The village of The Godfather, on a hill above the Ionian coast
In the hills behind the Ionian coast between Messina and Taormina, Savoca is a medieval village of stone houses, churches and ruins on a ridge, with views over the sea. In 1971 Francis Ford Coppola chose it to film the Sicilian scenes of The Godfather, and it has been a place of pilgrimage for film fans ever since.
The Bar Vitelli, in an old palace with a vine-covered terrace, is where Michael Corleone asks the father of Apollonia for her hand; inside, photographs from the film line the walls, and you can taste the granita and lemonade served there since the 1970s. A little higher up, the church of San Nicolò is where the wedding was filmed. Savoca also has a crypt with mummified bodies of local notables in the Capuchin convent.
Tip: nearby Forza d'Agrò, another location of the film, is also worth a visit; the village is busy at midday with tours from Taormina, so come early or late.
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