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
Mafia26
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Showing 26 of 1,542 notable people

0217 MAFIA

Emanuele Notarbartolo

1834 - 1893

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0259 MAFIA

Leonardo Vitale

1941 - 1984

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0278 MAFIA

Salvatore D'Aquila

1873 - 1928

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0329 MAFIA

Salvatore Cancemi

1942 - 2011

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0365 MAFIA

Giuseppe Calò

Born 1931

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0397 MAFIA

Michele Cavataio

1929 - 1969

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0402 MAFIA

Salvatore Contorno

Born 1946

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0406 MAFIA

Angelo La Barbera

1924 - 1975

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0411 MAFIA

Filippo Marchese

1938 - 1982

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0466 MAFIA

Gaetano Fidanzati

1935 - 2013

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0544 MAFIA

Vittorio Mangano

1940 - 2000

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0574 MAFIA

Francesco Marino Mannoia

Born 1951

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0579 MAFIA

Francesco Madonia

1924 - 2007

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0590 MAFIA

Giuseppe Lucchese

Born 1959

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0605 MAFIA

Rosario Riccobono

1929 - 1982

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0623 MAFIA

Vincenzo Puccio

1945 - 1989

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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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0691 MAFIA

Mario Prestifilippo

1958 - 1987

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0694 MAFIA

Giovanni Motisi

Born 1959

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0700 MAFIA

Francesco Paolo Bontade

1914 - 1974

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0715 MAFIA

Giuseppe Marchese

Born 1963

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0770 MAFIA

Giovanni Bontade

1946 - 1988

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0780 MAFIA

Pietro Torretta

1912 - 1975

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1071 MAFIA

Michela Buscemi

Born 1939

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1203 MAFIA

Giuseppe Inzerillo

1964 - 1981

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