Ten years ago, Palermo wasn’t a tourist destination. It was a bunch of rubble…

A Kitchen and Castle Ruled by a Culinary Duchess

Sicily Cooking Class:

According to the Duchess of Palma, Nicoletta Polo Lanza Tomasi, polishing her nails is pretty far down the list of things to do. There is little idle time for this member of the royal family.

More to her liking, she spends time shoving rosemary-seasoned potatoes in the oven, brewing tea, and teaching cooking classes in a 16th century Sicilian palace in Palermo.

“Ten years ago, Palermo wasn’t a tourist destination. It was a bunch of rubble and no one would think to invest here. The historic centre still looked as if the Second World War had ended the previous day. It wasn’t a tourist destination; it was tough,” she says.

But the times, they are a-changing as more and more people discover the simple beauty, the food, and the inspiration found in this island off the boot of Italy.

As for the Duchess, she and her husband have restored the home from which author of The Leopard, Tomasi de Lampedusa wrote on of Sicily’s most defining novels. And the kitchen is alive with activity and the aroma of Sicilian cooking.

Is a Sicilian getaway in your future? Get the full story about cooking in Sicily here.