Villa Piccolo, the house of The Leopard
Three siblings who might have stepped out of a novel, a poet discovered by Montale because of a postage error, and a room where Tomasi di Lampedusa wrote looking at the island that would give his prince his name. Fifteen minutes from the centre.
A house that seems invented
On the hill of Calanovella, three kilometres from the corso, stands a villa where in the 1920s three siblings withdrew with their mother, Baroness Teresa Tasca Filangeri di Cutò, leaving behind the salons of Florio-era Palermo. Lucio, a poet and fine pianist who never performed in public, a reader of seven languages including Persian. Casimiro, painter and photographer, who painted watercolours of fairies and dabbled in spiritualism. Agata Giovanna, a botanist who filled the park with rare species. They lived there for decades, keeping up ties with European culture from a Sicilian headland.
The cousin who came to write
The Piccolos' mother was the sister of Beatrice, mother of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa: they were first cousins. After bombing destroyed his house in Palermo, Tomasi began spending long stretches here, and had a room of his own — still open to visitors. It was in those years, between 1954 and 1957, that he worked on The Leopard. Let's not overstate it: most of the novel was written in Palermo, between his home and a café table at the Bar Mazzara. But part of it was born here, and the villa holds unpublished letters of his.
The Prince of Salina, and the island you see from the villa
There's a coincidence visitors never notice, and here it's in plain sight. The novel's protagonist is Don Fabrizio, Prince of Salina. And Salina is the island on the horizon from Villa Piccolo, one of the seven Aeolians, the one with the archipelago's highest peak. The novel also mentions Naso and Ficarra, the villages just above. The landscape Tomasi looked at from the window found its way into the book. The island of Salina →
The unstamped letter
In 1954 Lucio Piccolo had 9 liriche printed at his own expense by a press in Sant'Agata di Militello and sent a copy to Eugenio Montale. He got the postage wrong: to collect a package bearing a 35-lire stamp, Montale paid 180 lire in surcharge. He opened it cursing, and was floored. He invited Piccolo to the literary convention at San Pellegrino Terme, where Ungaretti, Cecchi, Maria Bellonci and, among the younger writers, Italo Calvino had gathered. Piccolo went with his cousin. And it was there, according to the foundation that keeps the villa today, that the spark struck Tomasi. The covering letter to Montale, incidentally, had been written by Tomasi himself. The other illustrious visitors →
What you see today
The villa is a house-museum, run by the Fondazione Famiglia Piccolo di Calanovella. Inside: paintings, photographs, ceramics, Casimiro's watercolours of fairies, and the writer's room. Outside, the park with Agata Giovanna's rare plants, the wisteria pergola and the long bench they call «il pensatoio», the thinking place. And at the far end, Casimiro's dog cemetery: one of very few in the world, with real headstones.
Getting there, and when
It's a quarter of an hour by car from the centre of Capo d'Orlando, on the hill to the west. Opening hours change with the season and guided visits aren't always guaranteed: check before driving up, or ask us on WhatsApp. It's also the right place when the sea is rough and the hydrofoils to the Aeolians aren't sailing: it's indoors and doesn't depend on the weather. What to do when it rains →
For those who want to go further
Anyone who catches the bug can go on: at Ficarra, twenty minutes higher up, a statue shows Tomasi di Lampedusa seated beside Lucio Piccolo. And the publishing story is worth recalling: the manuscript was rejected by Elio Vittorini for Einaudi, passed through the hands of Elena Croce and then Giorgio Bassani, who got it published by Feltrinelli in 1958 — a year after the author's death in Rome on 26 July 1957. Luchino Visconti's film followed in 1963. Lucio Piccolo died here, in Capo d'Orlando, in 1969.
Frequently asked questions
Can you visit Villa Piccolo in Capo d'Orlando?
Yes: the villa is a house-museum with a park, run by the Fondazione Famiglia Piccolo di Calanovella, about fifteen minutes by car from the centre. Opening hours vary by season and are worth checking before visiting.
Did Tomasi di Lampedusa write The Leopard at Villa Piccolo?
He wrote part of it there. Tomasi often stayed with his Piccolo cousins, especially between 1954 and 1957, and had a room of his own in the villa, still open to visitors. Most of the novel, however, was written in Palermo, between his home and the Bar Mazzara.
Why is the prince in The Leopard called Salina?
Salina is one of the Aeolian Islands, visible on the horizon from Villa Piccolo. The novel also names villages near the villa, such as Naso and Ficarra: the landscape Tomasi observed from Capo d'Orlando made its way into the book.
What is there in the park of Villa Piccolo?
The rare plants collected by Agata Giovanna Piccolo, the wisteria pergola with the long bench known as «il pensatoio», and the dog cemetery created by Casimiro Piccolo, one of very few in the world.
Who were the Piccolo siblings?
Lucio, a poet discovered by Eugenio Montale; Casimiro, painter, photographer and student of spiritualism, who painted the watercolours of fairies; and Agata Giovanna, a botanist. They were first cousins of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa and withdrew to Capo d'Orlando in the 1920s.
Keep reading
Illustrious guests: who has passed through Capo d'Orlando
Not a list of celebrities spotted at the bar. Here, in a villa three kilometres from the corso, Tomasi di Lampedusa wrote part of The Leopard — and on these islands Rossellini, Troisi and Moretti all shot films.
«Sapore di sale» was written here
The definitive Italian summer song wasn't born on the Tuscan coast. It was written in Capo d'Orlando in 1963, during a month Gino Paoli hadn't planned to spend here — and which changed his mind about where he wanted to live.
Monte della Madonna: sanctuary, castle and lighthouse
The headland that gives the town its profile. Above, a sanctuary of 1600 built on the ruins of a castle; below, a lighthouse of 1904 flashing twice every twelve seconds. How to climb, what you see, and when to do it.
Related destinations: Capo d'Orlando, Salina.
Stay in Capo d'Orlando
A base in the centre — and everything else becomes a day trip.
The port for the Aeolians is 45 minutes away, the Nebrodi right behind. Breakfast served early for dawn departures.
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