The “Belle Epoque” and the Florio Family
This tour is a travel though time: a journey back in the years of Palermo’s Belle Époque and its main characters, through a visit to the places where this historic period most transformed Palermo; an artistic and cultural ferment that placed this city at the very center of Europe. We will visit Villino Florio and the Villa of Quattro Pizzi, as well as the ancient streets of the city center, where the city’s Art Nouveau style is best expressed, staring with the majestic Massimo Theater, the most impressive of all the Art Nouveau monuments dating back to this amazing artistic and historical moment. Leaving Palermo, where the Florio family’s entrepreneurial history began, we are welcomed by the province of Trapani, where the family expanded their interests and made Sicily known to the world. On the Western side of the island we will visit the Florio Winery in Marsala, where the famous sweet wine is still produced; the Island of Favignana, where Vincenzo built a tuna fish canning factory adjacent to the “Tonnara”, the fishing plant, and put into production his innovative method of preserving tuna fish: for the first time the fish was preserved in tin cans, immersed in olive oil. Arriving on Favignana island we will not miss the beautiful Palazzo Florio, that stands out, built by the family to house friends and entrepreneurs representing the élite of their time.