Overview
In the footsteps of The Leopard
The top floor of Palazzo Lanza Tomasi di Lampedusa, a 17th-century patrician building on the Mura delle Cattive in Palermo, is home to the Butera 28 Apartments. Recently renovated and opened to the public, the accommodation is part of the building that was the last home of Prince Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa: the author of The Leopard lived there until his death in 1957.
Decades later, the writer's adopted son, musicologist Gioacchino Lanza Tomasi, and his wife Nicoletta lovingly restored it to its former glory, making a series of living quarters available to the public.
Each is furnished with antiques and has a fully equipped kitchen, Wi-Fi, air conditioning, central heating, washing machine and TV. Some have balconies or terraces with splendid sea views. The proximity to the historical centre in which the building is fully inserted makes the structure an ideal foothold for discovering the wonders of the city.
Not to be missed, of course, is a visit of the palace with the writer's historical library, the ballroom, where all his manuscripts are displayed, the ancestors' room with numerous portraits, and the Map of the Mediterranean room, with its valuable collection of 19th century British nautical maps.
