Editing Sicily (section)

===20th and 21st centuries===
[[File:Private Roy W. Humphrey of Toledo, Ohio is being given blood plasma after he was wounded by shrapnel in Sicily on 8-9-43 - NARA - 197268.jpg|thumb|Private Roy W. Humphrey of [[Toledo, Ohio]], is given [[blood plasma]] after he was wounded by [[Fragmentation (weaponry)|shrapnel]] in Sicily on 9 August 1943.]]

The [[1908 Messina earthquake|Messina earthquake]] of 28 December 1908 killed more than 80,000 people.<ref>"[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1483443/Messina-earthquake-and-tsunami Messina earthquake and tsunami]". Britannica Online Encyclopedia.</ref>

In the 1920s, the [[Italian fascism|Fascist]] regime began taking stronger military action, led by [[Cesare Mori]] (nicknamed the "Iron [[Prefect]]" for his iron-fisted campaigns), against the Sicilian Mafia, the first that ended with considerable success.<ref name="modern" /> There was an [[Allied invasion of Sicily]] during World War II starting on 10 July 1943. In preparation for the invasion, the Allies [[Collaborations between the United States government and Italian Mafia|revitalised]] the Mafia to aid them. The invasion of Sicily contributed to the [[Fall of the Fascist regime in Italy|25 July crisis]]; in general, the Allied victors were warmly embraced by Sicily.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bestofsicily.com/history3.htm|publisher=BestofSicily.com|title=Modern Sicilian History & Society}}</ref>

In the aftermath of World War II, Italy [[1946 Italian institutional referendum|became a Republic]] in 1946. Under the [[Constitution of Italy]], Sicily is one of five [[Regions of Italy|regions]] with [[Autonomous administrative division|autonomy]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.grifasi-sicilia.com/regione_sicilia_gbr.html|publisher=Grifasi-Sicilia.com|title=Sicily autonomy|date=7 October 2007}}</ref> Both the partial Italian [[land reform]] and special funding from the Italian government's ''[[Cassa per il Mezzogiorno]]'' (Fund for the South) from 1950 to 1984 helped the Sicilian economy. During this period, the economic and social condition of the island was generally improved due to investments in infrastructure (such as [[motorways]] and [[airport]]s) and the creation of industrial and commercial areas.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.storicamente.org/quadstor1/ch09.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524044958/http://www.storicamente.org/quadstor1/ch09.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 May 2013 |title=Le spinte e i ritorni": gli anni delle riforme per lo sviluppo in Sicilia (1947–1967) |language=it |website=Storicamente.org |access-date=18 December 2012}}</ref> In the 1980s, the Mafia was weakened by another campaign led by magistrates [[Giovanni Falcone]] and [[Paolo Borsellino]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.scudit.net/mdfalcone.htm |title=Due eroi italiani – Materiali didattici di Scuola d'Italiano Roma a cura di Roberto Tartaglione |language=it |website=Scudit.net |date=11 April 2004 |access-date=18 December 2012}}</ref> Between 1990 and 2005, the [[unemployment rate]] fell from about 23% to 11%.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-27778/Italy#319101.hook|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|title=Italy – Land Reforms|date=7 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.istat.it/it/sicilia/dati?q=gettable&dataset=DCCV_TAXDISOCCU&dim=120,6,1,0,28,12,3,0,0&lang=2&tr=0&te=1 |title=Sicilia |language=it |website=Istat.it |access-date=18 December 2012 |archive-date=15 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121115061849/http://www.istat.it/it/sicilia/dati?q=gettable&dataset=DCCV_TAXDISOCCU&dim=120%2C6%2C1%2C0%2C28%2C12%2C3%2C0%2C0&lang=2&tr=0&te=1 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Cosa Nostra has traditionally been the most powerful group in Sicily, especially around Palermo.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/4727672/italy-police-arrest-alleged-new-mafia-boss-in-sicily/ |title=Italy police arrest alleged new mafia boss in Sicily |work=Global News |last=Pantaleone |first=Wladimir |date=4 December 2018 |access-date=22 June 2021}}</ref> A police investigation in summer 2019 also confirmed strong links between the Palermo area [[Sicilian Mafia]] and American organized crime, particularly the [[Gambino crime family]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/17/europe/mafia-arrests-fbi-italy-intl/index.html |title=19 mafia suspects arrested in joint transatlantic raids |first1=Hada |last1=Messia |first2=Lauren |last2=Kent |work=[[CNN]] |date=17 July 2019 |access-date=22 June 2021}}</ref> According to ''[[La Repubblica]]'', "Off they go, through the streets of Passo di Rigano, Boccadifalco, Torretta and at the same time, Brooklyn, Staten Island, [and] New Jersey. Because from Sicily to the US, the old mafia has returned."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/17/fbi-mafia-arrests-us-italy-inzerillo-gambino |title=FBI and Italian police arrest 19 people in Sicily and US in mafia investigation |last=Giuffrida |first=Angela |work=The Guardian |date=17 July 2019 |access-date=22 June 2021}}</ref>