Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather” is famous not only for its performances and storytelling, but also for its unmistakable sense of place. The film moves between New York and Sicily, using real streets, churches and countryside to ground the Corleone family’s story in the real world.
Many of the New York scenes were filmed in and around Manhattan and the outer boroughs. Locations such as the East Village, Little Italy and Staten Island stand in for the Corleone family’s territory. Several interiors were shot on sound stages, but the exteriors use real brownstones, storefronts and neighborhood streets that still exist today.
One of the most visited locations is the church used for the baptism sequence, which intercuts religious ritual with a montage of hits across the city. The production used real churches and practical locations to give the sequence a grounded, documentary-like texture. Fans often visit these spots to stand in the same aisles and side streets that appear in the film.
The Sicilian portion of the story was filmed in several small towns rather than in Corleone itself. Places like Savoca and Forza d’Agrò offered a better-preserved, cinematic version of rural Sicily. Bar Vitelli, where Michael meets Apollonia’s father, is a real café that still trades heavily on its connection to the movie.
If you are planning a trip, many tour companies now offer “Godfather” location tours that combine coastal drives, hilltop villages and behind-the-scenes stories. On Where Was It Filmed, you can search “The Godfather” to see these locations on an interactive map, filter them and save your favorites for your own itinerary.