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 MartÃn de Tours.
There is also the Catedral 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.