Corleone

Corleone is a town and comune in western Sicily, part of the Metropolitan City of Palermo. It sits in a hilly interior landscape and is part of the Sicilian hinterland, away from the coast. The town's historic center preserves architectural traces from the medieval and early modern periods.

The area has ancient origins and saw development through Norman and later periods. Corleone grew around a fortress and a church, eventually becoming a populated center with a defined municipal life.

In the 20th century, Corleone gained notoriety due to the rise of the Corleonesi, a mafia faction led by Totò Riina, which played a decisive part in the Sicilian Mafia during the 1970s and 1980s. The violence associated with this period had a lasting impact on the town's reputation and on local institutions.

Traditionally, agriculture—particularly olives and grapevines—dominated the local economy, with olive oil production continuing as a notable activity. In contemporary times, services and small-scale tourism related to history and rural landscapes contribute to the economy. The town preserves religious and culinary traditions and hosts local festivals.

The name Corleone is widely known worldwide because of The Godfather novels and films, in which the fictional Corleone family is named after the town; the works are not a direct historical account of the town.