«Lions of Sicily. The Saga of Florio»
After the earthquake, two Florio brothers, Paolo and Ignazio, move to Palermo and open a small spice shop. The locals receive the newcomers coldly, referring to them behind their backs as beggars. Soon one of the brothers dies, leaving his wife Giuseppina and little Vincenzo in the care of the other. Ignazio and Giuseppina are secretly in love with each other but do not dare to confess it even to themselves. Suffering from unrequited love, Ignazio focuses all his efforts on developing the business and succeeds in it. Soon, the grown-up Vincenzo joins in managing the family affairs, who also has ahead of him love dramas and a lot, a lot of hard work, thanks to which the Florio house will come into being. A new Ignazio will follow, and this will repeat from generation to generation.
«Lions of Sicily. The Twilight of an Empire»
Starting with trading spices in a small shop, the Florios establish their empire. They own wineries, steamships, tuna fishing, houses, jewelry, cars. But it is not enough to reach the top; one must also hold on to it. Ignazio tries to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfathers, but he is more seduced by noisy parties, socializing with friends, and girls, many girls. He gifts his wife expensive jewelry after each betrayal, makes one mistake after another in business, and at first does not notice how pieces begin to break away from the powerful empire…