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. A compelling example of this can be found across two diverse and captivating Rocco Forte properties in western Sicily, where the surrounding territory, local culture, and visionary female leadership are inextricably linked. From the Verdura Resort’s wellness and design leadership to Villa Igiea’s Belle Époque hostess legacy and contemporary craft ventures, western Sicily reveals a surprisingly matriarchal society where women shape the standard for modern luxury.
Set along the Mediterranean shore near Agrigento, the Verdura Resort is redefining regional 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 America’s great coastal retreats—the property successfully balances grand openness with intimate spaces. Two championship golf courses designed by Kyle Phillips, which are favored by sports figures like Roger Federer and routinely host corporate retreats for major global companies including Google, complete a destination where architecture, landscape, and lifestyle seamlessly converge.
At the heart of the estate’s wellness ethos is Irene Forte, daughter of hotelier Rocco Forte and the brand’s wellness director. Her influence permeates the property, anchored by an award-winning spa offering treatments and products derived directly from the resort’s organic farm. This shapes a holistic wellness narrative that is as scientifically grounded as it is sensory. Demonstrating its commitment to the surrounding community, the 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. The village is home to several centenarians who remain remarkably active, navigating steep mountain roads and working well beyond standard 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, reflecting on her deep ties to Caltabellotta. "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 organic beauty products in her line utilize Sicilian botanicals, while her overarching wellness oversight guides spas and holistic programs across Rocco Forte properties worldwide.
Complementing this wellness direction at both Verdura and Villa Igiea is Olga Polizzi, sister of Rocco Forte, who serves as 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 frame sweeping views of the sea and the golf course.
Beyond the main guest rooms, twenty private Rocco Forte Villas are perched on the hillside, each featuring individual pools and landscaped gardens that extend this architectural language of privacy and refined minimalism. Polizzi co-designed them alongside ASA Studio Albanese and is currently spearheading a new phase of 47 larger off-plan homes designed to ensure absolute privacy, seamless integration with the landscape, and full access to the resort’s extensive facilities.
A short drive from Verdura, in the coastal town of Sciacca, this matriarchal thread continues through Laura Nocito Di Giovanna, a master goldsmith and coral sculptor who represents the fourth-generation heir to Nocito Gioielli. Founded in 1905 by her great-grandmother Concettina, the atelier blends antique Sicilian 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 esteemed Homo Faber Guide. She also manages the family’s dedicated atelier space, 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—defied social norms by opening a jewelry shop in the family palazzo. Despite her husband’s wishes that she cease working, she became a pioneering entrepreneur in the coral commerce. The business was subsequently inherited by her daughter Rosa and granddaughter Lina before temporarily closing its doors in 1975. In the late 1990s, Laura decided to revive the lineage by becoming a jeweler and coral sculptor, thereby restoring a female entrepreneurial tradition encompassing everything from polishing, designing, and hand-carving coral to preserving its rich historical narrative.
Just as her great-grandmother experienced 120 years prior, Laura encountered male resistance to her artistic vision when she first decided to enter the male-dominated field of coral sculpture in the late 1990s. Ultimately, however, her talent prevailed. The female tradition within her family has always extended far beyond mere craftsmanship; it encompasses the business acumen required for trading, buying, designing, marketing, and leadership. While Laura’s own children are still young, she is already fostering budding future artists within her laboratory.
Located approximately 90 miles north, perched high above the Gulf of Palermo, Villa Igiea functions less as a traditional hotel and more as a Belle Époque stage set reborn for contemporary luxury travelers. Originally a private residence, the property was transformed in 1900 by the wealthy Florio dynasty and renowned architect Ernesto Basile into a Liberty-style palace that quickly cemented its status as Sicily’s most glamorous retreat. During this golden age, the undisputed "lady of the house" at Villa Igiea was Donna Franca Florio.
The Florio family built one of Italy’s greatest fortunes between the mid-19th and early 20th centuries through vast commercial enterprises spanning shipping lines, Marsala wine production, tuna fisheries, sulfur mines, and financial ventures. They became premier patrons of architecture, theater, and the arts in Palermo. Upon acquiring the villa and transforming it into the Grand Hotel Villa Igiea, Franca emerged as its true leader and social architect. She meticulously designed the calendar of balls and salons, curated exclusive guest lists, and orchestrated the legendary evenings that turned the hotel into a magnet for European aristocracy, prominent politicians, and celebrated artists. Celebrated widely for her striking beauty, charisma, and cultural authority, she earned the moniker "Queen of Palermo." Today, the historic hotel honors her enduring legacy through a dedicated suite and the exclusive Palazzina Donna Franca.
Under the stewardship of Rocco Forte Hotels, the property underwent a sensitive 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 guest rooms and suites into a serene Sicilian oasis filled with classic antiques, sumptuous fabrics, and sea-inflected color palettes.
Public spaces pulse with layered history—ranging from Louis XVI dining rooms and sandstone terraces to metal pavilions modeled after Palazzo Butera—while maintaining an effortlessly current atmosphere. This balance is evident from the time-travel elegance of the Florio Restaurant to the Igiea Terrazza Bar, which gained international renown as a prominent landmark in the second season of The White Lotus. Verdant gardens sweep toward the Tyrrhenian Sea, framing yacht departures and sunset aperitivi in a rhythm that feels simultaneously aristocratic and deeply 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 fixtures.
Within the walls of Villa Igiea, this continuous matriarchal narrative is further reflected in 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 its core lies a matriarchal culture of women’s specialized knowledge, patience, and creative authorship, where every finished piece bears the distinct trace of the artisan who made it. MANIMA provides skilled, dignified employment opportunities for Sicilian women, including individuals from economically or personally fragile 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 embroidery into a powerful language of memory, identity, and cultural transmission, offering a vision of Sicilian talent that remains elegant, contemporary, and anchored in community. Collaborative projects with international partners—such as Japanese designer Kazumi Yoshida, Jaipur Rugs, and Ambra Durante—place Sicilian craftsmanship in direct dialogue with the global design community.
Also situated in Palermo is the Giardino Duca di Serradifalco, a historic romantic garden located in the heart of the city. Originally part of an aristocratic estate, the property was originally designed as a landscaped park featuring tree-lined pathways, artificial hills, grottoes, a labyrinth, allegorical statues, and small pavilions. Following decades of neglect and abandonment, the nearly two-hectare garden—rich in century-old trees such as magnolias and Livistona decora—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: Amalia and her cousin Giuseppe manage the property, curate its restoration, and coordinate cultural events and public programming, while Giuseppe’s sisters Federica and Roberta have invented Ficus, an unconventional artisanal ice cream formula served alongside alcoholic toppings. All four siblings were raised by mothers who successfully managed family properties while actively encouraging their daughters to embrace boldness and independence.
Throughout western Sicily, matriarchal leadership is not treated as an exception to the rule, but rather as the foundational operating system of its cultural and economic life. Through the work of leaders like Irene Forte and Olga Polizzi in hospitality, alongside local artisans and entrepreneurs translating female skill into enduring value, the region champions a form of luxury and refined taste that feels unmistakably Sicilian: deeply rooted, robust, and decisively guided by women.
