Fodor's Expert Review C.I.D.M.A.

Housed, perhaps appropriately, in an ex-orphanage in the center of Corleone, the Centro Internazionale di Documentazione sulla Mafia e del Movimento Antimafia, or C.I.D.M.A., chronicles the dark history of the criminal organization that has been identified with Sicily for much of the 20th century. Most of the story is told through a moving exhibition of black-and-white photographs, almost all taken by Letizia Battaglia, who bravely made it her life's work to record the Mafia's activities in Sicily, in particular the arrests of Mafia operatives and the deaths of their victims. One room holds the vast collection of files used in the Maxi-Trial of Mafia suspects that took place between 1986 and 1992, which directly led to the murders of the judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, who are also remembered here. There is space given to the pentito (informant) Tomasso Buscetta, whose testimony resulted in a slew of arrests, but whose entire family was wiped out by vengeful hitmen. It's a sad and sobering experience to hear about such atrocities, and a visit to the center is best undertaken with a guide, without whose explanations you would miss much essential information. Call ahead to book a guided tour (available in English).