The Godfather Sicily Locations Parts I, II & III: FULL List + Map!

For teens of the 1970s and movie fans, The Godfather is one of the greatest trilogies ever produced. It’s a masterpiece for so many reasons, but the incredible filming locations for The Godfather are definitely a factor. The Godfather Sicily locations are so iconic, it’s no wonder why taking a Sicily Godfather tour is a bucket-list item for many travellers. 

Francis Ford Coppola directed The Godfather (1972), The Godfather Part II (1974) and The Godfather Part III (1990). They follow the Corleone family, a powerful mafia/crime family living in New York City after Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro) emigrated from the town of Corleone in Sicily.

The films, through a series of flashbacks, span 1901-1979. They feature scenes set around the world from New York to Las Vegas, to Miami, to Cuba, to Rome and Sicily. I visited Sicily in September 2019 and I had a fantastic time!

There are The Godfather Sicily locations in all three films. Since most of the iconic locations are on the east coast, you tick most off your list by booking fun organised Sicily Godfather Tours from Taormina and Catania.

But if you want to know where ALL of The Godfather filming locations in Sicily are, this is a full list of all three films plus a map. Let’s go back to the motherland, shall we?

Where Was The Godfather Filmed in Sicily?

The Godfather Sicily Filming Locations: Part I

After Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) shoots and kills Sollozzo and McCluskey (the NYPD Police Chief), he flees to Corleone in Sicily. This is his father Don Vito Corleone’s hometown and the perfect place to lay low for a while.

Corleone is a real town in Palermo province but unfortunately, there are no Corleone Godfather locations. By the time Coppola shot the first film, Corleone looked too modern. So, he shot most of The Godfather Corleone scenes in the less-modern east coast Sicilian towns of Forza d’Agrò and Savoca in Messina.

1. Chiesa M. del Carmelo in Sant’Alessio Siculo, Messina

As Michael walks into ‘Corleone’ with his two bodyguards, the three men look up to the village on the hill. This was the very first of many The Godfather locations in Sicily. The fields and countryside that they’ve just walked through surround the village of Sant’Alessio.

The church that you can see (very faintly) at the top of the hill is the Chiesa M. del Carmelo. It’s next door to the town of Forza d’Agrò.

2. Cattedrale di Maria SS. Annunziata e Assunta in Forza d’Agrò, Messina

Next, we cut to the lads walking through Forza d’Agrò as Michael laments about the lack of men in the town.

They walk past an old church that seems to be falling to ruin, which is the Cattedrale di Maria SS. Annunziata e Assunta. It’s amazing how many beautiful churches there are in the tiniest towns in Italy. This location features on every The Godfather Tour in Sicily!

3. Bar Vitelli in Savoca, Messina

This is, by far, one of the most famous Sicily Godfather locations! After Michael encounters Apollonia in the countryside (I’d love to know where – there’s a bridge in the background but I just can’t it!), he heads into a bar to enquire about her.

This bar is Bar Vitelli in Savoca and you can still visit it today on all The Godfather tours in Sicily! Bar Vitelli Sicily is now something of a shrine to The Godfather movies (the character who owns the bar in the film is called Vitelli) but is also still a working bar/restaurant/hotel.

4. Castello Degli Schiavi in Fiumefreddo, Catania

Michael arranges to meet Apollonia at Don Tommasino’s villa surrounded by an entire army of family. This location is also where Michael teaches Apollonia to drive by circling a well in the courtyard. And of course, she tragically gets blown up by a car bomb.

The villa is called Castello Degli Schiavi in real life and it’s open to visitors. This is the main The Godfather house Sicily and also features as a The Godfather Sicily location in Part II and Part III, but we’ll get to that.

This is one of The Godfather film locations Sicily that appeared in season two of HBO’s White Lotus.

5. Chiesa di San Nicolò in Savoca, Messina

Literally just down the street from Bar Vitelli (so it’s another Savoca Godfather location) is the church where Michael and Apollonia get married. It is called Chiesa di San Nicolò and the congregation continues to walk down the cliff-side street from the church.

And those are all the Sicily Godfather locations from the first film!

The Godfather Sicily Filming Locations: Part II

The follow-up to The Godfather is just as brilliant, some would say more so, than the first film. The Godfather Part II follow the events of the first film in 1958. Simultaneously, it covers the events of 1901 onwards when Don Vito Corleone was a nine-year-old boy called Vito Andolini from Corleone, Sicily. 

The Godfather 2 film locations in Sicily are featured in the scenes covering Vito’s life before he hopped on a ship to America. The Godfather locations Sicily also appear when he’s a young man in 1923 and briefly returns to his homeland with his family.

1. Villa Il Padrino Parte II in Acireale, Catania

During Vito’s father’s funeral in Corleone, a Mafia boss named Don Ciccio shoots Vito’s older brother Paolo. This is the same Mafia boss that killed his dad.

Vito’s mother visits Don Ciccio at his villa and begs for mercy on her only surviving son, claiming he is dumb-witted, only to be shot herself. Later in the film, Vito returns to Don Ciccio’s villa to exact his revenge for murdering his entire family.

Don Ciccio’s villa is in Acireale, Catania. Helpfully, someone on Google Maps has named the villa ‘Villa Il Padrino Parte II’. 

2. Forza d’Agrò in Messina

Forza d’Agrò reappears as a stand-in for Corleone in The Godfather Part II. Cattedrale di Maria SS. Annunziata e Assunta makes another appearance when the dude shouting about Vito Corleone being on the run does so from the church steps.

There are a few other ad hoc locations used around the village, but I’m not 100% sure exactly what streets. Let me know in the comments if you do because the Savoca Sicily Godfather locations are some of the best!

The cathedral and Forza d’Agrò also appear later in the film when Vito returns to ‘Corleone’ as an adult after Sunday mass. 

Planning a trip to Sicily? Book a Godfather Tour from Taormina or Catania!

3. Sparagogna Train Station in Regalbuto, Enna

Far away from other The Godfather filming locations in Sicily is the ‘Corleone’ train station. It features when young Vito and his family visit Sicily in 1923.

Sparagogna Train Station is a defunct station in the middle of nowhere between Enna and Catania, but I’ve pinned exactly where it is on my Godfather locations Sicily map.

4. Castello Degli Schiavi in Fiumefreddo, Catania

A repeat location from The Godfather, young Vito and his family stay in Don Tommasino’s villa while they’re in Sicily.

Of course, this villa, which is Castello Degli Schiavi in real life, is supposed to be in Corleone like the rest of The Godfather filming locations Sicily.

Those are all The Godfather Sicily filming locations for Part II!

The Godfather Sicily Filming Locations: Part III

Released sixteen years after The Godfather Part II, the third film in the trilogy is the least revered. But hey, it had a lot to live up to and it’s still a great film.

Set in 1979, the entire Corleone family travels to Sicily to watch Michael’s son, Anthony, make his opera debut in the Sicilian capital city of Palermo. Of course, while the Corleones are in Sicily they pay a visit to their ancestral hometown of Corleone.

1. Calatafimi-Segesta in Trapani

In most cases, the answer to the question, “where in Sicily was The Godfather filmed?” is the east coast. But The Godfather Part II has Sicily filming locations inland and on the north coast, one of which is in Trapani.

The Corleones arrive in Sicily and, in the first scene, they drive to Bagheria in the Palermo province. It’s very easy to find out that this location is miles away from Palermo in the province of Trapani. You can see the Segesta Temple in the background of their drive.

2. Villa Malfitano Whitaker in Palermo

Michael and his family drive up to the rear entrance of this stately villa in Palermo, which means Coppola shot these scenes where they are set (for once). Except, if we’re being picky, the villa is within the actual city of Palermo, not the nearby town of Bagheria as suggested in the film.

This is where the family are staying while Anthony is performing in Palermo. Both the interior and exterior were used and it features throughout the parts of the film set in Sicily.

Villa Malfitano Whitaker was owned by an English wine exporter in the early 20th century. The home looks as it does in the film, except a bit dustier. The entrance fee is €6 (bring exact change) and you have to actually ring the doorbell to be able to enter the villa. You can then explore the ground floor while a man follows you around until you’re ready to leave.

3. Castello Degli Schiavi in Fiumefreddo, Catania

For the third and final time, we’re back at Don Tommasino’s villa. In real life, it is Castello Degli Schiavi. It looks exactly as it does in the first two films, except the front courtyard looks a little tidier in The Godfather Part III.

4. Villa La Limonaia in Acireale, Catania

Vincent goes to visit Don Altobello under false pretences in his Sicilian villa, which is Villa La Limonaia. This villa is now a wedding venue and it looks absolutely gorgeous. Especially the huge second-floor balcony/patio with views over the coast.

5. Chiesa di Sant’Orsola in Erice, Trapani

Hopping across the Sicilian island back to Trapani, Chiesa di Sant’Orsola is where Michael meets Cardinal Lamberto. It’s a beautiful, old church with twin bells on the outside and a huge well in the courtyard.

I do enjoy the more varied The Godfather in Sicily locations in the third film, even if the film itself isn’t the best.

6. Taormina-Giardini Station in Villagonia, Messina

Kay finally joins Michael in Palermo and she arrives at Bagheria Station. 

In reality, this is the Taormina-Giardini Station which is nowhere near Bagheria. It’s quite a pretty train station, however, and hasn’t changed much since The Godfather Part III was released.

7. Forza d’Agrò in Messina

Michael decides to take Kay on a tour around Corleone to try and make her understand his family history.

The drive from Bagheria in Palermo to Corleone would be relatively short in real life. But this isn’t real life, is it?! Instead of Corleone, we’re back in Forza d’Agrò, way over on the east coast of Sicily.

Michael takes Kay to see the house his father was born in, which is on Vico I Roma, 5. They see a wedding spilling out of the Cattedrale di Maria SS. Annunziata e Assunta and they park their car on the corner of Via Belvedere and Via Roma. 

So, if you were to take a Godfather Tour Taormina or Catania, you’d visit this filming location which appears in all three movies.

8. Strada Provinciale 78 in Mascali, Catania

While dressed as priests, Mosca and his son kill Don Tommasino on the orders of Don Altobello. Don Tommasino is riding in his car when he stops to offer the two priests a lift.

The stretch of road is called Strada Provinciale 78 in Catania. Luckily, the Madonna del Carmine Church is in the shot so it’s easy to identify the exact The Godfather Sicily location.

9. Teatro Massimo in Palermo

The Teatro Massimo is the biggest opera house in Italy and it’s the location of Anthony’s opera debut. It’s a rather spectacular building, both inside and out.

However, only the exterior was used in The Godfather Part III. In real life, the opera house was undergoing a huge, decades-long closure for renovations at the time of filming.

The movie did an excellent job of recreating the theatre, even down to the miniature model of the theatre in the foyer, at the Cinecittà Studios in Rome.

Those are all The Godfather Sicily filming locations for Part III!

Read next: Guide to Cinecittà Studio Tour & Film Museum in Rome

Hop on a Sicily Godfather Tour of the Filming Locations!

That’s a LOT of filming locations from The Godfather trilogy. And the truth is, unless you are venturing on a two-week road trip around Sicily, you probably aren’t going to be able to visit them all.

Most people book a city break in one of the east coast cities, like Taormina or Catania, and hop on an organised Godfather tour to visit all the top locations from all three films.

You’ll be able to visit locations like Bar Vitelli, The Godfather wedding church, and lots of other locations in and around Savoca and Forza D’Agrò. You’ll get a local, knowledgeable guide who will share stories about the area and behind-the-scenes secrets.

Plus, you won’t have to hire a car and drive on Sicily’s scary roads!

This is a recommended, highly-rated Godfather small group tour that picks up in both Catania and Taormina from Get Your Guide.

I’ve used Get Your Guide heaps of times to book tours of all kinds from street food tours to day trips. I’ve loved every single one of my experiences and I love their flexible cancellation policy. 

The Godfather Sicily Filming Locations: That’s a Wrap!

Those are all of The Godfather Sicily filming locations! If you’re a cinephile then you will love visiting these iconic locations in real life.

Are you currently planning a trip to Sicily or do you love watching The Godfather trilogy? Let me know in the comments below!

Read next:

Cinema Paradiso Filming Locations in Sicily, Italy

14 Great Films Set in Sicily to Make You Want to Visit