Palazzo Lampedusa: the beloved family home of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa

Indigo Rooms is located at the first noble floor of the aristocratic Palazzo Lampedusa in Palermo, Sicily. The Palazzo, built by the Spanish in the 17th century, is located in the historical centre of city, in the Castellammare neighbours, and became the grand home of the family of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa in the 19th century.

Giuseppe Tomasi, duke of Palma and last prince of Lampedusa, was born in 1896 in the Palazzo and here wrote his world-famous novel “The Leopard” (il Gattopardo). When Palazzo Lampedusa was bombed in 1943, during the II World War, the portico terrace and the central part of the palazzo were almost destroyed. The trauma of this loss let Giuseppe Tomasi in melancholic memory of the vanished house for his entire life. In his book and diary “Memory of childhood” he evokes the beauty of his home which he referred to as “beloved missing”.

A new project: restoration and reconstruction of the Palazzo (2011-2015)

After the II World War, the Palazzo was but ruins. Only in 2010 a group of architects, proposed a project to restore the white palatial house and over 5 years of work the Palazzo was brought to its magnificent beauty of the baroque period with some modern insert, partially restored and partially rebuilt.

Finally today it’s home to family apartments and our beloved B&B and art residence. The Palazzo opens with a magnificent wide courtyard with columns, an exceptional open-air space that will welcome you, while the staircases are decorated with descriptions of the Palazzo, taken from the diaries of the writer who profoundly loved his “home”. The baroque white stone palatial building  is the perfect spot to begin the discovery of an ancient, elegant and precious Palermo.