Corleone

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Corleone
coat of arms
Corleone (Italy)
Corleone
Country Italy
region Sicily
Metropolitan city Palermo  (PA)
Local name Cunigghiuni / Curliuni
Coordinates 37 ° 49 '  N , 13 ° 18'  E Coordinates: 37 ° 49 '0 "  N , 13 ° 18' 0"  E
height 600  m slm
surface 229 km²
Residents 10,855 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density 47 inhabitants / km²
Factions Ficuzza
Post Code 90034
prefix 091
ISTAT number 082034
Popular name Corleonesi
Patron saint San Leoluca
Website Corleone

Corleone is a city in the metropolitan city of Palermo in the Region of Sicily in Italy with 10,855 inhabitants (December 31, 2019). The name Corleone is composed of the Italian words cuore (German heart ) and leone (German lion ) and means lion heart.

geography

View over Corleone

Corleone is located on the SS 118 at a pass of the Monti Sicani between Palermo and Agrigento , about 60 km south of Palermo and 110 km north of Agrigento. The municipality belongs to the following associations and organizations: Regione Agraria n. 1 - Montagna interna - Montagna di Corleone ; Patto Territorial Alto Belice Corleonese . The districts are Ficuzza (11.41 km), Giardinello and Imbriaca di Corleone .

The neighboring municipalities are Bisacquino , Campofelice di Fitalia , Campofiorito , Chiusa Sclafani , Contessa Entellina , Godrano , Mezzojuso , Monreale , Palazzo Adriano , Prizzi and Roccamena . After the rail service to Corleone was discontinued in 1959, the city can only be reached by road today.

history

Ceramic fragment in the Museo Rizzo, 4th century BC Chr.

Corleone has a long ancient history dating back to the 7th century BC. Goes back to BC. Under Roman rule, Corleone was called Animosa Civitas . Due to its strategically important location halfway along the main road from Palermo to Agrigento , Corleone was an important base for all rulers of Sicily.

Corleone was conquered by the Arabs in 840 and by the Normans in 1072 , who destroyed all Arab structures in order to build Christian structures. The city flourished in the 13th century and became the main agricultural center of Sicily. Around the middle of the 13th century, Lombards from the area between Tortona and the Oltrepò pavese , who settled in Corleone, immigrated under the leadership of Oddone de Camerana from Brescia .

Together with Palermo, the city founded an alliance against the rule of Charles I of Anjou and campaigned for the independence of Sicily. Since the Sicilian Vespers in 1282, the colors red and yellow of the flag of Sicily have symbolized these two cities.

In the 17th century the population became impoverished due to the overwhelming tax burden of the Spanish rulers and the city lost more and more importance. In the 20th century, the machinations of the Mafia made Corleone the focus of public interest.

coat of arms

The Corleone coat of arms was approved on October 30, 1929, with the following blazon :

«Di rosso al leone d'oro, tenente con la branca anteriore destra un cuore ardente al naturale. Lo scudo sarà fregiato dalla corona di Comune. Motto: Animosa Civitas Corleonis »

Translation:

“In red a soaring golden lion, holding a heart in the right front paw, which naturally burns. The community crown rests on the shield. Motto : Animosa Civitas Corleonis ' ".

Attractions

In Corleone
  • Corleone is also called the city of 100 churches. The Capuchin monastery and the churches of Sant'Agostino and San Domenico from 1547 are particularly worth seeing .
  • Parish Church of San Martino: The year of construction is unknown. The church has been expanded several times, most recently in the 18th century. Inside the church there are numerous statues, including a statue of Saint Sebastian and a group of Madonnas from the 17th century.
  • SS. Addolorata di Corleone: the church was completed in 1749 and has an elliptical plan.
  • Sant 'Andrea: the church dates from the 14th century.
  • San Salvatore: The monastery and church were completed in 1737.
  • Town hall in Piazza Garibaldi: the clock tower dates from the 18th century
  • The ruins of the Soprano Fort and the Sottano Fort, formerly a Bourbon prison, which has been a Franciscan monastery since 1960, are located on the two rocks that characterize the area around Corleone.
  • Museo Pippo Rizzo: It shows finds from archaeological excavations from the area around Corleone. The Pietra Miliare from 252 BC Chr. Is one of the most valuable treasures in the collection. The remains of a Roman mosaic from the 1st century AD are also worth seeing.
  • The Museo Anti-Mafia opened in 2001. It is under construction and mainly shows photographic material.

sons and daughters of the town

mafia

In the area of ​​Corleone a clan of the Sicilian Cosa Nostra was formed , which had many followers, who are now called Corleonesi . Some of the most famous Mafiosi were born here:

Many Mafiosi emigrated to America to continue their business there. In the struggle for power in the city of Corleone, around 300 murders were committed on behalf of the clan after the Second World War .

On April 11, 2006, Bernardo Provenzano, head of the Sicilian Mafia, was arrested near Corleone after more than 40 years on the run. The city then declared April 11 a community holiday and renamed a street to Via 11 Aprile ("April 11th").

Literature and film

The city of Corleone became known worldwide through the novel The Godfather by Mario Puzo . The novel from 1969 describes the events around the fictional mafia boss Vito Corleone and his clan. In 1972, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, the first part of a film trilogy of the same name with Marlon Brando and Al Pacino in the leading roles was created. Pacino's father happened to be from Corleone.

In the film, the surname of the main character comes about in such a way that the young Vito Andolini is asked for his name when immigrating to the United States, but does not answer. Looking at the boy's passport, the officer confuses his last name and place of birth, so that Vito Andolini becomes Vito Corleone. In the book Vito takes the name to commemorate his Sicilian origins.

Web links

Commons : Corleone  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Statistiche demografiche ISTAT. Monthly population statistics of the Istituto Nazionale di Statistica , as of December 31 of 2019.
  2. ↑ Coat of arms and flag on comune.corleone.pa.it. Retrieved December 7, 2017 (Italian).
  3. ↑ Description of the coat of arms on comuni-italiani.it. Retrieved December 7, 2017 (Italian).