You are still much more likely to die in a traffic accident in these regions than get murdered. By most standards (even Western European ones) these regions are

You are still much more likely to die in a traffic accident in these regions than get murdered. By most standards (even Western European ones) these regions are still very safe, so I don't see any reasons why you should avoid them. Furthermore, Italian mafia, unlike some movies like you to believe, usually don't kill for fun - most of the related murders are targeted killings of rivals, witnesses, debtors, investigators etc.