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Venice: A Private Invitation
JACQUES GARCIA
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A SICILIAN DREAM: VILLA ELENA
Jacques Garcia Text by Alain Stella Photography by Bruno Ehrs
On the outskirts of the spectacular Baroque town of Noto, Sicily, Jacques Garcia has transformed an ancient monastery into an abode of earthly bliss.
Celebrated interior designer Jacques Garcia invites readers inside his private residence in Sicily for the fi rst time. The former monastery, rebuilt in Noto’s characteristic golden limestone, boasts spectacular salons that have been restored with a profusion of noble materials and techniques: colored marbles, fl amboyant stucco work, majolica tiles, damask silks, and velvets. Time stops in the elegant music room decorated with embroidered silks and rococo-style mirrors that refl ect the decor to infi nity; the gilded dining room is hung with silk damask wall coverings, an eighteenth-century Murano chandelier, and is furnished with Chantilly porcelain and antique Italian rococo chairs. The grand marble salon features baroque paintings and a stunning collection of sculpture and Sicilian furniture. The exquisite villa—surrounded by shaded terraces planted with towering cacti and succulents—attests to Garcia’s love of ancient civilizations, and his masterful blending of Arabian, Norman, Renaissance, and Baroque infl uences that converge in Sicily’s colorful history. The domain, dotted with ancient sculptures and refl ecting pools, is graced with splendid panoramic views revealing the sea near Syracuse, a restored villa nestled in an ancient olive grove, and the decaying grandeur of a classical temple reconstructed with ancient fragments.
Alain Stella has written numerous books including Jacques Garcia: Twenty Years of Passion, Château du Champ de Bataille, Historic Houses of Paris, and French Wine Châteaux: Distinctive Vintages and Their Estates. Bruno Ehrs is an award-winning Swedish photographer whose work has been published in Vaux-le-Vicomte: A Private Invitation, Château de Villette, Villa Balbiano, A Day at Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, and Chaumet: Parisian Jeweler since 1780.
Interiors HC w/jacket 264 pages 200 color illustrations 10½ × 13¾ in. (26.5 × 35 cm) ISBN: 978-2-08-151351-8 US $85 / Can. $115 / £65 / 75 € Publication: October 2022
