Cantina Duca di Salaparuta, Casteldaccia
The guided tours of the winery, relocated in 1960 from an ancient farmhouse to a modern facility in the heart of Casteldaccia, are merely the final chapter of a passionate story, one in which a new page is always waiting to be written in the vibrant history of Sicilian wine. This ambitious journey has now reached a new milestone with the unveiling of a striking triptych dedicated to the multifaceted personality of Donna Topazia. The artwork is by Arrigo Musti, a renowned Palermo-born painter whose works have been featured at the Venice Biennale and in the contemporary art section of the Guttuso Museum in Bagheria.
Villa Valguarnera, bagheria
Bagheria Topazia Alliata spent long periods in Bagheria, because that’s where Villa Valguarnera was located, the eighteenth-century family estate, one of the most beautiful in all of Sicily along with Villa Palagonia, also in Bagheria. That town half an hour from Palermo, famous for its splendid noble summer residences, was also an incubator of intellectuals, from the poet Ignazio Buttitta to the painter Renato Guttuso, with whom Topazia spent much time, absorbing the most vibrant culture of the era. Today managed by Princess Vittoria Alliata, Villa Varguarnera can be visited along with its botanical park, and visitors can stay in a sumptuous 700 square meter apartment (plus a 1,300 sq m terrace) with butler service. PS: in 2016, Dolce & Gabbana shot an advertisement here featuring Sophia Loren, directed by Giuseppe Tornatore from Bagheria.
museo Guttuso, bagheria
Bagheria Topazia Alliata was the first woman to enroll in the nude drawing course at the academy of fine arts, which was then closed to female painters. She had talent, as her friend, perhaps also lover, Renato Guttuso praised her skill and encouraged her to dedicate herself to art. One of her most interesting works – “Arsura. Donna alla fonte” (Thirst. Woman at the fountain) (1931) – is displayed in the halls of the Guttuso Museum, inside the eighteenth-century Villa Cattolica in Bagheria. The museum is a tribute to the greatest Italian exponent of neorealism, who gifted his hometown about a hundred works, from his early pieces to his last incomplete one “Nella stanza le donne vanno e vengono” (In the room women come and go) (1986), to which an entire room is dedicated. In addition to Guttuso’s works (he is buried in the garden in a blue marble sarcophagus by Giacomo Manzù), more than 200 artists are exhibited, many of them Sicilian, such as photographers from Bagheria Ferdinando Scianna and Mimmo Pintacuda, and Arrigo Musti, one of the most established artists in contemporary Italian painting.
two Michelin-starred restaurants, bagheria
It’s not hard to believe that in Bagheria, as in the rest of Sicily, one eats well. Everyone delightfully remembers a panella and a cannolo filled with ricotta. It’s less expected that in a small town there are two fine dining restaurants. I Pupi, opened in 2009 and starred since 2014, offers dishes that are a synthesis of home memories, travels, and loves of chef Tony Lo Coco, president of La Sicilia di Ulisse, the association that brings together some of the best restaurants and hotels on the island. In 2022, a star also arrived at Limu, where Nino Ferreri, born in 1989, creates imaginative recipes with local ingredients.
Palazzo Chiaramonte (steri), palermo
The Steri complex, at the gates of the Arab quarter of Kalsa, today the university headquarters of Palermo, between 1600 and 1782, was also an inquisition court. After seeing the graffiti full of symbols and allegories of the prisoners in the former cells, visitors can see the room with Renato Guttuso’s “Vucciria” (1974) as the only work. The theatrical setup of 2021 contextualizes the painting dedicated to Palermo’s popular market (which no longer exists today), centered in a dark room, with photos of the artist at work, long captions about the execution, and, as a soundtrack, the confused voices that inspired the title of the masterpiece.
Villa Igiea, palermo
The Alliatas with their wines and the Florios with their trade were two of Sicily’s most important families. The birth of Villa Igiea in 1900 in Palermo is due to the latter. Ignazio Florio’s initial idea was to make it a sanatorium, due to its proximity to the sea and iodine, but the project did not go through, and the castle-shaped villa became the city’s first luxury hotel. For its realization, architect Ernesto Basile was called upon, who designed the spaces in the floral style, involving the best craftsmen: Vittorio Ducrot’s furniture factory for the furnishings and artist Ettore De Maria Bergler for the decoration of the stunning hall of mirrors, a masterpiece of Eclectic Liberty style. After a restoration and a million-dollar renovation, Villa Igiea reopened in 2021 under the Rocco Forte group, maintaining intact the frescoes, decorations, and hand-painted ceramic floors. Lunching with bread and panelle and vitello tonnato in winter on its terrace facing the sea (yes, outdoors) is one of life’s pleasures. Among the experiences they offer to guests is also a visit to Villa Valguarnera, the small Versailles of the Dukes of Salaparuta.