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 20 of 1,542 notable people

0009 QUEEN

Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies

1806 - 1878

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0050 ORIENTALIST

Michele Amari

1806 - 1889

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0189 ART HISTORIAN

Francesco Saverio Cavallari

1809 - 1896

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0301 ARISTOCRAT

Hector Lucchesi-Palli

1806 - 1864

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0321 PAINTER

Salvatore Lo Forte

1804 - 1885

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0516 MUSIC

Antonio D'Antoni

1801 - 1859

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0547 POLITICIAN

Pietro Lanza

1807 - 1855

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0668 SCULPTOR

Nunzio Morello

1806 - 1878

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0748 WRITER

Salvador Costanzo

1804 - 1869

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0767 POLITICIAN

Gaetano La Loggia

1808 - 1889

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0795 POLITICIAN

Francesco Anca

1803 - 1887

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0874 POLITICIAN

Michele Amari (1803-1877)

1803 - 1877

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0893 POLITICIAN

Mariano Stabile (politico)

1806 - 1863

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0929 PRIEST

Ruggero Blundo

1801 - 1888

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1161 POLITICIAN

Francesco Di Giovanni

1805 - 1889

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1236 POLITICIAN

Casimiro Pisani

1803 - 1881

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1346 SCULPTOR

Giuseppe Carta

1809 - 1889

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1470 POLITICIAN

Romualdo Trigona, principe di Sant'Elia

1809 - 1877

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1535 POLITICIAN

Pietro Castiglia (senatore)

1808 - 1879

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1539 BUSINESS

Gabriello Lancelotto Castelli di Torremuzza

1809 - 1894

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