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Villa Igiea is a neogothic former residence, now a luxury hotel maintaining some of the
Official site
Rocco Forte hotels
Villa Igiea is a neogothic former residence, now a luxury hotel maintaining some of the art nouveau
Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...
(''Liberty'') refurbishment completed at the dawn of the 20th-century; the hotel sits on a high outcrop overlooking the sea at Porto dell'Acquasanta, located on Salita Belmonte #43 in the quartiere of Pellegrino of the city of Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...
, Siciy, Italy.
History and description
The structure was originally built in the late 19th-century as a castle-like villa built for the retired British admiral Cecil (or William) Domville, and purchased by the wealthy businessman Ignazio Florio junior, who planned to convert the site into a tuberculosissanatarium
A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...
. Their daughter had tuberculosis. This prompted the name change to Villa Igiea, to echo the name of Hygeia, a nymph from Greek mythology associated with health and hygiene. However, Florio was forced by investors to change plans, and commissioned a refurbishment from the architect Ernesto Basile
Ernesto Basile (31 January 1857 – 26 August 1932, in Palermo) was an Italian architect and an exponent of modernisme and Liberty style, the Italian variant of Art Nouveau. His style was known for its eclectic fusion of ancient, medieval and m ...
, in order to create a luxury hotel, inaugurated in 1900. The hotel still retains much of the floral decoration, including frescoes by Ettore De Maria Bergler
Ettore De Maria Bergler (1850–1938) was an Italian painter, known for his ''Stilo Liberty'' (Art Nouveau) painting, but also proficient in genre and landscapes.
Biography
He was born in Naples. He trained under Antonio Leto and Francesco Loja ...
and Giovanni Enea Giovanni may refer to:
* Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname
* Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data
* ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...
, and some of the decor by Vittorio Ducrot
Vittorio is an Italian male given name which has roots from the Byzantine-Bulgarian name Victor.
People with the given name Vittorio include:
* Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples, pretender to the former Kingdom of Italy
* Vittorio Adorni, pro ...
. The original dining salon of the hotel with Bergler frescoes is known as the ''Sala degli Specchi'' or ''Sala Basile''.
The property had fallen in decline by the second world war. It has only recently returned to function as a hotel.Rocco Forte hotels
References
{{Coord, 38.1453, 13.3701, display=title Buildings and structures in Palermo Art Nouveau architecture in Italy