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Three centuries of history
The area where the hotel rises, in 1712 was just a home to weeds. In spite of this, Giuseppe Alliata e Colonna, prince of Villafranca, decided that should be the place to create a garden of wonders, il Firriato, which in ancient Sicilian means "surrounded by walls".

Inside this park, which was as big as 130 football pitches, the prince's gardeners planted orange groves and flowerbeds, orchards and trees, and built springs, alleys, fountains and waterfalls, making this garden the most beautiful park in Sicily for more than 150 years. It was a place full of delight for the prince and its guests as there were two lakes for fishing, and deer, bucks and ostriches to hunt, but also two large stables with more than 100 horses which were used both by the prince's family and the royal postal service.