Mamma santissima literally means "most holy mother" and refers to the Virgin Mary, who is regarded as the protector of the 'Ndrangheta.
Contrary to the 'Ndrangheta code, it allowed bosses to establish close connections with state representatives, even to the extent that some were affiliated with the Santa.
According to Gaetano Costa (the former boss of the Messina 'ndrina), "it was Mommo Piromalli who – given the enormous interests which the existed in the Reggio Calabria area (the railroad stump, the steelwork centre, and the port in Gioia Tauro, etc.)
"[1] It was precisely on account of these innovations that the new institution was opposed by the more traditionalist bosses, such as Antonio Macrì from the Ionic town of Siderno, the 'Ndrangheta’s charismatic leader of the 1960s, and Domenico Tripodo, who was the dominant figure of the Reggio Calabria clans.
Only at the end of the so-called First 'Ndrangheta war, which took place in 1974-76 and led to their deaths and the consequent rise of the De Stefano brothers as the new leaders of the Reggio Calabria 'Ndrangheta, was the new institution fully recognized.