anti-mafia organisations and the implementation of successful anti-mafia legislation; the Italian mafias (Cosa Nostra, Camorra, Ndrangheta and Sacra Corona Unita) still make an estimated annual turnover of 100 billion Euros, which accounts for about 8% of Italy's gross domestic income.

For the students, who are studying History, International Relations, Politics and Sociology courses, being in Italy and meeting some of the leading experts on the Mafia, will give them an insight into the world of organised crime and how it is dealt with.

The students are in Sicily until February 21 and as well as learning about the history of the Sicilian mafia, they will also be looking at the role of women in the mafia, the anti-mafia movement, the mafia and politics and the mafia and the media.

Accompanying the students is Salvartore (Rino) Coluccello, a senior lecturer from the Department of International Studies and Social Science who is an expert in this area.

He said:

"By talking to the people involved and being in the heart of mafia country, the students will get a lot more out of listening to the experts and meeting them face to face rather than just hearing about them and having lectures in a classroom."

The study trip has been organised in collaboration with Libera and Sviluppo e Legalita' (development and legality) two organisations that coordinate anti-mafia organisations in Italy.

In a packed schedule, the students will be meeting members of an anti-mafia group in Palermo that was one of the first groups who tried to reduce mafia influence by encouraging shop owners to refuse to pay protection fees.

They will also meet the anti-mafia journalist Pino Maniaci who used to independently report on the mafia's activities and has had several attempts made on his life due to his outspoken broadcasts against mafia groups.

The visit also includes a trip to an important anti-mafia centre in Palermo (Centro di Documentazione Impastato) and a day in Corleone.

Finally, they will meet anti-mafia prosecutors in Palermo and taken to visit a bombproof bunker built by the Ucciardone prison which was used for the trials of mafia members in 1986 which saw over 400 mafia members tried for multiple crimes including murder, drug trafficking and extortion.

For more information about Coventry University, please visit their website here: www.coventry.ac.uk