Is the sicilian mafia considered a culture?

Answer 1

A culture is the total of characteristics that defines a group of people. In that sense the "old fashioned" Mafia might have been called a culture. Or rather a 'sub-culture', as the Sicilian Mafia's habits, slang and values were anchored in southern Italy's general culture.

Today's Mafia is however much more a collective name used by the outside world for a great number of organized crime-groups operating in Italy that are more often than not at each other's throats and that may have totally different ways of being organized and of operating.