Mafia-Style Violence Flares in Home of ‘The Godfather’

CORLEONE, Sicily — Suspected gangsters shot a young couple to death here over the weekend, raising fears of a revival of Mafia clan warfare after a 16-year truce in the town that was immortalized in Hollywood’s “Godfather” movies.

Francesco Saporito, 30, and his wife, Giovanna Giammona, 27, died in a hail of bullets when their car was ambushed by a gang of at least three gunmen Saturday evening, police said.

The couple’s 2-year-old son, Antonino, survived without serious injury because his mother shielded him from the gunfire with her body, police added.

Giovanna Giammona was the second person from the same family gunned down in recent weeks in the hilltop town about 40 miles inland from the island capital, Palermo. Her 22-year-old brother, Giusto, was killed by gunmen last month while working in his clothes shop.

Corleone was featured in director Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 film, “The Godfather,” which starred Marlon Brando as a ruthless American-based Mafia boss named Don Corleone.