Francesco Alliata: Prince, Filmmaker, and Gelato Pioneer

Prince Francesco Alliata di Villafranca (1919-2015) was a Sicilian aristocrat who pioneered underwater filmmaking and later founded a gelato empire. Born in Palermo's Palazzo Alliata, he co-founded Panaria Film in 1947 with Renzo Avanzo and Fosco Maraini, producing the first underwater films ever shot, including 'Cacciatori sottomarini' and 'Tonnara'. In 1950, Panaria produced 'Vulcano', directed by William Dieterle and starring Anna Magnani, shot concurrently with Rossellini's 'Stromboli' starring Ingrid Bergman, sparking a media 'war of the volcanoes'. In 1952, Panaria produced Europe's first Technicolor film, 'La carrozza d'oro' by Jean Renoir, also with Magnani. After Panaria ended in 1956, Alliata opened a gelato factory in Catania in 1962, producing traditional Sicilian 'spongati' (fruit-based, dairy-free gelato) exported to the US under the brand 'XIV Duca di Salaparuta'. He authored his autobiography 'Il Mediterraneo era il mio regno' (Neri Pozza, 2015) at age 95.