"The Godfather" by Vito Don Corleone is the fictional hero of the novel by Mario Puzo, as well as the movie entitled "The Godfather". Who was the most famous mafioso in the world? What murders were committed by the Italian mafia? What were the members of the Don Corleone family, and what were the functions of the individuals? Learn about the biography of an Italian gangster and find out if such a character actually existed in the history of Italy.
The fictional hero was born as Vito Antolini in the Sicilian village of Corleone (Italy). The man's date of birth is December 7, 1981. When Vito was less than 10 years old, the local mafia chief (Don Ciccio) murdered the boy's father (Antonio) as well as his brother (Paolo) - who wanted to avenge his father's death. Vito became the last target to be killed by the local mafia. The boy's mother, however, asked Don Ciccio to spare him. During a fight with the gangster, young Vito's mother put a knife to Ciccio's throat, allowing her son to escape. The gangsters killed the woman. Friends of the family took Vito from Sicily, putting him on a ship with immigrants traveling to America. Ellis Island immigration officials changed the boy's surname to Corleone - after the Sicilian village where the boy was from.
Vito was then adopted by the Abbandand family - distant relatives of the young Corleone. The boy grew up by their side. The son of the Abbandand family, Genco, was closest to him - he was like a brother to him, and Corleone later named him his "right hand". Vito made an honest living in the Abandon grocery store. He was later fired because Don Fanucci (a local mafioso) demanded that the grocery store hire his nephew. Don Corleone soon became friends with Peter Clemenza and Salvatore Tessio. They taught him how to survive - by doing various illegal favors.
Fanucci found out about Vito's black business and began scaring the three boys with the police. So Vito devised a plan to kill Fanucci. During the festival in Saint Rocco, Don Corleone tracked Fanucci from the roof of one of the houses. He jumped from one building to another in order to trace the enemy while Fanucci returned to his apartment. Vito followed him into the building and killed Fanucci by shooting the man several times. Soon after this event, Vito took over the entire neighborhood. This is how the story of a gangster that touched all of Italy began.
The Italian Don Corleone began to be popular almost like the Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar. Vito began to build his power under the guise of the fictional Genco Pura Olive Oil Company - theoretically dealing with the import of olive oil. It eventually became the country's largest olive oil importer - and the main legal front for organized crime. Vito Don Corleone had become a rich man whom everyone began to fear.
In 1923, Vito Corleone returned to Sicily for the first time since fleeing Italy. All the while he was murdering Don Ciccio's people who killed his family. He even managed to arrange a meeting with Don Ciccio himself, during which he killed him with a knife. This is how he avenged his family. In the early 1930s, Don Corleone started his own mafia family, the most powerful in the country. Genco became his right hand, and Clemenza and Tessio became his so-called capo. It is worth mentioning at this point who belonged to Don Corleone's immediate family.
Vito Corleone - the father of the family (in the movie "The Godfather" he was played first by Marlon Brando, and later by Robert De Niro - it is worth adding that both Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro won the Academy Awards as the only ones in history for playing the same character ).
- Carmella Corleone - mother of the family
- Michael Corleone - the youngest son
- Federico Corleone (Fredo) - middle son
- Santino Corleone (Sonny) - eldest son
- Constanzia Corleone-Rizzi - only daughter
- Tom Hagen - foster son (Michael's right-hand man)
The mafia family also included the children of Michael and Tom, as well as spouses and godfathers. The family collected its profits not only from gambling and prostitution but also from "protection fees" - that is, helping different people. Due to the power of the Vito Don Corleone family on many fronts, corrupt police and important figures throughout the country were also subordinate to the Italian mafia.
Sonny (Vito's eldest son) soon became a capo - the first heir of Vito Corleone. Fredo was considered not very responsible to deal with the family business. Vito could not get along with his youngest son, Michael - as the only one he did not want to have anything to do with the family business. Michael enlisted in the Second World War, against his father's wishes. When Michael was wounded in the fight, Vito Corleone behind his back decided to honorably release his son and send him back to the US. That's where he moved his entire family, moving to Long Beach, New York. Genco continued to serve as Vito's most trusted advisor, but his illness later prevented him from continuing to work for The Godfather. Genco's place was soon taken by Tom Hagen.
In 1945, Virgil Sollozzo, known mainly as the king of heroin, came to New York. He then asked Vito to start cooperating with him in trafficking drugs and transporting them abroad. Corleone refused, believing that such cooperation could turn politicians and judges away from him. Drug trafficking in those days grew very popular, as Pablo Escobar later proved - getting rich by smuggling cocaine into the US and other countries. Vito, however, did not want to hear about drug trafficking and transportation for enrichment.
At Christmas, Vito Corleone, after shopping at the market, was crossing the street towards his car. However, the hunted killers of Sollozzo, who in retaliation for refusing to cooperate, decided to kill the Godfather were waiting for him. Vito lunged towards the car, but the killers managed to shoot him five times. Don Corleone survived, but Solozzo tried to kill him later in the hospital. The corrupt police chief (McCluskey) got money from the mob to remove Vito's bodyguards, leaving him vulnerable in a hospital room. Corleone's youngest son, however, arrived shortly before the attack and moved his dad elsewhere.
Corleone slowly recovered, and Sonny continued to act as his father. Michael, aware that his father would never be safe because of Sollozzo, decided to murder the enemy together with Sonny. So Michael's attitude towards the Corleone family and their "dirty interests" has changed completely. She and her brother agreed to get rid of McCluskey as well. Michael lured both men into a restaurant in the Bronx and then shot them in the bathroom. Michael later fled to Sicily, and Sonny started a war of the Five Families - the largest mafia families in New York City. Soon after these events, Sonny was killed, and Vito Corleone returned to command his mafia family and brought about a peace agreement between the mafia. Michael returned to the US to become the heir of his father and his right-hand man. When Corleone retired, Michael replaced him. Despite defending himself against the path his father and the entire Corleone family followed, Michael did afterward… exactly the same.
On June 25, 1955, Vito Corleone was playing in the garden with his grandson, Anthony (Michael's son). The sun was shining around, the weather was beautiful. At one point, Corleone suffered a heart attack and fell to the ground. He died with his loved ones around him. He was happy to be dying among all those who sincerely loved him.
The character of Vito Don Corleone is portrayed in the film The Godfather as a fighter of justice - particularly at the beginning of Vito's mafia career. Later, he appears in the cinema as a mentor to his deputies and sons, passing on to them life wisdom and experience.
It is worth adding that the story of Vito Don Corleone is based on real events. Or rather, in one to three characters - Carl Gambino, Joseph Bonnani, and Frank Costello. They were the real bosses of the New York mafia (second half of the 20th century) who inspired Mario Puzo to create the character of an Italian mobster.
Bibliography:
- La Licata Francesco, Ciancimino Massimo: Don Vito. The real life story of the head of the Corleone family, Warsaw 2019 2
- Puzo Mario: The Godfather, Albatros Publishing House, Warsaw 2019
- Petra Reski: Mafia, Bellona Publishing House, Krakow 2017
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