Cinema Paradiso in Palazzo Adriano: the film's square and where to eat

Winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, Giuseppe Tornatore’s Cinema Paradiso chose Palazzo Adriano as its main set, a village in the Sicani Mountains south of Palermo. Its square is one of the most recognisable in Italian cinema. Here is the itinerary through the locations and the table.

The film’s square

The heart is Piazza Umberto I, where the “Cinema Paradiso” facade was built for the exterior scenes (and dismantled after filming). The square still has its 17th-century fountain, the bell tower with a sundial, two churches and the alleys that form the backdrop to the story of little Totò and the projectionist Alfredo. The cinema’s interior scenes were filmed in the Church of Maria Santissima del Carmelo.

Where to stop and eat

Overlooking the square-set is the Bar della Piazza, an ideal stop for a coffee or a pastry between strolls, right in the heart of the film’s scenery.

The flavours of the Sicani Mountains

The cuisine of this inland Sicily is honest and rural: homemade bread, local cheeses, cured meats and traditional almond sweets. A perfect village for a slow itinerary between cinema and authenticity.

You will find the connected stops on the Cinema Paradiso page and the venues of Palazzo Adriano.

In short

In Palazzo Adriano cinema is still in the air: sit at the Bar della Piazza and look at the very square where Totò dreamed in front of the big screen.