Asumundo di Gisira — Sicily, Italy

Asmundo di Gisira, like many Italian palazzi, hides its true beauty behind an unassuming façade. Converted from an 18th-century noble residence, the Catanese hotel takes Sicilian’s legends as inspiration for its decor, but updates them in contemporary design language.
Ragusa-based Studio GUM spent seven years on the restoration of the 400 sq m compound, just steps away from the landmark Fontana dell'Elefante. The renovation is subtle; original decorative mouldings, ceilings and other elements from the past are retained, while a new skylight in the courtyard and ensuite bathrooms focus on comfort. Local creatives have been involved.
The public area celebrates the myth of Billonia with Sergio Fiorentino’s painting of the goddess and an enormous flamingo sculpture by Domenico Pellegrino is a reference to those that used to inhabit the Giardino Vincenzo Bellini's fountain; the Proserpina suite, one of the six generously spaced guest quarters, features hand-painted tiles by ceramist Alessandro Iudici. Together with the handpicked Italian design classics from the 1930s to the 1960s, they serve to bring the building's history forward.
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
Via Gisira 40
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Yoko Choy is the China editor at Wallpaper* magazine, where she has contributed for over a decade. Her work has also been featured in numerous Chinese and international publications. As a creative and communications consultant, Yoko has worked with renowned institutions such as Art Basel and Beijing Design Week, as well as brands such as Hermès and Assouline. With dual bases in Hong Kong and Amsterdam, Yoko is an active participant in design awards judging panels and conferences, where she shares her mission of promoting cross-cultural exchange and translating insights from both the Eastern and Western worlds into a common creative language. Yoko is currently working on several exciting projects, including a sustainable lifestyle concept and a book on Chinese contemporary design.
-
The great American museum boom
Nine of the world’s top ten most expensive, recently announced cultural projects are in the US. What is driving this investment, and is this statistic sustainable?
-
Here’s how Heathrow is reimagining airport chaos as ambient music
Grammy-nominated Jordan Rakei turns travel noise into a meditative soundtrack by sampling everything from baggage belts to jet engines
-
Wallpaper* checks into Gansevoort Meatpacking, an art-filled hotel that mirrors the district’s glow-up
This sharp, stylish New York hotel is a fixture in its neighbourhood, where boutiques, restaurants and clubs have long since taken over spaces once occupied by slaughterhouses
-
Il Sereno’s new Listening Suite is what phonophiles’ dreams are made of
Designed by Patricia Urquiola and Il Sereno founder and audiophile Luis Contreras, the new Lake Como-facing suite unites Japanese listening culture with Italian design
-
Inside Belmond’s most exclusive holiday villa yet, a lavish Ligurian palazzo
Once the theatre of lavish parties, Villa Beatrice is now a palatial haven of seclusion with easy access to Portofino’s Splendido, a Belmond hotel
-
The most stylish hotel takeovers to pop up at this summer
From Capri to Ibiza, luxury fashion brands are taking over seaside resorts with exclusive boutique pop-ups and bespoke poolside accessories
-
Detour Discotheque is bringing ‘the world’s dreamiest party’ to Puglia
The pop-up event, La Dolce Vita Disco, promises dancing, good food and sunshine in a 16th-century Italian farmhouse
-
Five tranquil suites by Patricia Urquiola suspend visitors ‘between sea and sky’ in Capri
Patricia Urquiola dreams up a study in contrast and tradition for the next chapter of Jumeirah Capri Palace
-
Sun-soaked European destinations to visit in spring
Dreaming of Florentine palazzos and Greek islands now that the weather is starting to turn? Check into one of these beautiful European hotels and holiday homes
-
Everything you need to know about Italy's Lake Maggiore, according to Formafantasma
From baroque gardens to panoramic views, Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin show us around this Italian escape
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Romeo Roma: a new hotel that’s one of Zaha Hadid’s last projects
Located within Rome’s Tridente, Romeo Roma is a palimpsest of periods in which the late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid left her avant-garde mark