Santa Margherita Belice was founded in 1572 by Baron Corbera. Several noble families of that period were quite interested in this fiefdom. In fact, the Corberas were replaced by the Filangeri princes, the ancestors of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, who gave new life to the territory building several palaces and encouraging the development of the local economy and its population. The Filangeri were an important family and, in 1812, for 3 months King Ferdinando, Queen Carolina and Prince Leopoldo of Bourbon, were guests in the family palace that is surrounded by a wonderful garden. That ancient edifice inspired some of the most beautiful pages of “The Leopard,” the novel by Tomasi di Lampedusa that is renowned and translated all around the world. The novel was the inspiration for the film by the same name directed by Luchino Visconti with Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale. Every year an international literary prize dedicated to the memory of the author is bestowed in this town near Agrigento, and one can visit the Museum of the Leopard where one can admire the drafts of the works by Tomasi di Lampedusa, his typewriter, a reproduction of the manuscript, and photos of the writer and his family. The Museum of Memory is situated next door to Palazzo Filangeri di Cutò, inside the old Mother Church destroyed by the earthquake of 1968, and in it one can find statements by survivors and a collection of items salvaged from the rubble.
