Barzini Family
Encyclopedia
The Barzini Family is one of the Five New York Families in Mario Puzo
's novel The Godfather
and the movie of the same name
.
, second only to the Corleone Family
. From its beginnings the family's don was Emilio Barzini
. The Barzini Family, along with the Tattaglia Family are the first two families to invest in Virgil Sollozzo
's heroin trade market, and thus is one of the families that declares war to the Corleones after Michael Corleone
assassinates Sollozzo and his contact in the NYPD Captain McCluskey. The Barzini Family fight in the war against the Corleones along with the Tattaglia Family and in part with the Cuneo Family
and the Stracci Family
, but start losing the war due to Sonny Corleone
's battle tactics which rob much of the Barzini's turf.
When the Barzinis realize that the only way to win the war is to assassinate Sonny, the Barzinis contact Carlo Rizzi and use him to set up Sonny by having Carlo beat up his wife and Sonny's sister Connie Corleone
. Sonny drives towards Carlo's home in a fit of rage, but is assaulted en route at a highway toll booth by Barzini and Tattaglia assassins. Sonny's assassination is the declaration of victory for the Barzini Family.
After Don Vito Corleone declares peace between all of the Five Families, he promises not to break the peace and thus, Emilio Barzini has his family start taking away territory from the Corleones. Later, after Don Corleone's death, Barzini decides to assassinate Vito's son and heir Michael in order to get hold of all Corleone turf; to do this, he summons Michael to a fake peace summit where Michael will be assassinated.
Michael, however, had already foreseen this move thanks to his father's deduction and Michael has Barzini and all other Dons in New York (including Don Emilio Barzini) assassinated, eliminating almost all of the Five Families interests in New York, therefore, almost completely destroying the Barzinis. Paulie Fortunato succeeded Emilio Barzini as Don, since Emilio Barzini Jr., Don Emilio's son, had also been assassinated.
In the video game, Emilio Barzini murders Aldo Trapani
's father and when the time comes to assassinate Emilio Barzini, Aldo gets to execute Emilio Barzini the way he wants and thus gets his revenge.
Mario Puzo
Mario Gianluigi Puzo was an American author and screenwriter, known for his novels about the Mafia, including The Godfather , which he later co-adapted into a film by Francis Ford Coppola...
's novel The Godfather
The Godfather (novel)
The Godfather is a crime novel written by Italian American author Mario Puzo, originally published in 1969 by G. P. Putnam's Sons. It details the story of a fictitious Sicilian Mafia family based in New York City and headed by Don Vito Corleone, who became synonymous with the Italian Mafia...
and the movie of the same name
The Godfather
The Godfather is a 1972 American epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo. With a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola and an uncredited Robert Towne, the film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard...
.
Role in the Story
In both the novel and movies "The Godfather", The Barzini Family is the second most powerful crime family of the Five New York FamiliesFive Families (The Godfather)
The Five Families are five major Mafia crime families in the novel and film The Godfather. The families are based on the real life New York Five Families, five major Italian American crime families.- The Five Families :The Corleones...
, second only to the Corleone Family
Corleone family
The Corleone family is a fictional Sicilian Mafia family settled in New York City. The family was created by Mario Puzo and appears in his 1969 novel The Godfather, as well as the acclaimed film trilogy of the same name directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The family was founded by Vito Corleone , who...
. From its beginnings the family's don was Emilio Barzini
Emilio Barzini
Don Emilio Barzini is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather and in its film adaptation, in which he is portrayed by Richard Conte-In the novel:...
. The Barzini Family, along with the Tattaglia Family are the first two families to invest in Virgil Sollozzo
Virgil Sollozzo
Virgil "The Turk" Sollozzo is a fictional character and one of the main antagonists in Mario Puzo's The Godfather.In the novel, it is said that he got his nickname because he has a nose like a Turkish scimitar, has a Turkish wife and kids and also because he does much of his business in Turkey...
's heroin trade market, and thus is one of the families that declares war to the Corleones after Michael Corleone
Michael Corleone
Michael Corleone is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's novels, The Godfather and The Sicilian. He is also the main character of the Godfather film trilogy that was directed by Francis Ford Coppola, in which he was portrayed by Al Pacino, who was twice nominated for an Academy Award for his...
assassinates Sollozzo and his contact in the NYPD Captain McCluskey. The Barzini Family fight in the war against the Corleones along with the Tattaglia Family and in part with the Cuneo Family
Ottilio Cuneo
Don Ottilio "Leo the Milkman" Cuneo is a fictional character appearing in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather. In the film adaptation he is called Carmine Cuneo by Vito Corleone. He was portrayed by actor Rudy Bond.-Role of the Cuneo Family in the Story:...
and the Stracci Family
Stracci family
The Stracci Family is one of the Five New York Families in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather and the movie of the same name.-Role in the Story:...
, but start losing the war due to Sonny Corleone
Sonny Corleone
Santino "Sonny" Corleone is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather and its 1972 film adaptation. He also appears as an infant, as a young boy, and an adult in The Godfather Part II....
's battle tactics which rob much of the Barzini's turf.
When the Barzinis realize that the only way to win the war is to assassinate Sonny, the Barzinis contact Carlo Rizzi and use him to set up Sonny by having Carlo beat up his wife and Sonny's sister Connie Corleone
Connie Corleone
Constanzia "Connie" Corleone , is a fictional character from The Godfather by Mario Puzo. In the films, Connie is portrayed by Talia Shire, the sister of director Francis Ford Coppola....
. Sonny drives towards Carlo's home in a fit of rage, but is assaulted en route at a highway toll booth by Barzini and Tattaglia assassins. Sonny's assassination is the declaration of victory for the Barzini Family.
After Don Vito Corleone declares peace between all of the Five Families, he promises not to break the peace and thus, Emilio Barzini has his family start taking away territory from the Corleones. Later, after Don Corleone's death, Barzini decides to assassinate Vito's son and heir Michael in order to get hold of all Corleone turf; to do this, he summons Michael to a fake peace summit where Michael will be assassinated.
Michael, however, had already foreseen this move thanks to his father's deduction and Michael has Barzini and all other Dons in New York (including Don Emilio Barzini) assassinated, eliminating almost all of the Five Families interests in New York, therefore, almost completely destroying the Barzinis. Paulie Fortunato succeeded Emilio Barzini as Don, since Emilio Barzini Jr., Don Emilio's son, had also been assassinated.
In the video game, Emilio Barzini murders Aldo Trapani
Aldo Trapani
Aldo Trapani is the protagonist and player character of the video game The Godfather: The Game, based on the film The Godfather. He also briefly appears in the sequel, The Godfather II, which is based on The Godfather Part II....
's father and when the time comes to assassinate Emilio Barzini, Aldo gets to execute Emilio Barzini the way he wants and thus gets his revenge.