The Check In
After attempting to pilot a rental car through the back streets and confusing roundabouts of Palermo, it was a relief to see that Villa Igiea was at a tranquil remove from the city center. Located just outside the city’s historic quarter (about 15 minutes in a car), just north of the commercial port, Rocco Forte’s new property offers the ideal reprieve from the frenetic city. The ochre-colored property is made up of two buildings (housing 78 rooms) surrounded by palm and hibiscus gardens overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea. There’s also a spa, tennis court and pool making it the ideal sanctuary after a day of touring Palermo’s churches, markets and house museums.
The Look
The Belle Epoque palace was originally built in 1899 as the noble home of the Florio family, an important Sicilian dynasty that made their fortune in everything from ship building to wine to the spice trade. For Villa Igiea, they commissioned the Art Nouveau architect Ernosto Basile, who was known for creating the Italian version of the European Liberty style — lots of romantic florals and curvy woodworking. The family’s original idea was to create a wellness retreat as the property’s seaside location was the best cure-all for combatting their daughter’s tuberculosis. Instead they turned it into the city’s grandest hotel, hosting royals and dignitaries including King Edward the VII and the King of Spain as well as celebrities like Alan Delon and Burt Lancaster who spent time here when they were filing Visconti’s The Leopard. (From 1914 to 1945, the property served as a makeshift hospital during wartime years.) The hotel fell into disrepair by the latter part of the 20th century until the Rocco Forte Hotel group took it over in 2019. The two year renovation included restoring the Art Nouveau frescoes in the double height Sale Bale ballroom, polishing up the walnut grand staircase as well as brightening up the Belle Époque dining room which overlooks the terraced gardens.
The Rooms
With canopied beds dressed in a palette of royal blues and golds, there’s an English-aristocrat-in-breezy-Sicily— courtesy of Olga Polizzi, Rocco Forte’s sister and hotel group’s director of design. The aristo-boho vibe is rounded out with botanical prints, bamboo writing desks, rattan chandeliers and stacks of books like the Jeeves series by P.G. Wodehouse. The bathrooms feature oversized clawfoot tubs, herringbone patterned floors made from colored Italian marble, The bath products are from Irene Forte’s line which are made from botanicals from an organic farm at Verdura Resort, their other Sicilian property. (Guests have been known to stockpile the almond conditioner and prickly-pear shampoo.) The sea-facing rooms feature expansive terraces, complete with jaunty white and green striped umbrellas and furniture.
Food and Drink
While the city is filled with great restaurants, bars and food market, the hotel’s Florio restaurant, with chef Fulvio Pierangelini at the helm, is an excellent reason to dine in one evening. Start off with an aperitivo at the Terrazza Bar. The cozy, vaulted interior has a nostalgic feel with a large fireplace, frescoed walls, a piano player and white-jacketed waiters whisking about. But the real action is on the sweeping terrace which offers the views of the twinkling lights of the port. For the perfect parlor game, order a Negroni and try to guess the origins of the very well-heeled and very international crowd. The Florio restaurant is located in the refurbished and very grand Belle Époque dining room dotted with large potted ferns and sculptures. At night, try to reserve a table on the terrace which fills up with Palermo’s smart set and other hotel guests dining on dishes like a pungent tuna tataki with tonnato sauce, broad beans with red prawns and an outstanding salted baked sea bass, which is fileted old-school style— right at the table. Weekend brunch here is quite the scene with nattily dressed local families arriving in their Sunday best— cashmere sweater sets and floral dresses.
The Check Out
If you can peel yourself from this peaceful spot, there is plenty to see and do in Palermo including the restored Teatro Massimo, (which was also designed by Ernosto Basile under the patronage of the Florio family) and has become the symbol of the city’s recent cultural renaissance. You can’t walk a block in Palermo without stumbling upon a Baroque church— each one is a hidden jewel and worth the price of admission (one or two euros). But there’s nothing quite like entering the Cathedral of Monreale, a glorious meld of Norman, Byzantine, and Italian architecture.
