Most tourists come to Italy for the wine and vistas, not to mention the pasta and pizza.
Many steer clear of the Triangle of Death – an area near the Sicilian capital, Palermo, that includes the town of Bagheria. The name dates back to the 1980s, when the Mafia carried out a series of gruesome killings in Bagheria and nearby Casteldaccia and Altavilla Milicia in the north of the island.
To this day, Bagheria, a town of some 50,000, remains a stronghold of the Sicilian Mafia, known locally as Cosa Nostra.
In the past, the town made headlines when mafiosi brutally tortured and killed their victims in a remote, abandoned nail factory, then dissolved the bodies in hydrochloric acid.
Today, the Mafia is more discreet. But while there is less bloodshed, they retain their steel grip on the region.
