From an iconic Baroque square in Palermo to a lavish palazzo in Catania, here are the real-life backdrops of The Leopard.
The Leopard, a new series on streaming platform Netflix, is entrancing viewers with its sultry scenes of political and personal upheaval in 1860s Sicily.
But alongside the swoon-worthy storylines, it’s the sumptuous settings that are dazzling fans. If there was ever an onscreen drama readymade for set-jetting, it’s this one.
From an iconic Baroque square in Palermo to a lavish palazzo in Siracuse, here’s where to find the real-life backdrops of The Leopard.
The Leopard filming locations: Palermo’s sculpture-rich squares
The series – adapted from the Italian novel Il Gattopardo by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa – takes place as the revolutionary Garibaldi seizes Sicily during his efforts to unify Italy.
Throughout the episodes, we see the city of Palermo preparing for and living through the Redshirt army’s invasion.
The Sicilian capital is a confection of curvaceous Baroque architecture – the ideal theatrical and sensual scenery for the show.
Locations include the Quattro Canti, a crossroads with four curved facades adorned with statues and coats of arms, and Piazza Pretoria with its grandiose, sculpture-crammed fountain.
A noble pad on the edge of Palermo
The titular Leopard is Don Fabrizio, the Prince of Salina, whose time-honoured privileges and influence are existentially threatened by the new regime.
His urban pad, Salina Palace, is the real-life Villa Valguarnera in Bagheria, just outside Palermo.
The noble summer retreat and vast estate were designed in the 18th century, with a sweeping oval front court and Pompeian-style frescoed interiors.
For full-immersion set-jetting, you can rent out the family home, currently presided over by Princess Vittoria Alliata who translated the Lord of the Rings into Italian at 16 years old.
You and five other guests can spread out in 700 square metres of bedrooms, dining rooms, drawing rooms and a ballroom, plus 1,300 square metres of sunny-tiled terrace.
If that’s a little out of budget, visit Palazzo Comitini in the centre of Palermo instead. Now open to the public, it was built in the 18th century for Michele Gravina Cruillas, prince of Comitini.
The principal public room, the Sala Martorana, is crowned by the splendid ‘Triumph of Love’ fresco of Gioacchino Martorana. Beneath the lavish ceiling, the Salina family dines in the Netflix series.
Sicily’s desert and the centre of Siracuse
The family’s country escape is the fictional Donnafugata deep in rural Sicily. For the natural setting, the series uses the Calanchi del Cannizzola.
This area of wild, sun-scorched Sicily near Catania is known as the island’s desert. From the yellow grassy plains, dry ridged hillocks rise up forming a surreal, striking landscape.
The scenes in the town centre of Donnafugata were filmed in Ortigia, an island just off mainland Siracuse and considered the city’s historic quarter.
Accessible by two bridges, it has an area of just one square kilometre but is rich with 17th, 18th and 19th-century buildings.
The Palazzo Beneventano Del Bosco in Ortigia’s main square is a creamy, Baroque delight which stands in for the exterior of the Salina palace of Donnafugata.
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