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 77 of 1,542 notable people

0003 MAGISTRAT

Giovanni Falcone

1939 - 1992

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0022 ACTOR

Lando Buzzanca

Born 1935

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0040 PHOTOGRAPHER

Letizia Battaglia

Born 1935

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0046 FILM

Pino Caruso

1934 - 2019

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0052 PRESBYTER

Pino Puglisi

1937 - 1993

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0074 FILM

Franco Indovina

1932 - 1972

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0110 ACTOR

Cesare Barbetti

1930 - 2006

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0145 LITERARY

Francesco Orlando (critic)

1934 - 2010

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0197 FILM

Ignazio Dolce

Born 1933

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0224 ROMANIST

Alberto Varvaro

1934 - 2014

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0253 DRIVER

Nino Vaccarella

Born 1933

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0295 ACTOR

Franca Parisi

Born 1933

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0326 POLITICIAN

Andrea Manzella

Born 1933

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0345 CRIMINAL

Stefano Bontade

1939 - 1981

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0365 MAFIA

Giuseppe Calò

Born 1931

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0381 JOURNALIST

Lucio Maria Attinelli

Born 1933

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0404 MUSIC

Elio Battaglia

Born 1933

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0411 MAFIA

Filippo Marchese

1938 - 1982

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0426 SPORT

Antonino Catalano

1932 - 1987

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0427 FILM

Sergio Ammirata

Born 1935

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0447 MAGISTRAT

Mario Amato

1937 - 1980

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0450 PUBLISHER

Elvira Sellerio

1936 - 2010

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0461 RACING

Gaetano Starrabba

Born 1932

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0466 MAFIA

Gaetano Fidanzati

1935 - 2013

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0509 ACTOR

Guido Cerniglia

1939 - 2020

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0526 LAWYER

Antonio Palazzo

Born 1937

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0529 FILM

Enzo Peri

Born 1939

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0530 WRITER

Michele Perriera

1937 - 2010

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0548 PRIEST

Salvatore Di Cristina

Born 1937

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0562 MUSIC

Agostino Ziino

Born 1937

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0586 JOURNALIST

David Messina (journalist)

Born 1932

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0595 HISTORIAN

Giuseppe Carlo Marino

Born 1939

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0600 POLITICIAN

Aldo Ajello

Born 1936

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0608 POLITICIAN

Giuseppe Tricoli

1932 - 1995

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0612 WRITER

Roberto Di Marco

1937 - 2013

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0622 ARTIST

Ignazio Moncada (pittore)

1932 - 2012

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0631 MAFIA

Raffaele Ganci

Born 1932

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0650 MAFIA

Calcedonio Di Pisa

1931 - 1962

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0651 ACTOR

Andrea Lala

Born 1939

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0675 WRITER

Giovanni Allegra

1935 - 1989

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0696 POLITICIAN

Giuseppe Vitale

Born 1935

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0717 ACTOR

Nino Scardina

Born 1936

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0726 ACTOR

Marino Cenna

1935 - 2003

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0729 PAINTER

Manfredo Manfredi (Szenenbildner)

Born 1934

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0762 CIVIL SERVICE

Giovanni Bonsignore

1931 - 1990

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0768 PHILOSOPHER

Franco Voltaggio

Born 1934

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0772 ACTOR

Tony Bruni

1931 - 2009

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0786 JOURNALIST

Gregorio Napoli

1934 - 2010

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0797 WRITER

Massimo Griffo

1932 - 2016

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0799 ACTOR

Jorge Beillard

1932 - 1995

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0803 POLITICIAN

Mario D'Acquisto

Born 1931

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0827 CHEMIST

Renato Ugo

Born 1938

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0879 POLITICIAN

Guido Lo Porto

Born 1937

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0927 PROFESSOR

Gennaro D’Ippolito

Born 1936

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0932 HISTORIAN

Alberto Sbacchi

1937 - 2006

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0987 LITERARY

Gabriele Catalano

1934 - 1990

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1013 POLITICIAN

Aldo Rizzo

Born 1935

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1015 POLITICIAN

Rosario Nicoletti

1931 - 1984

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1036 POLITICIAN

Michele Reina

1932 - 1979

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1071 MAFIA

Michela Buscemi

Born 1939

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1072 ARCHITECT

Vincenzo Palazzotto

1931 - 2005

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1108 JOURNALIST

Federico Scianò

1938 - 2001

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1109 ORGANIST

Santi Latora

Born 1935

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1115 WRITER

Mario Moncada di Monforte

Born 1935

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1131 ENTREPRENEUR

Carmelo Iannì

1934 - 1980

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1142 JOURNALIST

Luigi Tripisciano

Born 1937

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1149 POLITICIAN

Giacomo Baiamonte

Born 1938

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1166 POET

Vladimiro Caminiti

1932 - 1993

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1171 MUSIC

Antonino Riccardo Luciani

1931 - 2020

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1173 MAFIOSO

Stefano Calzetta

1939 - 1992

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1277 FOOTBALL

Bartolomeo Tarantino

1937 - 2012

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1284 FOOTBALL

Carmelo Del Noce

1932 - 2012

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1364 MUSIC

Mario Modestini

Born 1937

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1406 FOOTBALL

Vincenzo Biondo

Born 1932

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1417 FILM

Leo Guarrasi

1933 - 1968

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1488 FOOTBALL

Giuseppe Candurra

1932 - 2020

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1529 WRITER

Salvo Di Matteo

1937 - 2017

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