Corleone

Up early for 'Godfather' day, first stop, Palermo. Albeit a big excursion, I decide on jeans and T-shirt rather than armour, only to find myself in rain after 30 kms. Typical. Hey, it's only water and you dry quickly once it stops and stop it did as I entered Palermo via the fish-stall lined, coast road. Palermo hustles and bustles, people and traffic to the brim, so much so that the air-cooled R1200GS' temperature gauge reached max. At this point, I fore-went the intended cafe and reset the GPS to Corleone that took me via still wet, cobbled and stone lanes that had the rear wheel spinning with the slightest touch on the throttle; BMW's anti-skid technology (ASC) kicked-in on every incline, which was quite reassuring on the back-street ice rinks.

Ten clicks out of Palermo and the road is drying fast; wasn't long before I was back to scything through the inner hills, squeezing down village lanes, steadily climbing all the time with the sun turning my forearms ever blacker and the weather my friend.


Enter Corleone. Bigger than I expected and no men in shinny suits and shades but then I didn't expect that either. A place of about 12,000 people, there are churches everywhere whose confessional boxes must have been pretty busy at one time.


Although this town is known to the world for it's Mafia links and for good reason as many renowned 'Bosses' where born here. During the 1980's and 90's, it is said that the Corleonesi ruled with a ruthless hand but today the the locals have a lot to say. This artwork (pic) is in the entrance to one side-street gallery and there is a street here called "11 Aprile" (Liberation Day), the day, in 2006, that Bernardo Provenzano, "Boss of Bosses", who had been in hiding for more than 40 years, was arrested.
I like this place, it feels like proper Italy to me; real, not 'turistico', with a genuineness that comes with pride from the few that I have met. Enjoying lunch at the moment in 'Al Capriccio', black and white photos of family and old Corleone proudly adorn its walls, it is buono and I shall take my time before strolling the streets some more ...


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