38.1157° N, 13.3613° E

PALERMO

Most Famous People Born in Palermo, Italy

Notable people
1,542
Peak decade
1960s
Median birth year
1922
Most distinctive
Mafia 336.0×

A Sicilian capital whose most distinctive profession in the entire dataset is mafioso, at more than three hundred times the global rate, with magistrates and criminals and mobsters close behind — the statistical footprint of both Cosa Nostra and the judges who prosecuted it. Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino were born here, as was Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa; the pre-modern bench runs through Norman and Hohenstaufen kings, Arab-Norman saints, and Alessandro Scarlatti.

Through the Centuries

One face per century — the most globally famous figure born in Palermo during each.

What Palermo Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Politician is Palermo's biggest profession — 16% of all notables (246).

Palermo over-indexes on mafia336.0× the global rate.

  1. Politician246
  2. Football146
  3. Actor117
  4. Painter76
  5. Writer68
  6. Priest46
  7. Architect40
  8. Singer39
  1. Mafia26336.0×
  2. Mafioso17191.4×
  3. Sculptor383.8×
  4. Architect402.9×
  5. Entrepreneur152.9×
  6. Priest462.0×
  7. Painter761.9×
  8. Composer321.6×

Profession Mix Over Time

Each band shows a profession family's share of Palermo's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.

1500155016001650170017501800185019001950
  • Politics & Law
  • Sports
  • Writing
  • Art & Design
  • Film & TV
  • Music
  • Other
All1,542
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Showing 10 of 1,542 notable people

0231 PAINTER

Giuseppe Patania

1780 - 1852

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0245 ART HISTORIAN

Domenico Lo Faso Pietrasanta

1783 - 1863

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0511 ACADEMIC

Pietro Bachi

1787 - 1853

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0525 CHOREOGRAPHER

Salvatore Taglioni

1789 - 1868

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0998 NOBLE

Felice Pastore

1786 - 1862

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1024 ARTIST

Giovanni Patricolo

1789 - 1861

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1198 PRIEST

Pietro Naselli

1782 - 1862

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1300 POLITICIAN

Pietro I Moncada di Paternò

1789 - 1861

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1306 PRIEST

Benedetto Denti

1782 - 1853

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1341 PRIEST

Camillo Milana

1782 - 1858

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