Corleone

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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 Mafia bosses Michele Navarra, Luciano Leggio, Leoluca Bagarella, Salvatore Riina and Bernardo Provenzano. The Mafia has dominated the local community for decades, and only recently have segments of the population begun to rebel against this influence.

Contents

1 History
2 Main sights
3 Corleone today
4 In literature and film
5 See also
6 References

History

The town was once dominated by the Arabs, who brought about remarkable economic and political growth and gave it the name Qurlayun; later the Normans achieved prominence.

A lookout tower built between the 11th and 12th century, known as Saracena, still stands. The view from the tower includes the Cascata delle Due Rocche, a sheer drop following the path of the Corleone river.

At one time the town was surrounded by defensive walls that connected the Castello Soprano and Castello Sottano. The Castello Sottano is better preserved than the Soprano, but it cannot be visited since it serves as a Franciscan retreat.

Corleone was known as “Courageous Civitas” because of its position on the front line in all wars fought in Sicily. Halfway between Palermo and Agrigento, the town controlled one of the main arteries and was therefore one of the most strategic locations on the island.

Corleone became a royal property around the end of the 14th century, and later passed into the feudal holdings of Federico Ventimiglia.

Remarkable demographic growth was reported in the 15th and 16th centuries, following the arrival of several religious orders.

Main sights

The Chiesa Madre (“Mother Church”), dedicated to St. Martin Bishop, was started in the late 1300’s. 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 1600s, 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 church of the 1700s, 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 1600s), 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 on Ascension Day.

Corleone today

Beginning in the 1960s, the town became famous (or perhaps infamous) for its Mafia, being the town in which some well-known clans had their headquarters (the Clan dei Corleonesi). One of the known mafiosi is Salvatore Riina.

The most notable event in Corleone is the arrest of Bernardo Provenzano "Boss of Bosses", who was in hiding for more than 40 years. This has created much celebration. "Liberation Day" on April 11 (the date which Provenzano was caught) and naming a street "11 aprile" show how much the arrest has effected Corleone.

In literature and film

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 both the book and theatrical release of The Godfather, Part II, young Vito Andolini, from Corleone, was assigned the Corleone surname while passing through emmigration at Ellis Island. Shy and unable to speak English, Andolini was unable to respond when asked for his proper name.

Coincidentally, the grandparents of Al Pacino (who played Michael Corleone in The Godfather), emigrated from the town of Corleone in the same generation as Don Vito Corleone from the film.

References

Sicily · Communes of the province of Palermo