Many Mafia bosses both in Sicily and the United States have come from the town of Corleone, including Tommy Gagliano, Gaetano Reina, Jack Dragna, Giuseppe Morello, Michele Navarra, Luciano Leggio, Leoluca Bagarella, Salvatore Riina and Bernardo Provenzano.

The etymology of the name is uncertain, undergoing various modifications from the Ancient Greek Kouroullounè to the Siculo-Arabic Qurlayun of the Emirate of Sicily, from Latin Curilionum to the Norman Coraigliòn, from the Aragonese Conillon, Coniglione from which the Sicilian Cunigghiuni originated.

[13] In 1222, while speaking with the pope, Frederick II of Sicily cited the need to fight the Muslims of Corleone as a reason for his inability to send a large crusader army to Jerusalem.

In this period, Corleone was largely repopulated by Ghibellines from Alessandria (modern Piedmont), Brescia and elsewhere—"Lombards" led by Oddone de Camerana.

In 1249, however, he revoked the privilege and gave the city to the royal property, though the migration of the inhabitants from the Po Valley continued until the beginning of the Sicilian Vespers in 1282.

During the reign of the four vicars, Corleone became the property of the powerful Chiaramonte family, but in 1391 was donated by Mary Queen of Sicily to Berardo Queralt, canon of Lerida, but he never took possession.

Instead, it was occupied by Nicholas Peralta, vicar William's son, but King Martin the Younger returned it to the royal property, confirming its privileges in 1397 and giving it some tax relief.

[citation needed] Corleone contributed to the events of the Unification of Italy through Francesco Bentivegna who, after participating in the riots of 1848, captained an insurrection against the Bourbons in the surrounding cities until he was arrested and then shot in Mezzojuso on December 20, 1856.

After World War II, a peasant movement occupied vacant lands, led by trade unionist Placido Rizzotto, who was killed by the Mafia.

[citation needed] In 1943, the Duke of Aosta created the title of Count of Corleone, awarded to Arturo Faini for his valour during the Italian occupation of Ethiopia.

[citation needed] Since World War II, Corleone has become notorious for being home to several dangerous bandits and mobsters (including: Michele Navarra, Luciano Leggio, Bernardo Provenzano, Salvatore Riina and his brothers-in-law Calogero and Leoluca Bagarella) who became the protagonists of a violent and bloody mafia power struggle.

It borders the municipalities of Bisacquino, Campofelice di Fitalia, Campofiorito, Contessa Entellina, Chiusa Sclafani, Godrano, Mezzojuso, Monreale, Palazzo Adriano, Prizzi and Roccamena.

[17][18][19] Work on the Chiesa Madre ("Mother Church"), dedicated to the 4th-century French bishop Saint Martin of Tours, started in the late 14th century.

The Santuario della Madonna del Rosario di Tagliavia, a religious building from the 19th century, is now a destination for pilgrims on Ascension Day.

The documents, given to Corleone by the Criminal Chamber of the Court of Palermo, are a testimony to the work of magistrates like Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino who paid with their lives for their commitment to the fight against the Mafia.

The Room of Pain houses a permanent exhibition of Shobha, Letizia Battaglia's daughter, who followed in her mother's footsteps, taking photos of the dismay, helplessness, and despair felt by those who have lost someone at the hands of the Mafia.

This approach allows visitors to understand the cause-effect relationships that exist between the crimes and the consequences they produce in the lives of affected families and the entire community.

In the section where the slope is gentler, clear water pools have formed allowing visitors to bathe surrounded by bracken, maidenhair ferns, willows and elms, in the company of tortoise, fish, and colorful dragonflies.

The walls that enclose the slopes are clad in rock plants of great botanical interest such as wood spurge, cabbage mountain, the carnation, and capers.

[20] The name of the town was used as the adopted surname of the title character in Mario Puzo's book and Francis Ford Coppola's film The Godfather.

In the cinematic release of The Godfather Part II, young Vito, shy and unable to speak English, cannot respond when asked for his proper name, and is given the surname Corleone by an immigration official at Ellis Island.