Has anyone visited Savoca and is it worth it? My group will be staying in Taormina for 4 days in January. The tour is being offered to our group for $100 per person for a day trip with a charter bus and guide. As far as I can determine, its only claim to fame is that it was a site for filming scenes from "The Godfather" movie.
We are also being offered a day trip to Catania and Mt Etna for $100. That one seems to be a good one.
Thanks for any insight.
I agree: Catania and Mt, Etna..
Many years ago, in October 2010, we visited Sicily and Taormina on our first Italian trip. And through the company Sicily Life--still in existence, used them last year, great people--we took The Godfather tour. Visited Savoca, Forza D'Agro and Castelmola, which are all shooting locations for the first Godfather movie. They're all medieval mountain villages that look like nothing's changed in 1000 years.
In Savoca, we visited Bar Vitelli, where Michael Corleone asks Apollonia's father for her hand in marriage. It was very cool to walk inside and get a granita from the same machine that apparently Francis Ford Coppola wanted to buy.
Have no idea what it's like now, but all those towns were pretty cool, especially if you're a Godfather fan. Not sure if you can get there on your own--lots of hairpin turns up the mountain. Good luck!
I had read somewhere--urban legend maybe--that Francis Ford Coppola had originally intended for the real Corleone--about 100 km inland- to be where the scenes were to be shot in 1972. But the Mafia chieftains wanted too much $$$ in tribute for allowing that to take place, thus Coppola extricated himself from the situation and simply used Savoca & Castelmola for the setting.
Our trip to Sicily in April 2025 included--through Sicily Life--a gastronomic tour of Etna. On a private tour we were driven up to a very Alpine-looking plateau at 6000 feet where there were curio shops, and you could grab a lava rock or two, even if you weren't supposed to. Very cool to hear the banging & booming and ash rain...it was an active time for Etna. then we were driven about halfway down the slopes to the Gambino Winery, which is big and probably touristy but it was very nice, and they served us a light sausage and greens dinner with a flight of 5 wines. Very nice day.
Thanks everyone for your responses, especially Giangilberto. I copied your reply and am sending in on to all the tour participants.
I second the recommendation to be well prepared for winter on Etna. Warm coat, gloves, winter hat. Bring sunglasses and sunscreen even if it looks to be a cloudy day -- the snow glare is bright. I was there this last February and we were blessed with a sunny and fairly warm day (temp in the 40s), but where we had our excursion, which was still well short of the summit, the snow was at least five feet deep (hard packed though so you could walk on top). Our guide provided us with gaiters and snowshoes which were very useful. Other groups with just shoes were sliding around quite a lot. After our hike we had lunch at a place further down the mountain where there wasn't snow. Catania is very good too, although you probably won't have a lot of time there on a daytrip with Etna as well. A real highlight of Catania is the World War II museum, if you have any interest in that period of Sicily's history. It's very well done. Not sure of course if your tour includes it.
Since we will be coming directly from a week of skiing in the Dolomites, everyone will be well stocked with warm clothing.
