Some interesting facts to consider as you enjoy your day in this iconic movie location.

Castello degli Schiavi (Castle of the Slaves) is said to be built over the site of an ancient Roman Villa. This beatiful looking residence was built in 1700 as a country house for the Nobility. Castello represents the oldest built up area of Fiumefreddo. Before the development of trade along the road from Catania to Messina, this area was the Centre of the new commune. Its church (nowadays lost but a new one was built in the same Piazza in 1960s) was a pew that the Jury, the town councillors of the period had built to hear Mass. The name of this quarter comes from the tower or little castle built in 1500 to control the coast. Not very far from the old tower, on the east side, rises a baronial palace which dates back to 1700, a country residence for the Lords. The statues of two Moors appear at the windows of the loggia; a legend tells that the castle is named "The Castels of the Slaves" after these two Moors. Castello degli Schiavi attained worldwide fame when Francis Ford Coppola used the location for several scenes throught the Godfather films including the un-intentional murder of Apollonia in The Godfather and also the brutal revenge killing of Don Ciccio, by Vito Corleone in the Godfater II.

The history of this baroque villa known as Castello degli Schiavi belonged to the very well known and noble family, from Acireale. The Baron Platania family fell in love with the 1800 century villa and its orange groves and bought it to use for their summer holidays. Some 50 years later all this changed because the famous producer Francis Ford Coppola, during a trip in Sicily, discovered this wonderful villa and decided to use it as the set to shoot some of the scenes of his unforgettable movie "Il Padrino".

This timeless classic movie, starring Marlon Brando and Al Pacino delved into the underworld of the mafia in Sicily and America and the complexities of power, corruption and family loyalty, went on to win 12 Oscar awards.

From this moment, the villa became known as the Godfather Villa and it is only available to visit by special invitation.