Il Padrino in…Savoca

otherwise known as “The Godfather Village.”

That’s right, folks. Believe it or not, everything you see in the movies IS NOT REAL.

Hollywood would try to trick and confuse us?

Sad, I know.

But, the small Sicilian village of Corleone, the quaint, close-knit town we all longed to visit when we watched The Godfather, is not realllly what you think it is. (Although, interestingly enough, Al Pacino’s maternal grandparents immigrated from, no where other than, Corleone, Italy…Thanks, Wikipedia!)

So you see, Corleone, does in fact exist, and is a town in the province of Palermo, with around 12,000 citizens, modern roads, and a mafia presence that apparently didn’t appreciate the liberties taken by Mr. Coppola…or, Mr. Puzo for that matter, when creating this blockbuster hit.

So, they looked South – and East – and far from any perils that may exist a little too close to home. The solution?

Savoca, Italy.

If a more ideal location could have been found, I’d like to see it. Savoca is everything you see in the movie, although, in our case, with far fewer folks. During our hour or so passeggiata, we saw one woman walking, two men in an ape, and some of the most compelling scenery we saw throughout the weekend.

We saw dozens of churches, including the church where Michael marries Apollonia.

It was perfect for a half-day excursion from Messina, and even the drizzle of raindrops, and the cool wind didn’t distract from the experience. Savoca is everything you could want in a Sicilian mountaintop village, and I, for one, would love to go back!

Note: Notice in the first picture, Michelle and I practicing our mafia-life flipoffs in front of the still operational Bar Vitelli. However, in typical southern Italy style, it was closed on our Friday evening visit…Boh! This happens to be the lone photo of the two of us insieme during our Sicilian getaway.