The real locations from the Godfather, from New York to Sicily

A nice round-number anniversary is usually ideal when it comes to writing travel articles tied to specific dates - but in this case, we can make an exception. Today marks the 46th anniversary of the release (on March 15, 1972) of what is generally considered the greatest crime movie of all time.

The 46th anniversary? What sort of random statistic is that? Well, the work of cinematic genius in question is The Godfather. And with The Godfather, it may be wise not to ask awkward questions, lest they result in you being made an offer you can't refuse.

So 46 years it is. And seven filming locations. Now, who ordered the horse-head salad?

Longfellow Road, New York

Every mobster kingpin needs a palace to call home. And in the case of Marlon Brando's wheezy-voiced mafioso Don Vito Corleone, base-camp was a suburban house and garden at 110 Longfellow Road in the Todt Hill district of the westernmost New York borough, Staten Island.

It's a private residence at the end of a cul-de-sac, just south of the Staten Island Expressway, but if you are a devotee of the film you can find it easily. And once you have, look no further for a second location. The wedding of Connie Corleone, Don Vito's daughter, which opens the movie, supposedly takes place on Long Island - but the scenes were created right next door, at 120 Longfellow Road.

Falaise, Long Island

The infamous "offer he can't refuse" is made to Jack Woltz, a Hollywood executive who is refusing to give a film role to Vito's godson, the singer Johnny Fontane. The offer is, of course, the severed head of Woltz's prize stallion, which is placed in the shocked studio mogul's bed.

But not in Los Angeles. In a rare case of Hollywood being portrayed on camera by the east coast of the USA, the house in question - or, at least, the bedroom - is Falaise, a mansion constructed on the north shore of Long Island by the businessman Harry Guggenheim in the mid-Twenties. It is now a museum on the Sands Point Preserve Conservancy (sandspointpreserveconservancy.org) - which protects the grandeur of this Gatsby-eque site on the far side of Long Island Sound from the Big Apple. In a pleasing case of continuity, the estate would also be used in Scent Of A Woman - the 1992 hit which won Al Pacino the Oscar for Best Actor.

You have to go a little further afield to find the exterior of the Woltz mansion. Here, California does at least play California. The house is located at 1011 North Beverly Drive, in Beverly Hills - where it was once the property of William Randolph Hearst.

Jack Dempsey's Restaurant, New York

One of the movie's main themes is the transformation of Michael Corleone from family outsider to his father's brutal successor. It made a superstar of Al Pacino - but did little for two of the restaurants where his character's narrative arc plays out.

Louis' - the eatery where he guns down Virgil Sollozzo of rival crime clan the Tataglias, and his pet NYPD police officer Marc McCluskey - was, in real life, Luna, an Italian cafe at 3531 White Plains Road in the Bronx. It shut down shortly after filming.

Jack Dempsey's Restaurant, outside of which Michael is earlier picked up by Sollozzo and McCluskey, was a celebrated Broadway hotspot, run by the retired boxing world heavyweight champion William "Jack" Dempsey - who was known to greet customers at the door, and sign autographs. It closed in 1974. Then, as now, the exact location, between 49th and 50th Streets, is occupied by the Brill Building - at 1619 Broadway.

New York Supreme Court

Michael's growing ruthlessness and his stepping into his father's shoes is signalled as the movie nears its climax with the assassinations of rival mafioso kingpins. Don Emilio Barzini meets his end in front of New York Supreme Court, on Foley Square.

St Patrick’s Old Cathedral, New York

As this wave of murders takes place, Michael Corleone is safely ensconced in church, attending the christening of his sister Connie's baby. The church in question? Depends on the perspective. The interior is the Basilica of St Patrick’s Old Cathedral, at 273 Mott Street in Manhattan (oldcathedral.org). Exterior filming used the Mission of the Immaculate Virgin, in the Mount Loretto district of Staten Island (mountloretto.org).

Forza d'Agro, Sicily

After the killings of Sollozzo and McCluskey, Michael flees to Sicily, and the family's roots in Forza d'Agro. This pretty town on the north-east coast of the Mediterranean's biggest island, roughly 10 miles south-west of the more celebrated Taormina, cropped up as a backdrop in all three segments of the Godfather trilogy.

It fans out around the Cattedrale di Maria Santissima Annunziata e Assunta (which also appears on camera) - and - like much of the outcrop around it - remains almost untouched by the centuries.

Catania, Sicily

The death of another mobster rival, Don Tommasino, in a car explosion, also pins itself to Sicily, this time to the east-coast city of Catania, and to Castello degli Schiavi - a Baroque masterpiece of a property which doubles as the mafioso's graceful home. It can be visited - and is located on Via Badala, in the Fiumefreddo di Sicilia district of the city. Details here.