Among the most beautiful villages in Italy is Savoca, a small hill town in the province of Messina, famous for having hosted the filming of the film “The Godfather”.
It is said that the well-known American actor Al Pacino just couldn’t do without the lemon granita with Zibibbo made by aunt Maria, manager of the “Bar Vitelli”, historic and famous bar in Savoca, in which the director Francis Ford Coppola shot some of the scenes of The Godfather in the summer of 1971.
In Savoca, the director, actors and workers stayed for two months.
The scenes were shot inside Palazzo Trimarchi, which on the ground floor housed the Vitelli Bar. The Bar officially opened in 1963 but initially did not have a name. The name was chosen by director Francis Ford Coppola specifically to shoot the scenes of his film and has remained so to this day.
The scenes of the marriage between Michael Corleone and Apollonia were filmed in the Church of San Nicolò.
On the death of aunt Maria, just to honor and pay homage to her memory, the nephew took over the bar and bought and restored the entire building.
Today, on the ground floor, at the entrance, it is possible to admire ancient Sicilian tools and furnishings, while in a small room, the photos depicting the scenes of “The Godfather” are kept.
Numerous tourists every year go to Savoca to retrace the places of the Godfather and admire the landscape and the historical and monumental heritage present there.