Jacques Garcia

A SICILIAN DREAM: VILLA ELENA

JACQUES GARCIA, TEXT BY ALAIN STELLA, PHOTOGRAPHS 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 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, amboyant stuccowork, majolica tiles, damask silks, and velvets. Time stops in the elegant music room, decorated with embroidered silks and rococo-style mirrors that reect the decor to innity; the gilded dining room is hung with silk damask wall coverings and an eighteenth-century Murano chandelier and 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 inuences that converge in Sicily’s colorful history. The domain, dotted with ancient sculptures and reecting pools, is graced with splendid panoramic views revealing the sea near Syracuse, a distant folly, 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.

HOUSE & HOME

264 pages, 10½ x 13¾" 200 color illustrations Hardcover • 9782081513518 $85.00 USD, $115.00 CAD October 18, 2022 Rights: US/Can, Latin America

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