Dissimulare l'anomia: mafie locali e rifunzionalizzazione del modello tradizionale. Il caso della Mafia Garganico (Foggia)

This paper treats the relationship between blood feud paradigm and mafia practices in the Gargano region of Southern Italy. The case study discussed, coming from a long-term ethnography, is about alliance and conflict practices between two criminals groups that represent their violent behaviour with the words of tradition. The argument is that the Gargano mafia groups use the traditional normative value paradigm to create consensus within the community, root themselves in the local territory, and protect their criminal interests. The article concludes that the reciprocity mechanism of blood feud paradigm used by criminals groups to represent their conflict is a communicative strategy functional to hide the criminal intent behind the reassuring symbol of blood spilled that must be avenged.