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San Domenico Palace, Taormina, A Four Seasons Hotel
Taormina, Italy · Four Seasons · Apex Luxury
San Domenico Palace stands on the site of a Dominican convent founded in 1374, expanded in 1896 with a Liberty-style wing that transformed it into one of Europe's first grand hotels. Guests over the decades included Oscar Wilde and Audrey Hepburn. Architect Valentina Pisani guided a restoration before the property reopened as a Four Seasons hotel in 2021. HBO filmed Season 2 of The White Lotus here in 2022, using the cloister and cliff-edge pool. Its Principe Cerami restaurant holds a Michelin star, with an infinity pool overlooking the Greek theatre and Mount Etna.
- 111 rooms
- Opened 1896
- Neighborhood: Mazzeo
- Rooms from 290 sq ft (27 m²)
- Architect: Studio Pisani Morace (Valentina Pisani)
- Interiors: Rosaria Catania
About San Domenico Palace, Taormina, A Four Seasons Hotel
- Oscar Wilde and Audrey Hepburn were among the luminaries who stayed during its independent heyday.
- Reopened as a Four Seasons in 2021 after meticulous restoration of the convent chapel, cloister, and frescoes.
- Principe Cerami restaurant holds one Michelin star under chef Massimo Mantarro.
- The infinity pool overlooks both Taormina's ancient Greek theatre and Mount Etna simultaneously.
- HBO filmed Season 2 of The White Lotus here in 2022; the former Dominican convent stood in as the White Lotus Sicily, the season's primary stay-hotel.
History
Dominicans had been in Taormina since 1374 when, in 1430, they inherited the clifftop residence of Catania aristocrat Damiano Rosso di Altavilla and turned one of the town's oldest houses into a convent that later held as many as forty monks. German photographer Wilhelm von Gloeden used the cloister in the 1880s and 1890s for the male nudes that helped make Taormina a European destination. After the suppression of religious orders, Rosso's descendants produced the founder's will showing the house had been lent, not given, and the last monk, Vincenzo Bottari Cacciola, remained in his cell until death.
Prince Cerami opened the San Domenico as a hotel in 1896, converting cells into terrace rooms and adding a Liberty-style wing that is now the Grand Hotel block. Grand Tour guests included Oscar Wilde, Guy de Maupassant, D. H. Lawrence, Wagner, Edward VII, and Kaiser Wilhelm II. The Società Grandi Alberghi Siciliani later ran it with Villa Igiea and the Hotel des Palmes. In the Second World War Field Marshal Albert Kesselring made it his headquarters; Allied bombs in 1943 wrecked the church, later rebuilt as a ballroom. The house reopened around 1946 and, from the 1950s, drew Garbo, Dietrich, Bergman, Hepburn, Taylor, Callas, and Stravinsky. Antonioni filmed part of L'Avventura here in 1959.
After Banco di Sicilia's liquidation, the Caltagirone group's Acqua Marcia bought SGAS assets between 1996 and 2001. Giuseppe Statuto's Gruppo Statuto acquired the palace at auction in 2016 for 52 million euros. Four Seasons restored the convent chapel, cloister, and frescoes under Studio Pisani Morace and Rosaria Catania and reopened in 2021. G7 leaders lodged here in 2017; HBO used the cloister, cliff-edge pool, and Ionian terraces as White Lotus Sicily for Season 2 in 2022.
The setting
2 km from Isola Bella Beach. 68 km from Catania Airport.
Restaurants and bars
- Principe Cerami — Restaurant · One MICHELIN Star
- Anciovi — Poolside · Mediterranean
- Bar & Chiostro — Bar
- Rosso — Restaurant · Italian
Experiences
- Principe Cerami restaurant — Michelin-starred restaurant serving Sicilian cuisine by Chef Massimo Mantarro, with views of Mount Etna and Taormina Bay.
- Infinity pool — 21-metre (69-foot) infinity pool that blends with the Ionian Sea.
- Botanica Spa — Spa with 5 treatment rooms, an indoor pool, and separate women's and men's saunas and steam baths.
- Lush Italian gardens — Lush Italian gardens for romantic strolls and quiet contemplation.
Amenities
- infinity pool
- spa
- fitness center
- gardens
- concierge
- restaurants
- Private pool
- Sauna
- Fine dining
- Pet-friendly
Awards
- Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star (2026)
- MICHELIN Three Keys (2026)
- Principe Cerami One Michelin Star (2026)
- World's 50 Best Hotels (2026)
- MICHELIN Two Keys (2025)
- Three MICHELIN Keys
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