Villa Igiea, A Rocco Forte Hotel
The Florio family turned this seafront house above the Gulf of Palermo into a hotel in 1900 and had Ernesto Basile design the interiors, with murals by Ettore De Maria Bergler.
Villa Igiea, A Rocco Forte Hotel is a hotel destination wedding venue in Palermo, Italy, hosting 40 to 270 guests in the $$$$ price range, reached from Palermo Falcone Borsellino (PMO), About 40 minutes by car. Best months: April, June, July, August.
About Villa Igiea, A Rocco Forte Hotel
The Florio family turned this seafront house above the Gulf of Palermo into a hotel in 1900 and had Ernesto Basile design the interiors, with murals by Ettore De Maria Bergler.
Rocco Forte reopened it in 2021 after a restoration that put the Sicilian Art Nouveau rooms back rather than around them.
For a wedding it is the most useful property in Sicily, because it publishes its capacities and they are large: the Belle Époque Ballroom seats 180 with direct access to the English garden, Sala Basile seats 120 under Basile’s own decoration, the Terrazza Mare takes 180 standing above the gulf, and the Salone Belmonte a short walk from the main house seats 270.
The garden runs down to a marina and a folly built to look like a Greek ruin.
Ask about a date.
Choose a day from the calendar.
Nothing is reserved until the venue confirms. A first note comes back within two business days.
We just came back from a lovely 5 day stay at Villa Igiea. The service has been thoughtful and thorough throughout. For example, Housekeeping saw that I left my glasses in the bathroom and protected them with a microfiber cleaning cloth.
Eileen Wang · read the whole review on Google →Capacity, rooms and facilities
Capacity
- Seated dinner
- 300 guests
- Standing reception
- 400 guests
Staying over
- Rooms
- 100 rooms
- Room types
- 25 listed
The ceremony
- Outdoor ceremony
- Yes
Money
- Price
- €250 to €600 per headAisle estimate
Getting there
- Nearest airport
- PMO, 30 min by car
- Parking
- Yes
The spaces
- Event spaces
- Banquet room
- Indoors or out
- Both
- Setting
- Coastal, historic, elegant
Food and drink
- In-house catering
- Yes
Venue highlights
- Belle Époque Ballroom seats 180, opening onto the English garden
- Sala Basile seats 120 under Ernesto Basile’s Art Nouveau interiors
- Terrazza Mare takes 180 standing above the Gulf of Palermo
- Salone Belmonte seats 270, the largest room in this collection
The wedding season
A sample wedding weekend
See the day-by-day outline+
Use this as a starting point and adapt it to your bookings and guests.
- 19:00Drinks on the Terrazza Mare above the gulf
- 10:00Guided morning in Palermo: the markets and Monreale
- 18:00Ceremony in the English garden by the folly
- 19:30Aperitivo on the terrace as the sun goes down
- 21:00Dinner in the Belle Époque Ballroom, dancing after
- 11:30Breakfast by the sea pool before transfers
Costs and booking details
- Getting there
- PMO · about 30 min by carVenue website
Guests fly into Palermo Falcone Borsellino.
- Typical total
- €100,000–200,000Aisle estimate
See the full figure+
€100,000 to €200,000 for 100 guests (estimated)
- Ceremony fee
- On request
See the full figure+
By proposal; Rocco Forte publishes no venue-hire figure
- Reception
- €160–300 a headAisle estimate
See the full figure+
€160 to €300 a head for dinner and bar (estimated)
- Room rate
- From €450 a nightAisle estimate
See the full figure+
Rooms from roughly €450 a night in season (estimated)
- Weather window
- June – August
The months the weather is kindest, with April mild too. Weather does not indicate whether a date is available.
- Direct line
- 091 631 2111
Answered by the venue in local hours.
The room capacities are Rocco Forte’s own published floor-plan figures. Prices are not published for this hotel: the cost figures here are our estimates from the property tier and from planner-reported Sicilian budgets.
Questions about the venue
How many guests can Villa Igiea seat?+
The hotel publishes room-by-room figures: Salone Belmonte 270 seated, Belle Époque Ballroom 180 seated, Sala Basile 120 seated, and the Terrazza Mare 180 standing. That makes it the largest seated capacity in this collection.
Which room should a wedding dinner use?+
The Belle Époque Ballroom is the usual choice at 180 seated, because it opens straight onto the English garden so drinks and dinner flow together. Sala Basile is the smaller and more decorated room at 120, and Salone Belmonte handles anything larger.
Is there a sea view?+
Yes. The Terrazza Mare looks straight over the Gulf of Palermo and holds 180 standing, and the gardens step down past a folly built as a Greek ruin to the hotel marina. The sea is for looking at rather than swimming in here.
How far is the airport?+
Palermo Falcone Borsellino is about 35 km west, roughly 40 minutes by road, and has direct summer flights from across Europe. The hotel sits on the northern edge of the city at Acquasanta, away from the old centre.
What does a wedding here cost?+
Rocco Forte quotes by proposal. Sicilian planners put a hundred-guest celebration at this tier around €100,000 to €200,000 all in, and Palermo generally runs below Taormina and well below the Amalfi Coast for the same guest count.
Is Palermo a good base for guests?+
It is a real city with markets, Norman churches and mosaics at Monreale, so guests have plenty to do beyond the wedding. It is also busy and hot in August, and transfers within the city take longer than the map suggests.
Could this be your venue?
Ask about your plans, pricing and availability. You do not need a fixed date yet.
Still deciding? Elena is Aisle’s AI wedding planner. Give her a month and a guest count and she will forecast the budget, work out how your guests would travel, and put a first plan on paper. No account needed.
Other wedding venues
- Villa Ikebana RicevimentiBolognetta, SiciliaAlso in Italy
- Villa Il CerretinoPoggio a Caiano, ToscanaAlso in Italy
- Villa Il GranducaCarmignano, ToscanaAlso in Italy
- Villa Il PalagioRignano sull'Arno, ToscanaAlso in Italy
- Villa il Pozzo | Weddings/Events & SuitesCertaldo, ToscanaAlso in Italy
- Villa il Pozzo - Wine & Oil tastingCertaldo, ToscanaAlso in Italy
- Villa Il SognoRoma, LazioAlso in Italy
- Villa Ivana - CortonaCortona, ToscanaAnother hotel
Weighing Villa Igiea, A Rocco Forte Hotel against the field?
Answer four questions, budget, season, guest count, feel, and a shortlist of comparable houses comes back in about a minute. No sign-up needed.
Sources and booking notes
Confirm your dates, guest numbers, room arrangements and inclusions with the venue before booking. An enquiry does not reserve a date. Figures labelled Aisle estimate are modelled from regional rates and public sources; they are not venue quotes.
Sources for individual venue facts
Seated dinner: 300 guests
“#### Seated capacity up to 300 guests & Standing capacity up to 200 guests”
Read the source for seated dinnerStanding reception: 400 guests
“#### Standing cocktail reception up to 400 adults”
Read the source for standing receptionRooms: 100 rooms
“#### 100 Rooms & Suites”
Read the source for roomsRoom types: 25 listed
“Suite”
Read the source for room typesOutdoor ceremony: Yes
“Possibility to host your reception outdoors or in indoor spaces”
Read the source for outdoor ceremonyIn-house catering: Yes
“SECOND COURSE Fish of the day with creamed potatoes, olive oil and seasonal vegetables WEDDING CAKE Selected wines from our Sommelier 23 ALTERNATIVE DISHES STARTERS Tuna, rocket and ricotta tartare Creamed fava bean ‘Macco’ with shrimps Red prawn tartare with ricotta cheese and artichokes Beef and Sicilian truffle tartare, mustard sauce, mixed salad Cuttlefish with avocado and bottarga Lentils with shrimp and coriander Layered red prawns, mozzarella and artichokes Seared scallops with Jerusalem artichoke cream and seasonal truffle Roast beef with tonnato sauce Warm seafood salad FIRST COURSES”
Read the source for in-house cateringNearest airport: PMO, 30 min by car
“PMO”
Read the source for nearest airportParking: Yes
“Valet parking”
Read the source for parkingEvent spaces: Banquet room
“Meeting/banquet facilities”
Read the source for event spacesIndoors or out: Both
“Possibility to host your reception outdoors or in indoor spaces”
Read the source for indoors or outSetting: Coastal, historic, elegant
“Discover history, majesty and serenity at Villa Igiea: a turn-of-the-century palazzo at the perimeter of vivid Palermo, the foot of Mount Pellegrino and the Gulf of Palermo.”
Read the source for setting