One of the most enduringly famous portrayals of Sicily that has ever graced the silver screen has to be Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 masterpiece, “The Godfather”, starring Marlon Brando and Al Pacino. This iconic movie is set in 1940s and 1950s Sicily and New York and tells the story of the Corleone family, characters from Mario Puzo’s novel, “The Godfather.” Many tourists have gone in search of filming locations from the movie throughout the years since its release. Many head to Corleone, the town that shares its name with Don Vito Corleone, but it was not actually where the film was shot as when they began making the movie in the 1970s, it had changed drastically in the time since Puzo wrote his novel. Modernised and greatly expanded, it no longer resembled the rural place from the books. However, never fear, if you have found a vacation rental in Sicily and are a fan of the movie, there are plenty of filming sites to visit as the villages of Motta Camastra, Forza d’Agro, and Savoca were all featured in, “The Godfather”.
In one famous scene, Michael Corleone, son of the famous Don Vito, comes with two companions to a traditional Sicilian bar located in the 18th-century Palazzo Trimarchi di Savoca in the town of Savoca. This bar, Bar Vitelli, is a real and still-functioning business and remains pretty much the exact same to this day. With its vine-covered terrace and pretty location in the cobbled historic square, it is impossibly picturesque if not a somewhat common sight in Sicily. This particular bar, however, with its connection to such an iconic moment from cinematic history is special and is a must-see among all of those lovely old bars dotted around the island. Inside, there are photos of the behind-the-scenes from filming and Signora Maria will often chat to visitors about the days in which the movie was being made at Bar Vitelli. Come and soak up the atmosphere, get a commemorative photo, try their famous try granita di limoni (Coppola’s favourite), and then, once you’ve cooled down, go and visit the nearby Church of San Nicolo, where the characters of Michael Corleone and Apollonia got married.
