The Lions of Sicily, the cast: actors and characters of the series on Rai 1

The Lions of Sicily cast: actors and characters of the series on Rai 1

I Leoni di Sicilia is the series broadcast on Rai 1 from September 10, 2024 in four episodes, directed by Paolo Genovese, and based on the novel of the same name by Stefania Auci. A highly successful series, already available on Disney +, which now arrives on free-to-air Rai 1 in prime time. I Leoni di Sicilia at the 2024 Nastri d’argento the series won as drama series and for best leading actor for the performance of Michele Riondino. The series tells the story of the Florios, a family of shipowners and entrepreneurs of Calabrian origins, who in 19th-century Sicily became one of the richest and most influential in the whole of Italy. But who is the cast of I Leoni di Sicilia?

The series is directed by Paolo Genovese, and is produced by Francesco and Federico Scardamaglia for Compagnia Leone Cinematografica and by Raffaella Leone and Marco Belardi for Lotus Production, a Leone Film Group company. The screenplay is by Ludovica Rampoldi and Stefano Sardo. The cast includes Michele Riondino in the role of Vincenzo Florio, Miriam Leone as Giulia Portalupi, Donatella Finocchiaro as Giuseppina, Vinicio Marchioni as Paolo Florio, Eduardo Scarpetta as Ignazio Florio (Vincenzo’s son), Paolo Briguglia as Ignazio Florio, Ester Pantano as young Giuseppina and Adele Cammarata as Giovanna D’Ondes.

“I Leoni di Sicilia is a series that spans the 19th century, a great family saga of tenacity, pride, power and ambition, set in an aristocratic Sicily, but shaken by a great revolutionary ferment. An island of tradition and at the same time a working, thriving avant-garde, a vibrant center of the Mediterranean. A land far from the stereotypes and prejudices that have marked it for decades,” said director Paolo Genovese. “More than any other project, this series has given rise to an inextricable collaboration between the scenography, photography and costumes, to obtain a unique and defined style, with assonances and nuances of tones, colors and sensations between the characters and the background in which they move.”

Actors and characters

Let’s see the main actors and the related characters played by the cast of The Lions of Sicily.

• Vincenzo Florio, played by Michele Riondino.
  Only son of Paolo Florio, he will inherit his father’s business, becoming the richest entrepreneur in Sicily in the nineteenth century, marketing herbs, spices, tuna and Marsala wine. Exuberant, confident, full of himself and very frank, he lives a constant ideological struggle against the Sicilian nobility who, according to him, looks down on the Florios because they are a family of merchants.
• Giulia Portalupi, played by Miriam Leone.
  Vincenzo’s wife, a very intelligent and thoughtful woman, she is the one who often makes the hot-headed Vincenzo think. She will give birth to three children: Angela, Giuseppina and Ignazio, the latter in memory of his deceased uncle.
• Giuseppina Saffiotti, played as a young woman by Ester Pantano and as a mature woman by Donatella Finocchiaro.
  Mother of Vincenzo and wife of Paolo Florio, often subjugated by the latter. After her husband’s death, she will get closer to her brother-in-law Ignazio, whom she has always loved, and who loves her back. Having spent years with the despot Paolo without being able to fully live her love with Ignazio will lead her to be bitter and perpetually in conflict with Giulia, who will then marry her son Vincenzo.
• Paolo Florio, played by Vinicio Marchioni.
  Founder of the Florio family who, having fallen into disgrace, will move with it to Palermo for a new life, opening an aromatics shop and becoming the richest family in Sicily. Determined and determined, he has no scruples in getting what he wants just to do business.
• Ignazio Florio, played by Paolo Briguglia.
  Paolo’s brother, calm and measured, he will be the one who will raise Vincenzo after the premature death of his father.
• Duchess Spadafora, played by Claudia Pandolfi.
• Ignazio Florio, played by Eduardo Scarpetta.
  Third-born son of Vincenzo and Giulia and first heir of the Florio empire, he was named in memory of his deceased uncle.

Durare, the new single by Laura Pausini is the end credit song for all eight episodes of the series. A sumptuous costume epic that retraces the history of the Florios, a family of entrepreneurs who in 19th-century Sicily built a commercial empire, becoming one of the most influential in Italy – with a style that is both conventional and innovative. Let’s briefly summarize the actors and characters in the cast of I leoni di Sicilia.

• Michele Riondino: Vincenzo Florio
• Miriam Leone: Giulia Portalupi
• Donatella Finocchiaro: Giuseppina Saffiotti (adult)
• Vinicio Marchioni: Paul Florio
• Paul Briguglia: Ignatius Florio
• Ester Pantano: Giuseppina Saffiotti (young)
• Claudia Pandolfi: Duchess Spadafora
• Eduardo Scarpetta: Ignatius Florio