In our roundup of travel news and features this week, the real-life filming locations for “The Godfather” and “The White Lotus,” audacious underground mega tunnels in Europe, plus a big overhaul on the way for US air traffic control.
When the cast and crew of Francis Ford Coppola’s seminal 1972 film “The Godfather” descended on Savoca, Sicily, more than 50 years ago, it was a tiny village with unpaved roads, fewer than 100 residents and no running water.
“The movie was a total godsend,” says Vincenzo Pasquale, 72, who at age 18 was cast as an extra in the movie. Of the Sicilian locations that are featured in the legendary blockbuster, Savoca is still the most visited.
“Since the cruisers arrived some 20 years ago, the tourists are overwhelming,” says Pasquale. “On some days, they cram the streets, and I need to honk the horn to drive through.”
Filming is currently underway for the fourth season of HBO comedy-drama “The White Lotus,” which previously immortalized such impossibly chic, intimidatingly luxe properties as the Four Seasons’ San Domenico Palace in Taormina, Sicily and the Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui in Thailand.
