SUMMER READING: Long before “The White Lotus” hit television screens, the San Domenico Palace, the Four Seasons Hotel in Taormina, Sicily, was well known for the literary icons who stayed within its walls. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Oscar Wilde, D.H. Lawrence, Truman Capote, John Steinbeck and Vladimir Nabokov were among the names drawn to its panoramic views. It is also said that Lawrence found inspiration for “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” during his stay in the 1920s.
Built as a 14th-century convent, the hotel said Tuesday that it is translating its literary legacy into a guest experience. In an effort to highlight the property’s rich history beyond its connection to the HBO series, the hotel has introduced what it calls a Summer Book Club, inspired by the literary legends who have passed through its doors.
San Domenico Palace, the Four Seasons Hotel in Taormina, Sicily.
Courtesy of the Four Seasons
Unlike traditional book clubs, where members read and discuss books collectively, guests are simply privy to a curated list of titles, much like those of singer Dua Lipa’s Service95 Book Club, which features monthly recommended reads.
Among those featured by the San Domenico Palace are “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Wilde; “Italian Journey” by von Goethe; “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” by Capote; “The Professor and the Siren” by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, and “The Cloven Viscount” by Italo Calvino — the latter personally chosen by Imelda Shllaku, the hotel’s general manager. Alongside the great classics, contemporary voices include “Perfection” by Vincenzo Latronico; “Bel Canto” by Ann Patchett; “The Talented Mr. Ripley” by Patricia Highsmith, and “White Noise” by Don DeLillo.
For the season, a list of books have been placed in every room and, upon selection, each book can be borrowed from the front desk, complete with a tote bag and bookmark specially designed for the club.
“The idea came naturally, this hotel has been a literary address for over a century, and we wanted guests to feel that, not just hear about it. The Summer Book Club is our way of making that history part of the stay itself,” Shllaku said in a statement. The San Domenico Palace has also been a draw for the film industry. In addition to ‘The White Lotus,” scenes from 1960s Italian drama “L’Avventura” (Italian for The Adventure) directed by Michelangelo Antonioni and the iconic 1988 Luc Besson film “Le Grand Bleu,” French for “The Big Blue,” have been filmed on its premises.
