Villa Malfitano Whitaker

Villa Malfitano Whitaker is a nineteenth century villa on Via Dante in the Politeama quarter of Palermo, Sicily, built between 1886 and 1889 to designs by architect Ignazio Greco for the Anglo Italian businessman Joseph Whitaker and his wife Tina, in a Neo Renaissance and eclectic style. Its roughly seven hectare garden, laid out by Emilio Kunzmann, contains rare plants brought from Tunisia, Sumatra, Australia and South America. During the Belle Epoque the villa hosted prominent social gatherings attended by figures including the composer Richard Wagner and members of European royal families, and its interiors carry frescoed reception rooms, Flemish tapestries depicting scenes from the Aeneid and period stuccowork. The villa now serves as the headquarters of the Whitaker Foundation and operates as a museum displaying the family's natural history, archaeological and art collections.