Southern Italy, and especially Sicily, is frequently cast through the lens of a traditional patriarchal society, yet women have long been central to its historical fabric and are now leading its most dynamic contemporary enterprises. This dynamic is vividly illustrated across two diverse and captivating Rocco Forte properties in Western Sicily, where the surrounding territory and culture serve as an integral canvas. From Verdura Resort’s wellness and design leadership to Villa Igiea’s Belle Époque legacy and contemporary craft ventures, Western Sicily reveals a surprisingly matriarchal society where female leadership drives modern hospitality, art, and entrepreneurship.
On the stunning shore near Agrigento, Verdura Resort is redefining Mediterranean luxury through a design-led renovation that marries coastal modernism with deep local roots. Spanning a sprawling estate featuring two kilometers of private shoreline—a scale remarkably rare in densely built Italy, evoking comparisons to America’s great coastal retreats—the property successfully balances grand openness with intimate spaces. Two championship golf courses designed by Kyle Phillips, frequently favored by tennis legend Roger Federer and utilized for high-profile corporate retreats by global companies like Google, complete a destination where architecture, landscape, and lifestyle seamlessly converge.
Irene Forte, daughter of hotelier Rocco Forte and the brand’s global wellness director, permeates the identity of the property. Her signature spa, anchored by holistic treatments and botanical products derived directly from the resort’s organic farm, shapes a wellness narrative that is simultaneously scientific and deeply sensory. Demonstrating its commitment to the surrounding community, Verdura Resort recently founded a blue zone research project for the nearby historic village of Caltabellotta, which is dramatically perched atop a high mountain just behind the resort. Several centenarians reside there, navigating the village’s steep ancient roads and actively working well past traditional retirement age. Among them is the accomplished sculptor Salvatore Rizzuti, whose works recurrently explore themes of motherhood, pregnancy, and birth.
"I’ve been visiting this town for over a decade," says Irene Forte. "I love it so much that I chose to get married here, and I’m proud to be an honorary citizen. To now see it recognized through such rigorous science is deeply moving. It confirms what we’ve always felt in our bones—this place has something special and is one of the reasons why Irene Forte Skincare is deeply rooted in Sicily." The beauty products in her line proudly utilize Sicilian botanicals, while she continues to oversee the brand’s spas and holistic programs across all Rocco Forte properties.
At both Verdura and Villa Igiea, the other major pillar of this female leadership is Olga Polizzi, sister of Rocco Forte, Deputy Chairman, and Director of Design for Rocco Forte Hotels. At Verdura, she originally oversaw the resort’s initial development and has since guided successive chapters of its design evolution. A recent renovation of 58 guest rooms, developed in collaboration with Studio Moschino, utilizes natural stone, warm woods, linen, rattan, and bespoke ceramics to perfectly frame panoramic sea and golf-course views. Beyond the guest rooms, the resort’s twenty private Rocco Forte Villas, perched gracefully on the hillside with individual pools and meticulously landscaped gardens, extend this architectural language of privacy and refined minimalism. Polizzi co-designed them with ASA Studio Albanese and is currently spearheading a new phase of 47 larger off-plan homes, ensuring absolute privacy, seamless integration with the landscape, and exclusive access to the resort’s extensive facilities.
A short drive from Verdura, in the coastal town of Sciacca, the matriarchal thread continues with Laura Nocito Di Giovanna, a master goldsmith and coral sculptor who serves as the fourth-generation heir to Nocito Gioielli, a landmark firm founded in 1905 by her great-grandmother, Concettina. Nocito expertly blends antique Sicilian goldsmithing techniques with contemporary design, working exclusively with rare, environmentally sustainable subfossil Sciacca coral, gold, and fine gemstones. In recognition of her exceptional craftsmanship, she received the title of Maestro d’Arte e Mestiere d’Italia from Fondazione Cologni in 2024 and was selected for the Michelangelo Foundation’s prestigious Homo Faber Guide. She also manages the family atelier, known as the Museo Nocito del Corallo.
"Working coral is like a dance between you and nature," Laura explains. "Your hands want to sculpt something, but the coral will lead you to what can really be done. Each piece hides a surprise about colour, texture and strength. You can’t force your vision."
When the coral-rich waters off the coast of Sciacca became one of the world’s largest coral-fishing areas between 1875 and 1914, Concettina Venezia—married to the nobleman Giuseppe Nocito—opened a jewelry shop inside the family palazzo. She successfully established herself as an entrepreneur in the coral trade, defying her husband’s wishes that she cease working. The business was subsequently inherited by her daughter Rosa and granddaughter Lina before temporarily closing its doors in 1975. In the late 1990s, Laura made the bold decision to become a jeweler and eventual coral sculptor, single-handedly restoring a female entrepreneurial tradition that encompasses working, polishing, designing, carving, and preserving the rich historical legacy of the material. Just as her great-grandmother experienced 120 years prior, Laura encountered considerable male resistance to her vision when she entered the field, but her undeniable talent ultimately prevailed. While Laura’s own children are still young, budding future artists are already finding inspiration and training within her laboratory.
Just 90 miles north, perched high above the shimmering Gulf of Palermo, Villa Igiea operates less like a traditional hotel and more like a Belle Époque stage set reborn for contemporary luxury. Originally constructed as a private villa, it was transformed in 1900 by the influential Florio dynasty and master architect Ernesto Basile into a Liberty-style palace that quickly established itself as Sicily’s most glamorous social retreat. During the height of the Belle Époque, the "lady of the house" at Villa Igiea was Donna Franca Florio. The Florio family had built one of the greatest fortunes in Italy between the mid-19th and early 20th centuries through expansive ventures in shipping lines, Marsala wine production, tuna fisheries, sulfur mines, and various financial enterprises, positioning themselves as major patrons of architecture, theater, and the arts in Palermo.
When the Florios acquired the villa and turned it into the Grand Hotel Villa Igiea, Franca emerged as its true leader and social architect. She meticulously designed the intricate program of balls and salons, curated exclusive guest lists, and staged legendary evenings that transformed the property into a powerful magnet for European aristocracy, politicians, and prominent artists. Celebrated widely for her striking beauty, personal charisma, and cultural authority, she was affectionately nicknamed the "Queen of Palermo." Today, the historic hotel honors her enduring legacy through a dedicated suite and the Palazzina Donna Franca.
Under the stewardship of Rocco Forte Hotels, the property underwent a comprehensive structural restoration. Olga Polizzi’s design direction, executed in partnership with Paolo Moschino and Philip Vergeylen of Nicholas Haslam Ltd., successfully restored Basile’s frescoed salon, the mirrored ballroom, and vaulted bars, while reimagining 100 rooms and suites as a tranquil Sicilian oasis defined by classic antiques, sumptuous fabrics, and serene sea-inflected color palettes. Public spaces continue to pulse with layered history—spanning Louis XVI dining rooms, sandstone terraces, and metal pavilions modeled after the historic Palazzo Butera—while maintaining an effortlessly current atmosphere. This is particularly evident at the Florio Restaurant, which offers time-travel elegance, and the Igiea Terrazza Bar, which has recently gained international renown as a prominent landmark from season two of The White Lotus.
The surrounding gardens sweep gracefully toward the Tyrrhenian Sea, framing yacht departures and sunset aperitivi in a rhythm that feels both aristocratic and relaxed. Guest suites pair soaring ceilings and period stucco work with tailored contemporary pieces, including linen sofas, walnut consoles, hand-painted tiles, and bespoke lighting. The art collection spans vintage Sicilian prints alongside striking abstract canvases, while deep-toned velvets and marble baths anchor a refined, residential aesthetic. Polizzi’s interior vision relies heavily on light, color palettes drawn directly from the surrounding sea and stone, and locally sourced furnishings to ensure the spaces remain deeply rooted in Sicily yet resolutely modern.
Inside Villa Igiea, this rich matriarchal narrative extends into a boutique dedicated to MANIMA, a Palermo-based luxury house that presents traditional Sicilian hand embroidery as a living, contemporary heritage rather than mere nostalgia. At the heart of the brand is a matriarchal culture rooted in women’s specialized knowledge, patience, and authorship, with every piece bearing the subtle trace of the artisan who crafted it. MANIMA generates skilled, dignified employment opportunities for Sicilian women, including individuals from fragile economic or personal backgrounds, allowing them to work either within the central Palermo atelier or remotely.
Founded by Carolina Guthmann and her husband Piero Di Pasquale, the house connects Sicily’s layered cultural heritage with refined design, natural materials, and international relevance. Its textile objects transform traditional embroidery into an eloquent language of memory, identity, and cultural transmission, offering a vision of Sicilian talent that is elegant, contemporary, and anchored in community. Furthermore, high-profile collaborations with international partners such as Japanese designer Kazumi Yoshida, Jaipur Rugs, and Ambra Durante place Sicilian craftsmanship in an ongoing dialogue with global design movements.
Also located in Palermo, the Giardino Duca di Serradifalco serves as a historic romantic garden in the very heart of the city. Originally established as part of an aristocrat’s private estate, the park was designed with tree-lined pathways, artificial hills, grottoes, a labyrinth, allegorical statues, and small pavilions. Following decades of eventual abandonment, the nearly two-hectare garden—rich with century-old magnolias and Livistona decora trees—now functions as a vibrant cultural venue and event space in central Palermo. The revitalization project is led by the younger generation of the Licata di Baucina family, with Amalia and her cousin Giuseppe managing the property, curating restorations, and coordinating public programming. Meanwhile, Giuseppe’s sisters, Federica and Roberta, have invented Ficus, an innovative and unconventional ice cream formula served creatively with alcoholic toppings. All four family members were raised by mothers who successfully managed family enterprises while encouraging their daughters to be bold and adventurous.
Across Western Sicily, matriarchy operates not as a societal exception, but as a foundational operating system. Leaders like Irene Forte and Olga Polizzi have successfully built a hospitality model where wellness, design, and physical place remain inseparable, while local artisans and entrepreneurs continually transform traditional female skills into enduring cultural and economic value. The resulting expression of luxury and taste feels distinctly Sicilian: deeply rooted, robust, and decisively led by women.
