Travelers and Travel: Hospitality in Sicily
Starting in the eighteenth century, Sicily began to exert its charm over the most sensitive spirits of Europe, becoming an almost mandatory destination of the Grand Tour. Hospitality is an innate feeling in Sicilians, as testified by illustrious travelers such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who was in Palermo in 1887 and, in his Italian Journey, described Sicilian hospitality as a gesture rich in authenticity and warmth. For Goethe, Sicilian hospitality represented an expression of the island's rich culture, an experience that went beyond simple hosting to touch the soul.
Richard Wagner spent nearly six months in Sicily in 1882 for health reasons; in Palermo, he first lived at the Hotel des Palmes and later in a private villa. Guy de Maupassant visited Palermo in 1883 and painted it as a singular and cheerful city. Wilde stayed at the Hotel Centrale in 1900. Virginia Woolf and her husband Leonard arrived in Palermo on April 9, 1927, after a long train journey from Rome, and stayed at the Hotel de France.
Today, hospitality offers many valid alternatives: Palermo confirms its position as a capital of welcome, also in terms of the availability of private accommodations. In addition to traditional hotels, it is possible to stay in holiday homes and B&Bs in the historic center.
