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Sep 30, 2018
Cavaliere Michele Utveggio had a vision. He would construct the worlds most brilliant hotel. The sight was Primo Pizzo, a prominence of Mount Pellegrino, overlooking Palermo, with a sweeping view of the city, sea, and mountains. On his travels through Sicily, German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe remembered Mount Pellegrino as “the most beautiful promontory in the whole world.” Utveggio’s castle would do it justice and more.
Utveggio secured the services of Giovan Battista Santangelo, professor at the University of Palermo, to design a grand hotel in the Liberty style. He spared no expense, funding the construction of roads and utilities to the site, 346 meters high. Utveggio conveniently owned a state-of-the-art construction firm, which he dedicated to completing his masterpiece in five years.
Grand Hotel Utveggio opened in 1934. For a few evanescent seasons the hotel was a haven of heads of state, artists, writers, glitterati of all kinds. Those years were, unfortunately, the threshold of the Second World War. Visitors declined sharply and soon the Grand Hotel was converted into a short-lived casino. The vision of Utveggio received another blow when its panoramic view made it an attractive headquarters for the fascists, followed by the nazis, who stripped it of furnishings. The allies occupied it toward the end of the war, but it was never able to recover. The hotel remained abandoned for decades, a haven for explorers and vandals. Through all of this, its outward beauty shone, and even empty, the aura of its golden age lingered.
In the 1980’s Castello Utveggio, as it became known, was home to a management school. It was restored and renovated. Palermitans were welcomed back into their jewel for special events. The school has now closed, and again, Utveggio’s future is unclear. One thing is certain. Castello Utveggio achieved its purpose in being a vision, its architectural beauty never waning, as it continues to remind Palermitans of their greatness.
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