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Garis, who lives between houses in Tangier and Venice, has returned to Sicily many times, discovering traces of Italian and French nobility. Recently, in the southeast, he found a villa designed by Jacques Garcia among the ruins of a former monastery in the UNESCO-protected Noto Valley. Now he has turned his curiosity and passion into his superbly researched new book, for which he explored all regions of Sicily, wandering in clustered hillside towns and finding interiors with a particular Sicilian alchemy: Byzantine mosaics meeting Moorish honeycomb arches, Spanish ornament erupting across baroque doorways — all of it saturated in the island's reflected light. Chandeliers of Murano glass cascade from grace, while Visconti's camera lingers on peeling gilt and on chandeliers heavy as constellations, Exploring Sicily: Follow in the Footsteps of Christopher Garis • In the eastern region near Catania, Caltagirone is not to be missed. It has centered around ceramic and majolica production for hundreds of years, and the Regional Museum of Ceramics is beautiful. On the road leading up to the central town are hundreds of small- and large-scale ceramics producers and important antiques dealers. For a project with ceramic tiles for a wainscot or decorative use, Caltagirone is essential. • Take a day trip to Scicli, Ragusa, Modica, Noto, Marzamemi, and up to Syracuse (Ortigia). These towns brim with restaurants, boutiques, and antique palazzos to visit. • In Noto, a favorite restaurant is the charming and rustic Casa Rossa — ask for the pane condito. For something more upscale, try Manna Noto with its lovely terrace, near the water, and Il Baglietto, which is close to the Tonnara di Vendicari. Don't Miss Palermo Palermo is a treasure chest of palaces, churches, chapels, and the finest Sicilian craftsmanship. Garis recommends: • Oratorio di Santa Cita • Museo delle Maioliche • Palazzo Valguarnera- Gangi (by appointment) • Villa Malfitano • Vi l l a C h i a r a m o n t e Bordonaro (for event rentals) • Villa Bordonaro ai Colli (for event rentals) • Villa Palagonia, Bagheria, near Palermo Where to Stay: Palazzo Castelluccio, Noto Opening in the center of the baroque town of Noto in 2027, Palazzo Castelluccio will offer a restaurant, gardens, terraces, a spa, and gym. London-based interior designers stuccoed ceilings. and marble in ochre, rose, b l a c k , a n d m o s s g r e e n c r e a t e floors that are geological poems. Visitors to Sicily can enter these worlds of splendor. Director Luchino Visconti depicts the experience perfectly in his film The Leopard, based on Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's novel that captured the soul of a fading aristocracy in Sicily. The Palazzo Valguarnera-Gangi in Palermo (which is included in Garis' book), with its Hall of Mirrors, was the mise en scène for the legendary ballroom and other moments in Visconti's production. In mesmerizing cinematography, golden afternoon haze illuminates salons through which actor Alain Delon moves with elegance and Clockwise from top: Palazzo Valguarnera-Gangi Hall of Mirrors featured in The Leopard. Villa Bordonaro ai Colli. Castello di Falconara. Palazzo Biscari. 42