By Cristiano Corvino
NAPLES (Reuters) - Tens of thousand of people marched in Naples on Saturday to commemorate the victims of the mafia and demand an end to the stranglehold of organised crime on southern Italy.
Organisers said they expected some 100,000 people from across Italy and 30 other countries to attend the rally, making it one of the biggest demonstrations against the powerful crime syndicates in recent years.
Relatives of victims, some clad in white and holding pictures of their loved ones, led the rally as the names of some 900 people killed by the mafia were read out through loudspeakers. One banner said: "You didn't kill them. They are walking with us."
"Today is a day of celebration because we remember our dead with all these young people gathered here. They are the future of Italy," said Vincenzo D'Agostino, the father of a policeman who was killed by the mafia with his wife and son.
The march was organised by Libera (Free), an association of civil society groups involved in many anti-mafia activities, including acquiring farms and buildings confiscated from the mafia and using them for social good, such as school and drug rehabilitation centres.
"A day like today is meaningful only if we keep fighting the other 364 days of the year," said Father Luigi Ciotti, a priest and Libera's president.
Italian police have inflicted major blows on the Sicilian mafia in recent years, arresting several high-profile mafiosi, such as the "boss of bosses" Bernardo Provenzano and his heir apparent Salvatore Lo Piccolo in 2007.
But the country's four biggest mafia organisations -- Calabria's 'Ndrangheta, Sicily's Cosa Nostra, Naples' Camorra and Puglia's Sacra Corona Unita -- are believed still to account for a large chunk of Italy's economy.
Interior Minister Roberto Maroni has said that the 'Ndrangheta alone, now considered the most powerful of Italy's mafia groups, makes 45 billion euros ($61.6 billion) a year through its hold on the European drugs market.
Italy's intelligence services said this month the global downturn was giving mobsters the chance to tighten their grip on the economy as they use proceeds from their illegal activities to buy stakes in the retail, tourism and real estate sectors.
Cash-hungry businesses have also become more vulnerable to loan sharks and protection rackets, they said in a report.
"We are here today to show that the mafia can be fought if we are all united," said demonstrator Rossella Brescia.
(Additional reporting by Laura Viggiano, writing by Silvia Aloisi, editing by Tim Pearce)