Originally built to be a private villa, the influential Florio family commissioned Italian Art Nouveau architect Ernesto Basile to restore the property and turn it into a luxury hotel. Once considered
the most famous retreat in Sicily, Villa Igiea has been a symbol of elegance and hospitality that has seen artists, Hollywood elite, and royalty pass through its doors. Constructed in 1900 at the height of the Belle Époque, a period of economic prosperity dating from the end of the Franco-Prussian War to the start of World War I, the hotel is reminiscent of a magnificent castle overlooking the sea. Now the hotel receives a meticulous restoration preserving its exquisite historical features
