about 250 km, 3 hours + 20 min
Corleone is a small town of approximately 12,000 inhabitants in the Province of Palermo in Sicily, Italy. It is known primarily as the birthplace of several Mafia bosses, both fictional, such as The Godfather's Vito (Andolini) Corleone, and real, such as Giuseppe Morello, Michele Navarra, Luciano Leggio, Leoluca Bagarella, Salvatore Riina and Bernardo Provenzano.
The name of the town was used as the adopted surname of the title character in Mario Puzo's book and Francis Ford Coppola's film The Godfather. In the novel, Vito Andolini emigrates from the village of Corleone. In the theatrical release of The Godfather, Part II, young Vito is assigned the Corleone surname while passing through immigration at Ellis Island. Shy and unable to speak English, Vito is unable to respond when asked for his proper name and is given the last name Corleone by an immigration official.
The Chiesa Madre (“Mother Church”), dedicated to the 4th Century French Bishop St. Martin of Tours, was started in the late 14th century. Its appearance today has been influenced by numerous changes and renovations. Its interior has a nave and aisles divided into various chapels containing precious artwork, including a wooden statue representing San Filippo d’Agira from the 17th century, a statue representing San Biagio (16th century), and a fine marble panel depicting the Baptism of Christ from this same period.
The Chiesa dell'Addolorata is a church of the 18th century, dedicated to the Basilian abbot and patron saint San Leoluca, the Chiesa di Santa Rosalia, and the small Sant’Andrea (the latter two from the 17th century), all with important frescoes and paintings, are notable landmarks. The Santuario della Madonna del Rosario di Tagliavia, a religious building from the 19th century, is now a destination for pilgrims onAscension Day.
