There are places that the world of cinema has immortalized. Real places that the magic wand of the seventh Art has touched forever. And if it is not cinema, it is literature. They are places that become dreamed, desired, imagined a thousand times by viewers and readers.
In Italy there are many famous places for the cinema And although one could make a rather numerous and varied list, there is one that is very classic and well Italian.:Corleone. The name immediately refers to one of the great classics of cinema, those that do not go out of style, that do not age, that tolerate the passage of time and changes in the way a story is told cinematographically: The Godfather.
Corleone, in Sicily
It is a city and commune that is in the province of Palermo where around 12 thousand people live nothing more. It has almost 23 thousand hectares and mountainous landscapes. It is located at just over 500 meters of altitude and the landscapes are quite beautiful.
Its history dates back to ancient times and it is believed that the Greeks have passed through here and the Arabs, the Normans and the Aragonese themselves until Corleone, the name, definitively acquired its identity and form in the XNUMXth century.
-photo Corleone 1-
Among so many mountains, the so-called Dragon Canyons stand out, a picturesque tourist destination, carved by the bed of the Ferattna River between limestone and karst rocks that over the centuries have shaped waterfalls, holes and ponds.
Main tourist attractions in Corleone
Having a history of several centuries there are many attractions that are located in the fan of time. In part there are historical and cultural attractions and in part there are natural attractions.
Among the natural attractions is the Boregata Ficuzza Nature Reserve, between Corleone and Palermo. It is a great destination for hiking as it is considered one of the richest and most charming forests in Sicily, a former hunting ground of King Ferdinando of Bourbon with many trees. The Gole del Drago and Due Rocche Waterfall they are two natural beauties that honor the waters.
El Castle Sporano It is a rocky promontory on the outskirts of the city that offers good views, including waterfalls. Above all are even the ruins of a Saracen castle, built around the XNUMXth and XNUMXth century. In the city itself we can name the old monastery of the Franciscan Order, today privately owned and visit the Civic Museum and several churches, including the Mother Church dedicated to San Martín de Tours.
There is also the Cathedral by San Martino Vescovo, from the end of the fourteenth century, with multiple chapels that keep true treasures in statues of old wood and marble panels with images of the baptism of Christ. Another interesting church is the Church of the Addolorata, from the XNUMXth century with many notable frescoes and paintings.
Corleone and the mob
Corleone is a synonym for Sicilian mafia Well, here was born in the XNUMXth century one of the mafia leaders, Toto Riini, La Bestia, known by this name for its brutality. In the end he was arrested but the trail of blood left behind is tremendous.
La history of Corleone and the Sicilian mafia you can know it in the CID, MA, a center that was inaugurated in December 2000 with the presence even of the Italian president. It all has to do with fighting the mafia and there are many court documents that include statements and confessions. There is also a photographic shows of gangster murders made by Letizia Battaglia, capturing impressive details of what the mafia did in the '70s and' 80s.
A special room reaches the heart, the so-called Pain Room, with photographs of Battaglia's daughter, a follower of her mother's photographic steps, with images of what the mafia action leaves behind, the pain, the deaths, the family, love.
Corleone, literature and cinema.
Mario Puzo is the author of the novel The Godfather. Maybe you know the movies but not the novel and you should read it. Francis Ford Coppola was based on it for his film trilogy in which the character of Vito Andolini, starring Marlon Brando, emigrates from Corleone to the United States and ends up declaring his town as his surname on the famous Ellis Island.
However Corleone gangsters are prior to the history of Puzo and at the end of the XNUMXth century there was a mafia in this corner of Italy. At least nine gangsters made headlines in the XNUMXth century, so you can get a taste of Corleone's spirit.
But is the Corleone of the cinema the original Corleone? Not so much. Francis Ford Coppola filmed in other places such as the villages of Forza d'Agiro and Savoca, in the province of Messina. He did not consider that the village of Corleone, turned into a small town, served to tell the mafia story so he moved, but that does not mean that many important gangsters left Corleone for the New York and New Jersey area, United States.
Thinking of the movies you can find the Vitelli Bar, in which for the first time Michael meets glances with who would become his first and beloved wife. This bar is in Savoca, a village near Taormina, east of Sicily. There is also the church where Michael Corleone marries her. In the other town, Forza d'Agro, is the other church that appears in the scene of The Godfather 2 in which Vito escapes to the United States hidden on a donkey while his enemies were looking for him.
How to go to Corleone
The village of Corleone It does not have a train station, something that is common in many mountain villages in Sicily. Transportation is quite limited but still there are buses that depart from Palermo in charge of the Azienda Siciliana Trasporti, the AST.
But without a doubt, if you are interested in visiting Corleone, best thing you can do is rent a car and go on your own. That is going to give you a lot of freedom of action.
Excellent I am fans of the godfather and I would like to meet Corleone, thank you for reading it
Hi Sara!!!! I have, let's say, a relationship with a Corleonese. The town itself is not a big deal but the people are very nice, friendly and open. You don't feel like the mafia at all. The movie has nothing to do with them, I mean that the famous Devito was not from there, it is all fiction, but the Corleonese have quite assumed it. There is not a single reference in the town to this film, which surprises me, since here in Spain they had already set up some tourist attraction. If you want something, I'm going to August again. Greetings Maria
But even so, outsiders have that "fear" of thinking and believing that anyone who looks at you is a friend of some mafia contact etc etc ... nothing is further from reality (I am convinced) the tranquility that you have to breathe there and the hospitality, it must be milk. How comfortable it must be. ala Maria! When I marry Sara we will go on our honeymoon there. LOL. Seriously ... these kinds of villages have to be very nice and hospitable.
Of course there is no relationship with the film, in the strict sense. The truth is, everything is covered up so as not to be so obvious ... But everything in the saga in truth, The Provenzzano are not a myth.
All that I know ... But the magic of being a reader of the book and having seen the movies many times ... To admire Coppola and Puzo ... Brando and Pacino ... would inevitably take me there as well as to other surrounding towns where also movies were filmed.
I belong to a Web page of The Godfather in which all the towns in which different parts were filmed are named.
And as someone said before, those towns have a special magic
hi Cristi
I would love to know the towns in which parts of the film were filmed, since in September I will be in Sicily.
already grateful
Roque
Hi Cristhi. Anyway, if you like to visit the locations of The Godfather, I will pass on the fact that it was not actually filmed in Corleone (province of Palermo), but in Forza d'Agro (province of Messina). I was there. The Sicilian towns are beautiful.
I'm a fan of the godfather, I know them by heart at 3. There must be some reference, when Vito escapes on the donkey and Don Ciccio's thugs look for him, that church doesn't exist? is not corleone =?
Thanks greetings
It was not actually shot in Corleone (Palermo province), but in Forza d'Agro (Messina province). If you google "Forza d'Agro", you will see the famous church you say.
Greetings ... I would like to one day walk the streets of Corleone since my late grandmother was native to that town and she always told me how pleasant it was. And even though she is no longer with me, I want to fulfill the dream # of walking its streets.
hello you know the best movie of all centuries is without doubt the godfather congratulations to everyone in the godfather's town who should feel proud to be part of VITTO CORLEONE until next time sres
I am a super fan of The Godfather and I would love to get to know the town of Corleone, especially the scene where Don Vito's mother is killed (according to me, that was filmed in Corleone). You can see an authentic taste of the province. Congratulations to the inhabitants from there and I think they must be proud of the fame of their city.
For all Godfather lovers, although the named town is Corleone, it was actually filmed in a town on a hill overlooking the Ionian Sea on the eastern coast of Sicily. This town, much more beautiful even than Corleone, is called Forza d'Agró. I was there in 1990.
a big hello to the fans of the saga the godfather, which is one of the best films in the great history of LOS CORLEONE ...
It seems to me a very nice town. Although its fame is not so favored by the inhabitants of there, it is still a very beautiful town here in Venezuela we value things like that!
I think all this is very interesting but the truth is that the one who immortalized this province was not COPPOLA with his films, it was MARIO PUZO who wrote the book "The Godfather" and many others related to the Mafia. Honor to whom honor deserves since we are in this tenor. And yes, if I would like to know CORLEONE.
I like Italy because of its history, I saw photos of Corleone and literary comments in books and magazines, it is as seen a picturesque town typical of the European countryside, especially in the Middle Ages.
I don't know why it relates to the Italian mafia, that gives it a negative touch, I don't like it, because my old relatives are Italian.
Don't you know why Corleone is related to the mafia? Could it be because the most important clan of the mafia was from there? Leggio, Salvatore Riina, Bagarella, Bernardo Provenzano, etc ...