The Villa Igiea was supposed to be the hospital on the outskirts of town. The original plan was a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients with a view of the bay of Palermo. That is why the architect Ernesto Basile built the building close to the sea at the end of the 19th century.
The sick should breathe the healthy salty air of the Mediterranean Sea. But after British cooperation partners inspected the building, they decided: We thought it was way too big, and we will never turn it into a profitable company.
The goddess of health
Ignazio Florio, agile businessman and founder of Villa Igiea, improvised and opened Palermo’s largest luxury hotel instead of a luxury clinic. In spring 2021 it reopened after months of renovation to become exactly that again: the first house on the square.
The name of the Art Nouveau ensemble with outbuildings, towers and park still reminds of the beginnings of the whole enterprise. Igiea (best to mumble elegantly “Iddschiea”) is the Italian name for the Greek goddess of health, that fabulous hygiene, whose rules we have been following since Corona.
Otherwise, fortunately, there is almost no hint of a hospital. At most, the wide corridors on the three floors give an idea that they didn’t just want to push minibar supplies along here, but patient beds. In the ballroom, the Sala Basile, the artist Ettore de Maria Bergler left epic murals whose colors are reflected in the hotel’s interior design.
In the rooms, guests walk on wooden floorboards, sleep in princess beds and drink their morning coffee with a view of the ferries to Tunis and Rome. It would be nice if only one Vivantes in Berlin had this level of comfort.
The villa was once a family project. The Florios were among the richest entrepreneurs in Sicily, indeed in all of young Italy. They had shares in Navigazione, the largest shipping company in Italy, they made money in viticulture, in sulfur mining, with tuna fishing and metallurgy companies. They also owned shares in the daily newspaper “L’Ora” (“The Hour”).
Welcome to Floriopolis
Ignazio’s father was a senator in Rome and his mother a baroness. The Florios were considered modern capitalists who knew how to diversify their fortunes – and how to endear themselves to the people through public donations. The family actively financed the construction of the Teatro Massimo, the famous opera house in Palermo.
What Rockefeller was to New York, Florio was to Palermo. So much so that contemporaries called the city “Floriopolis” at the end of the 19th century.
Guests exploring the labyrinth of the hotel should indulge a little in this Belle Époque. It’s not that easy to find the right stairs to the restaurant. If you go down the rustic, wide show staircase with the massive wooden railing, you end up in the most tasteful toilet in all of Sicily: the former chapel of the house now houses the toilets. Worship and defecation, all in the name of cleansing, formerly mental, now physical.
There are almost hidden steps behind the reception that lead to the basement, and this is where you finally find the entrance to the restaurant, bar and park. As a Central European spoiled by the gray sky, you definitely want to see it. Palm trees grow into the blue sky, even in December, it smells like orange trees and flowers.
Why it didn’t work
An oval pool lies lazily behind the lawn, behind which false Roman columns stretch towards an imaginary temple roof. From the wall, guests look down to the sea, the marina, and to the right, Palermo’s sea of houses awaits at a respectful distance.
Because the first house on the square is not in the first row of the city. Even after 120 years of existence, the Villa Igiea has not become a downtown object. Palermo has not spread so rapidly. And maybe that’s one of the reasons why, looking back, the luxury hotel was one of the Florios’ first ventures that didn’t turn out to be what it promised.
Everything went under the hammer
Although it went brilliantly at first. At the beginning of the 20th century, the aristocrats of Italy amused themselves in the house, enjoying the seclusion on the coast, including service requests that could be fulfilled immediately.
But the consequences of the First World War caused the Florio empire to melt away. The shipyards, the most important guarantor of profit, had to be sold, Franca Florio’s jewelery was auctioned off in the 1930s, the villa also went under the hammer and got a new hotel owner. Suddenly the family name didn’t mean anything anymore, and the island around it also became impoverished.
To get to know Palermo’s history better, a trip to the old town is a must. A shuttle runs from the hotel to the city center every hour, the tour takes 15 minutes, past post-war quarters, the shipyard and many a littered corner.
“That’s our biggest problem,” says the driver of the minibus. Waste disposal is slow in the city of 670,000 people. But otherwise, emphasizes the native of Palermitano, a lot has improved. Only 30 years ago, Palermo had a bad reputation, the mafia war cost the lives of 300 people a year.
Today the port city is considered the safest city in Italy. Also thanks to Mayor Leoluca Orlando, who pursues a strict anti-mafia policy, supported by large sections of the population. He pays a high price for this: he is still under police protection to this day.
The minibus stops near the Teatro Massimo, built by the same architect as Villa Igiea. Here you can study the parallels, the fine, often dark Art Nouveau frescoes inside, the opulent staircase. Perhaps Puccini’s “La Bohème” is on the agenda for the evening, the story about two artists in Paris who fight for love, a career and the monthly rent. The opera is one of the most performed in the world.
When it premiered in Turin in 1896, the work flopped. It was only with the performance in Palermo, four months later, that the worldwide breakthrough came. To this day, Teatro Massimo and the artist’s ham are closely linked. The performances are full, the performers sing powerfully, only the extras on stage wear masks and remind of the specifications of the Igiea.
In the center of Palermo, visitors can experience what has become of the Florios’ comrades-in-arms. Many aristocratic families went bankrupt after two world wars, the large houses fell into disrepair, were sold or rented out. It’s a sore city, to this day. Ailing, morbid, tired of the past. Couldn’t all of Palermo take a cure?
Some palazzi have at least found new owners who breathe life into them. For example the Palazzo Butera, almost down at the port. A recommendation from Alessandro, the concierge at the Igiea, a Palermitano who is happy to pass on his tips. The palazzo now houses a huge art collection. The new owners have faithfully restored some of the rooms, while others have modern abstract paintings hanging on bare walls.
You should definitely stop by the Santa Catarina Monastery, advises Alessandro. No, not to admire the religious art, but to visit the patisserie on the first floor. There, a young cooperative bakes lemon biscuits, apricot marzipan balls and chocolate cake according to traditional recipes. It’s a sweet stunner!
In the evening, back in the villa, a great advantage of the somewhat remote location becomes apparent. When half of Palermo roams the streets at night and sometimes smuts roar into the night, the only thing that murmurs in front of the villa is the sea.
Travel tips: Ryanair flies direct to Palermo twice a week, tickets from 55 euros at the best rate. After the winter break, Villa Igiea opens again in March, double rooms cost from 360 euros per night. More details at roccofortehotels.com. The trip was supported by Rocco Forte Hotels.
