# The Lions of Sicily (2023)

> Two brothers escape a stagnant Calabria and build a spice business in Sicily, where a visionary young man with revolutionary ideas aims to turn it into an economic empire.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/128150

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 8
- Episode runtime: 56 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama, history
- Network: Rai 1, Disney+, RaiPlay
- Cast: Michele Riondino, Miriam Leone, Donatella Finocchiaro, Emmanuele Aita, Massimo De Lorenzo, Clara Tramontano, Marcus Marcelli, Tony Sperandeo
- TMDB rating: 7.0/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt19866510/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: mild
- Tone: sweeping, melancholic, intimate, driven, atmospheric

## Synopsis

The Lions of Sicily (2023) is an Italian historical drama series created for Rai 1 and distributed on Disney+, a single-season limited series of eight episodes running about 56 minutes each. Brothers Paolo and Ignazio, two small spice merchants, leave a Calabria trapped in the past and arrive in Sicily seeking social redemption. Michele Riondino plays the visionary young Vincenzo Florio, whose revolutionary ideas drive the transformation of a run-down shop into a flourishing commercial dynasty, while Miriam Leone plays Giulia Portalupi and Donatella Finocchiaro plays Giuseppina Florio, anchoring the family and rival storylines. The engine of the story is ambition pressing against entrenched privilege: every episode turns on negotiations, rivalries, shifting alliances and the hard arithmetic of building a business in a society where birth still decides rank. Set in nineteenth century Sicily, the series carries the texture of a period family saga, with dusty markets, crowded harbours and the tension of a family fortune being built from nothing. Its tone is sweeping yet intimate, melancholic at the edges and driven by a sense of hard-won momentum. Fans of The Leopard, Peaky Blinders and Gomorrah will find resonance in its blend of dynastic ambition, social stakes and Italian historical grandeur.

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