The Marble Theatre, a Baroque monument in front of Palazzo dei Normanni, also known as the Palazzo ... [+]
For those looking to visit Sicily and experience it in a new way, a good place to start is the Villa Igiea in Palermo. A cherished landmark, the villa is testament to a great Italian dynasty, the Florios, who were widely chronicled in Europe for both their business acumen and social prowess, as the Astors and Vanderbilts were in the U.S., during the Belle Epoque. Designed in neo-Gothic and Art Nouveau styles, Villa Igiea was purchased by Ignazio and Franca Florio to be used as a health retreat for an ailing daughter. Instead they turned it into a hotel, which would come to be known for a glittering guest list that included kings and emperors and film-world royalty like Roberto Rossellini and Sophia Loren. In 2019, Rocco Forte Hotels purchased the historic property and initiated a multi-year refurbishment overseen by Olga Polizzi, director of design and deputy chairman of RFH.
Designed in neo-Gothic and Art Nouveau styles, the Villa Igiea was purchased by the Florios ... [+]
The Palermo of the Florios, the “uncrowned kings of Sicily”
Interest in the Florios, once dubbed the “uncrowned kings of Sicily,” has never waned since their glory days more than a century ago, although the family fortune faded away. What better proof than the novel,The Florios of Sicily, written by Stefania Auci and published in 2019, which became an international best-seller, with 1.5 million copies sold in Italy alone.
It’s not surprising that the Villa Igiea and its sister hotel, the Verdura Resort in Sciacca, an under two-hour drive from Palermo, have tapped into the ongoing fascination with the Florios and Sicilian culture to create travel experiences for guests wanting to see a lesser-known, yet authentic, side of the island. Their latest program, called Sicilian Matriarchy, with itinerary tours led by women, takes inspiration from the most glamorous figure in the Florio saga, Donna Franca Florio (the “donna” honorific because of her father’s noble roots), a woman as famous in her day as a Princess of Wales or Grace Kelly.
Franca Florio, painted by Giovanni Boldini, 1901.
Franca Florio’s star power
Franca added youthful glamour to turn-of-the-century Palermo, cementing it as a hot stop for European elites; her cultural passions and social savvy also brought attention and prestige to the Florios’ extensive business empire. It was an unexpected trajectory for young Francesca Paola Jacona della Motta dei Baroni di San Giuliano (her very full name).“She was a fragile young woman who found herself catapulted from an ordinary family to the status of wife of one of the richest men in Europe,” says Stefania Auci, the best-selling author. (Her own family was long on aristocratic titles, but shorter on cash.) “That meant being perpetually under everyone's eyes, evaluated, weighed and judged. She changed her way of being to be able to live up to the situation and the family she had entered.” Franca Florio lived up to the situation so well that no less than Kaiser Wilhelm, the German Emperor, called her the “star of Italy.”
Even with all the Florio wealth, Franca’s clout wasn’t an anomaly in the early 1900s, according to Auci. “Women have always had a strong power in Sicily,” she says. “There has always been a sort of ‘hidden’ matriarchy.” Auci adds that while women’s power was not codified, “it certainly [had] a great impact on the lives of families. Women wove the family plots that led to marriages and ties between the great noble lines from the Middle Ages until the end of the nineteenth century. Especially among the nobility, theirs was never a merely decorative role. They had a power and social impact of great importance.”
Stefania Auci. author of "The Florios of Sicily," an international bestseller. (Photo by Leonardo ... [+]
Sicilian women with lesser means had different ways to exert influence, says Auci, supporting families with work outside the home, running small businesses and managing economic resources.“Women played a role that was anything but secondary.”
The Villa Igiea’s Sicilian Matriarchy program aims to give guests a fuller sense of women’s contributions to the island’s history in both the recent and distant past, while highlighting the work of innovative female entrepreneurs impacting Sicilian arts and artisanal culture today.
The inner courtyard of the Palazzo Reale. (Photo by Frank Bienewald/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Sicilian matriarchs and influencers, old and new
The Matriarchy itinerary includes town and country destinations. In Palermo there will be visits to the Palazzo Reale, the seat of many rulers of Sicily and various queens, the first Sicilian “matriarchs”( several of whom bore the name Constance). The palace is also the location for the Palatina Chapel and the current exhibit, Thesaurus (through 30 September 2024), with Constance of Aragon’s jewels among other items on display.
To further get a sense of Palermo’s past, the itinerary will include a tour of the Duke of Serradifalco Garden, known for its centuries-old plants, with Princess Amalia Licata di Baucina, who worked to revitalize the park. There are visits to unique ateliers, aiming to keep traditional crafts alive, like the one helmed by Carolina Guthman, which is devoted to hand embroidery, sustainable practices and to creating jobs in the area. Another stop is at an art studio, where a resident artist will show her home and work and conduct a tour of favorite shops and Palermo’s famous Ballarò market. A chamber-music concert in a Liberty (Art Nouveau)-style palazzo rounds out the itinerary.
The Verdura Resort in Sciacca.
From the Verdura Resort, Rocco Forte Hotel’s 250-acre property in Sciacca, the itinerary showcases women entrepreneurs in rural Sicily. For example in the town of Aragona, there’s a traditional Sicilian cooking class to learn the secrets of wood-fired oven cooking; and a visit to a studio devoted to coral craftsmanship, headed by a fourth-generation artist.
In the footsteps of the Florios
The ceiling of the Teatro Massimo.
For those wanting to know the Florio family history in more detail, Villa Igiea has the program, “In the Footsteps of the Florios.” It includes stops at the Villino Florio all’ Olivuzza, a former family home and another prime example of Art Nouveau architecture; the Teatro Massimo, among Europe’s grandest opera houses, and a favored cultural institution for Ignazio Florio; and the Palazzina dei Quattro Pizzi, a neo-Gothic structure with four turrets where Vincenzo Florio once lived.
The entrance to Palazzo Mirto in Parlermo.
To further understand the Palermo of the Florio era, Stefania Auci recommends the Villa Malfitano Whitaker “a magnificently preserved time capsule where you can breathe the life and climate of the Belle Epoque near the Villino Florio; Palazzo Mirto, which allows you to savor the life of a rich Sicilian family from 1700s onwards; and Palazzo Mazzarino [with the] portrait of Franca, painted by Boldini.” She also suggests the cultural institutions Villa Zito, “with paintings [depicting] the life of the people in the 19th century; and the GAM [Gallery of Modern Art], which is very close to the marvelous Palazzo Gangi, where Luchino Visconti filmed [scenes from] The Leopard.” Outside Palermo, there are Florio destinations like Favignana and Cantine Florio in Marsala, she says.
The old port in Favignana, one of the Aegadian Islands.
The Cantine Florio was founded in 1833 by Vincenzo Florio.
Favignana, one of the Aegadian Islands where the Florios had their tuna fisheries and a large palazzo, is known for beautiful seascapes and bright aqua seas.
If you head to the Cantine Florio in Marsala (a little more than an hour by car from Sciacca), you can visit the Florios’ last surviving business. Founded in 1833 by Vincenzo Florio, the winery produces four types of Marsala—virgin, dry, semi-dry and sweet, and recently introduced the first Vino Florio, made entirely from Sicily’s Grillo grape. Various tours can be arranged by reservation.
