Sicily

Sicily is an island in the Mediterranean off the coast of Italy and is considered and autonomous region of the country. Sicily plays a large role in not only films that take place in Italy, but also in movies involving Italian characters, some of which are part of the gangster films subgenre.

Points of Interest

 * Bisaquino: Bisacquino is a town located in Palermo, Sicily. Classic comedy director Frank Capra was born in Bisacquino on May 18th, 1897.


 * Corleone: Corleone is a town commune located in the province of Palermo. If the name sounds familiar, it could be because of the character Vito Corleone from The Godfather film series, who was born in Corleone and took on the name when he relocated to the United States. In Sicilian, the town is known as Cunigghiuni.


 * Palermo: Palermo is a province in Sicily. The town of Bisacquino is located here. The character of Johnny Cammareri from the 1987 romantic comedy Moonstruck was born in Palmero.

In film

 * The Godfather: After Michael Corleone kills the mobster Sollozzo and corrupt police captain McCluskey, his family sends him to Sicily to avoid arrest as well as reprisal from other mobsters. While there, he meets and falls in love with a woman named Appolonia Vitelli. Appolonia was killed in a car bomb planted by mobster looking to kill Michael. Shortly thereafter, Michael returned to the United States.


 * The Godfather: Part II: In the year 1901, a man named Andolini from the town of Corleone insulted the local mafia chieftain, Don Ciccio, and as a result, Ciccio had his entire family killed. Andolini's nine-year-old son, Vito, survived and immigrated to New York City where he assumed the surname of Corleone.


 * The Godfather: Part III: Michael Corleone took his family on a vacation to Sicily in preparation for his son Anthony's debut as an opera singer at the Teatro Massimo. They stayed at the villa of Corleone family friend Don Tommasino. At this time, Michael tried to repair the relationship with his estranged wife, Kay. A mobster named Altobello had Don Tommasino killed and Michael swore that he would "sin no more".