Many consider Luca Patti the first instance of a Sicilian mafioso in recorded history, but his ring appears to have had a predecessor, or possibly competition, in Corleone.
The first Mafia gang in Sicily
Did the Mafia begin with the Sicilian Vespers?
This golden age for the island of Sicily is the time that Mafia propaganda reaches back to for nostalgia.
Mafia Genealogy 