Tracing the Belle Époque from Rome to Palermo

In a time when beauty shaped every facet of life — from the curve of a staircase to the vivid bloom of a painted iris — Italy’s Stile Liberty captured the optimism of a new century. Across Europe in the late 19th century, the Belle Époque blurred the line between art and the everyday, celebrating craftsmanship, elegance, and expressive freedom. Now, a new cultural itinerary, From Mucha to Florio, traces that movement between Hotel de la Ville in Rome and Villa Igiea in Palermo, two different cities, two glorious expressions of the same artistic impulse. 

Long before the Belle Époque shimmered into life, Rome and Palermo drew travellers in search of enlightenment. Aristocrats on the Grand Tour lingered in Rome’s grand houses, studying Caravaggio and Michelangelo by day and dining beneath candlelit frescoes by night; others ventured south to Sicily, where ancient temples and baroque palaces offered a different perspective. By the turn of the twentieth century, that intellectual pilgrimage had softened into the pleasure-seeking spirit of the Belle Époque — an age when art left its museums and spilled into architecture, salons and society itself.

In Rome, Stile Liberty found a playful, sometimes eccentric expression, threading itself through the city’s classical fabric rather than displacing it. A walking tour, created in partnership with The Maptique, is the best way to appreciate its subtlety. Your morning begins at the gilded Galleria Sciarra, whose frescoes celebrate civic virtue and the modern woman; then on to the whimsical Casina delle Civette; and the fantastical Quartiere Coppedè, where arches, intricate ironwork and mosaics turn the streets into theatre. Further wonders await those who wish to look closer, from the floral façades of Villino Cagiati to the architectural gem of Villino Ximenes, the studio-home of sculptor Ettore Ximenes.

In the afternoon, at Palazzo Bonaparte, the highly anticipated Alphonse Mucha exhibition gathers the era’s lyricism and undulating curves into a single, luminous encounter — a rare opportunity to see seminal works by the artist whose visual language shaped Art Nouveau across Europe.

Later, back at Cielo, sip a From Rome to Palermo cocktail — part of a new menu created in honour of the Liberty movement — taking a gentle cue from its title on what, and indeed where, comes next on your journey of discovery.

Head south to Palermo, where Stile Liberty flourished with unrestrained confidence. At the dawn of the twentieth century, cities beyond the capital embraced Art Nouveau to assert a modern identity of their own, and Palermo led the charge. Under architect Ernesto Basile and with the patronage of the Florio family, the movement took on a distinctly Sicilian character shaped by society, industry and the sea. 

A curated tour, developed in collaboration with Essence of Sicily, traces this world: Villino Florio, the family’s own residence in the city; Villa Malfitano, a key gathering place within the same Belle Époque circle; Teatro Massimo, designed by Basile’s father and completed by Basile himself with support from Palermo’s leading patrons, including the Florios; and Villino Quattro Pizzi, poised at the water’s edge as part of the city’s coastal expansion.

The experience comes into full focus at Villa Igiea, commissioned by the Florio family and redesigned by Basile. At its centre is the Sala Basile (or Sala degli Specchi), where in Ettore De Maria Bergler’s frescoes, figures and flowers appear almost to drift into one another. The room’s carved woodwork follows the same fluid line, its arches and frames curving like stems and branches, giving the sense that architecture and art are growing from the same root. Here, guests are invited to enjoy a special afternoon tea, surrounded by the same Belle Époque world that once gathered in this picturesque salon. For a deeper immersion, consider staying in the elegant Donna Franca Suite, named after Palermo’s Queen of Belle Epoque. 

To explore the Belle Époque world woven between Rome and Palermo, this privately arranged itinerary is available through the concierge teams at Hotel de la Ville and Villa Igiea.