The Fall of the Sicilian Lions

The final part of the Florio Family Saga follows the fate of the last “Sicilian lions”: Ignazio junior and his brother Vincenzo.
The year is 1891. After the premature death of his father, the young Ignazio takes the helm of the Casa Florio empire. Until then, the son of one of Italy’s wealthiest families had enjoyed the life of the golden youth, accustomed to squandering money, not growing it. He tries to live up to his duty, but he lacks much of his father's and grandfather's business acumen, foresight, and dedication.
The narrative focuses on Ignazio junior's relationship with his wife Franca, an emblematic figure of Palermo's high society against the Art Nouveau backdrop of the early 20th century. Franca's beauty, elegance, charm, and wit were admired by prominent statesmen and famous artists of the time, including Giacomo Puccini, Gabriele D'Annunzio, and Enrico Caruso. However, Donna Franca’s seemingly fairytale life is privately filled with tragic events, loss, disappointment, and ingratitude. Palermo itself also shows its ungrateful side to the Florios, the city that owes its development and glamour to them, to their courage and vision, to their patronage projects.
The Florios always broke new ground, hosted leading European figures, and literally opened Palermo up to the world. The uncrowned rulers of Sicily suffer an unstoppable fall from social grace, tragic family events, and difficult times – the First World War and, shortly after its end, the rise of the Fascists to power. But what remains forever is their indelible mark on the history of Sicily.

Published in a translation by Alice Flemrová.