The Lions of Sicily (Italian: I leoni di Sicilia) is a 2023 Italian historical drama television series based on The Florios of Sicily by Stefania Auci. It premiered at the 18th Rome Film Festival on 23 October 2023 and was released on Disney+ on 25 October 2023.
Contents
Premise
The series follows the Florio family of Sicily in the 1800s.
Cast
Main
Michele Riondino as Vincenzo Florio
Miriam Leone as Giulia Portalupi
Donatella Finocchiaro as Giuseppina Saffiotti
Ester Pantano as young Giuseppina
Vinicio Marchioni as Paolo Florio
Eduardo Scarpetta as Ignazio Florio
Paolo Briguglia as Ignazio Florio
Adele Cammarata as Giovanna d’Ondes
Supporting
Emmanuele Aita as Peppe Messina
Massimo De Lorenzo as Frangipane
Clara Tramontano as Angela Portalupi
Gaja Masciale as Giuseppina Portalupi
Michele Ragno as Giovanni Portalupi
Claudia Pandolfi as Duchess Spadafora
Antonio Gerardi as Carlo Filangieri
Tony Sperandeo as Canzonieri
Sandra Ceccarelli as Antonia Portalupi
Reed Stokes as Ben Ingham
Guy Oliver Watts as older Ben Ingham
Production
On 6 July 2022, it was announced that Disney+ had greenlit and began filming the series in Rome. Production then moved to Sicily, specifically Palermo, Marsala, Trapani, and Cefalù. Filming concluded in December 2022.
Filming locations in Palermo included Palazzo Comitini, Palazzo Valguarnera-Gangi, Palazzo dei Normanni, Palazzo Alliata di Villafranca, Santa Maria dello Spasimo, Piazza Pretoria, Piazza Bellini, Piazza Verdi, Via Maqueda, and Corso Vittorio Emanuele.
Release
The series premiered at the 18th Rome Film Festival on 23 October 2023. On 4 August 2023, it was announced that the first four episodes would be released on Disney+ on 25 October and the remaining four would be released on 1 November.
A teaser trailer for the series was released on 22 September 2023. The official trailer was released on 2 October, featuring the song "Durare" by Laura Pausini.
