The Lions of Sicily

The Lions of Sicily (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 Rome Film Festival on 23 October 2023 and was released on Disney+ on 25 October 2023.

Premise
The series follows the Florio family of Sicily in the 1800s.

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 Florio
 * 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

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 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.