VISIT THE CITY OF "THE LIONS OF SICILY”

The location in the heart of Palermo occupied by Arché Design Rooms & Suites is a particularly favorable starting point for film tourists and the most passionate readers of "The Lions of Sicily", the first chapter of "The Florio saga" by Stefania Auci that is enchanting the world, thanks also to the success of the TV series of the same name. 

Crossing the historic center of Palermo it is possible to retrace the places that led the Florio‘s family to success, not only as producers of Marsala, the famous fortified wine for which their name is still known in the world, but as the perfect embodiment of the contemporary myth of the self-made men, capable of dominating the cultural scene, Sicilian commercial and political movement of the Belle Époque. 

From the streets that welcomed the first spice shops of the Florio’s family to the elegant villas that hosted sovereigns and artists from all over Europe; from the most impressive shipyard in the Mediterranean to the statues that celebrate them, Palermo is littered with traces of the fortunate history of this family of Calabrian "putiari", some majestic and impossible to ignore, others almost erased by time but no less interesting. 

All you have to do is look out of the windows of the rooms of Arché Design Rooms & Suites to start immersing yourself in the golden Palermo of the Lions of Sicily. In fact, the structure stands right in front of the square dedicated to Ignazio Florio, Vincenzo's son, where it is possible to admire a sculptural effigy of him, protected by the shade of tall palm trees that stand out between benches and hedges.

To follow the parable of the Florio‘s family in chronological order, it is necessary to start where it all began, in the house-putìa in Piazza San Giacomo, located in front of the Church of Santa Maria La Nova. The success of the Florio’s company continued a short distance away, in Via dei Materassai 51, near Piazza San Domenico, where Paolo Florio bought a larger warehouse more suited to the volume of his growing business. 

It was precisely in these streets, which have always been a hub of trade and where today part of the city's nightlife is experienced.The friendship between Vincenzo Florio, Paolo's son, and the English merchant Benjamin Ingham was born, who after the death of his father would become a true mentor for the young man. To celebrate their passage in the ancient district of Castellamare, there remains a commemorative plaque inside the Church of San Domenico, in which the name of Vincenzo Florio is mixed with that of other illustrious Sicilians. 

 Walking along Via Vittorio Emanuele and crossing Porta Felice, one of the historic gates of the city, you reach the Foro Italico, now enriched by the new pier, the Palermo Marina Yatching. Here, near the Porta dei Greci, it is possible to admire a statue depicting Vincenzo Florio, made in 1875 by Vincenzo D'Amore. 

 The success of the Florio would not have been possible without their impressive trading fleet. For this reason, the family also invested in the construction of the Palermo shipyard, which remains one of the largest and most important in the Mediterranean. 

 Going on the hunt for the places made famous by the series, it is only right to include in the tour the Quattro Canti and the nearby Piazza Pretoria, the scene of the unfortunate declaration of love of a very young Vincenzo Florio to Baroness Isabella Pillitteri, a symbol of a Sicilian nobility proud of its ancestry but now in decline. 

 One of the best-kept and best-known artistic treasures of the Florio‘s family is the villa all'Olivuzza, easily accessible from Arché Design Rooms & Suites by public transport or by walking through the center of Palermo. Built by Ernesto Basile, a friend and protégé of Vincenzo Florio and also architect of the Teatro Massimo, it is the symbol of the wealth of the rising new bourgeoisie and the eclecticism typical of the Art Nouveau style with the double external staircase, the references to floral elements that echo in the surrounding garden, the battlements, the medieval-style turrets and the polychrome stained glass windows, it remains one of the masterpieces of the European Belle Époque, capable of attracting some of the greatest exponents of nobility, politics and international trade of the time who went here for business meetings or leisure stays.

 Another dream residence of the Florio family is the one obtained from an ancient tuna fishery in the Arenella district and renamed Palazzina dei Quattro Pizzi, characterized by 4 corner turrets in neo-Gothic style, which once soared from the battlements with their pinnacles. The project to convert the tuna fishery into residential use was the work of Carlo Giachery who designed this for his family home large bright rooms with cross vaults and ceilings and walls decorated with splendid frescoes inspired by the Sala Ruggero of the Palazzo dei Normanni, so enchanting as to arouse the amazement even of Tsar Nicholas I, who after his visit to the Palazzina, he wanted to replicate one of the rooms of the towers inside the imperial palace in St. Petersburg, calling it the "Renella" room, in homage to the original of Arenella. 

 Equally worthy of amazement is Villa Igea, commissioned by Ignazio Florio, Paolo's brother, in the Acquasanta district and also born from the ingenuity of Ernesto Basile who built a sumptuous luxury hotel in a magnificent Art Nouveau style, with the external features of a castle. The uniqueness of this hotel has made it over time the choice of illustrious personalities from the world of culture, politics, sport and cinema. Gabriele D'Annunzio, Giacomo Puccini, the Royals of England, Tsar Nicholas II and Grace Kelly, among other well-known names, have stayed here.