Sicilian/Southern Italian Code of Silence, willful disobedience to law enforcement investigations, being aware enough to deflect unwanted attention from yourself, your operations, & your family. This is an innate characteristic, some could say an evolutionary tactic of silence and humility dating back to before Facist tyranny swept most of Italy pre ww2 when even average citizens had to keep hush to survive. (That facist wave that led to the rise of Mussolini has since been remedied, however with the current migrant crisis there have been signs of polar-shifts towards nationalism in some affected areas.) Furthermore, Omertà is still the code of silence (or code of “humility,” as Omertà translates to humility in English) adhered to today by La Cosa Nostra, which has seen a modern resurgence in strength and even cultural acceptance since 9-11, when people no longer felt safe in the streets cause the Feds abused RICO to lock up all the wise-guys.
Stick to the Omertà, don’t make a showboat of yourself like some pissant rapper, we are the shadows, not the spotlight.
by Gaspar Lombardo March 15, 2019
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The mafia’s code of silence. Probably derived from umirtà, the Sicilian word for humility.
by VAKI5 January 20, 2005
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A person who constantly gets himself into situations where he has no other choice than to betray his friends.
He betrayed us again, that omertà.
by Windy June 27, 2004
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