For Cinema and TV Show Buffs: Here are Some Guided Tours of Sicily that Follow the Steps of your Favourite Protagonists
Here are some great ideas for an original Sicilian vacation that will take you to the set of major popular hits like The Godfather trilogy and the Inspector Montalbano TV series. Many tourists (especially British visitors) have become enamoured with these guided tours because they offer a diversion from the usual touristy activities, and especially because tv shows and famous movies about the mafia have become a trendy aspect of popular culture over the decades- just think of Michael Corleone and family, or the Sopranos and you’ll get an idea of how the history of the Mafia- and the struggle to defeat it- resonate with public opinion. Check out the Godfather tour of Sicily for a trip through the 70’s-90’s and see for yourself the exotic locations that have left a historical mark on Sicilian culture and Italy in general. The Godfather movie guided tour of Sicily at viator.com will take to the real towns where scenes were shot- and no (sorry to disappoint you) the real town of Corleone is not where the movies were filmed- even though Al Pacino really was born in the town of Corleone in real life.
The movie sets were prepped around the province of Messina and Taormina- specifically in the towns of Savoca and Forza D’ Agrò. You can also take advantage of a car rental (see Primerentcar) for a driving tour of Sicily to see these places on your own- although tours like those provided by viator.com will coach you on the Godfather trilogy movie plots, characters, and how they tie in with the history of Sicily; and also take you through 4 hours of filming locations around the island.
Be reminded that this experience also provides a wonderful opportunity to enjoy a gourmet tour of Sicily, including a stop at places like the famous Bar Vitelli – in Savoca- where Michael asks (or requests?) the owner Apollonia for permission to court and marry his daughter. Here you can rest for a typical Sicilian meal, and check out the Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli and the Convent of the Frati Minori Cappuccini with its underground crypt before heading to Forzà D’ Agrò – where many scenes of local village life were filmed, including the famous Church that appears in the first two Godfather films.
This is the best tour of Sicily in terms of a coaching experience on the history of Sicily and how Sicilian life was really like in the 70s, and is also an enlightening private tour of Sicily that reflects the dangerous political intrigues and machinations that involved Church and town officials, local brigands and hired assassins of rival families.
For a grand tour of Sicily and Italy the Montalbano TV series offers plenty of excitement as well, providing insight into the culture and daily life of modern Sicily and how it relates to Italian public opinion. Montalbanotour.com is a spectacular opportunity to follow the footsteps of Inspector Montalbano and the Vigata (a fictional town) police force in their attempts to solve mafia crimes, and also to savour the breathtaking scenery of Montelusa and Agrigento. It includes the option to customize the guided trip and enjoy an exclusive private tour of Sicily. The Montalbano tour of Sicily will take you from Agrigento to Porto Empedocle (where the fictional town of Vigata is located), and down south to the Ragusa area (Val di Noto) where most of the scenes were shot for this crime series. The splendid setting of the Val di Noto is another reason to take this private and escorted tour of Sicily so you can witness the splendour of the major idyllic towns of Ragusa Ibla and Scicli.