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Sicily's Cosa Nostra. We're talking about Bagheria, on the island's glittering northern coast, part of the "Triangle of Death," a group of towns where mafia gangsters tortured and murdered their rivals in an abandoned factory and then dissolved their bodies in acid.
Now, after decades of bloodshed and revenge, the city has become the place to be this summer, as it hosts Dua Lipa and her new husband, Callum Turner, for a three-day extravaganza of events to celebrate their marriage, after they tied the knot in London on Sunday.
The 30-year-old pop diva has an estimated net worth of £90million, and Turner, 36, who is tipped to become the next James Bond, will host more than 200 friends and family this weekend at Villa Valguarnera, one of many historic villas built by Sicilian nobility in Bagheria in the 17th and 18th centuries.
The guest list is said to include Sir Elton John, Donatella Versace, Mark Ronson, Harry Styles and Charli XCX. There is even talk of Madonna, Adele and Kylie Minogue.
The event will be a far cry from the time when Bagheria was an ugly name for mafia brutality.
Not far from where the celebrities are gathering for the wedding is an abandoned factory that was used for years as a "mafia extermination camp" run by fugitive Cosa Nostra don Bernardo Provenzano. There, dozens of victims were suffocated to death.
Since then, authorities have cracked down on organized crime. Far from its association with torture, murder and mafia attacks, Bagheria has become known for hosting lavish weddings and as a film location. Tourism is also booming - in 2007 there were two B&Bs, now there are more than 200.
Lipa and Turner will find in Bagheria a place of baroque churches, flowing fountains, orange trees and family businesses, from fishermen to butchers.
"It's great that they chose us. The whole world is talking about Bagheria. Years ago, the mafia clans were strong here. But then ordinary people started to oppose them," said Ivano Molinaro, 40, who owns a bar in the city center.
The villa the couple chose as one of their wedding venues is owned by an Italian princess with a varied past. Princess Vittoria Alliata di Villafranca, 76, translated "The Lord of the Rings" into Italian and raised camels in the Middle East.
They have reportedly chosen Alessandra Grillo, Italy's leading wedding planner, to organize the events. She is best known in Italy for organizing the wedding of the country's most prominent influencer, Chiara Ferragni, and a rapper named Fedez.
Lipa and her new husband flew to Palermo on a private jet late Wednesday night and were photographed together, Dua Lipa in a white dress and Mr. Turner in a tan suit, on Friday. They are staying at Villa Igiea, a stunning waterfront hotel with views of Palermo and its vast bay.
The celebrations began on Friday when Lipa and her boyfriend hosted their guests for a drinks reception at Palazzo Gangi in Palermo.
Then they decided to walk a few steps across the beautiful Piazza Croce dei Vespri to the Gallery of Modern Art, which is located in a 15th-century Catalan merchant's house and the adjacent Franciscan monastery.
Elton John is said to be performing at the gallery, which boasts magnificent bronze statues, marble cherubs, square-jawed portraits of Garibaldi and dreamy landscapes by Sicily's leading artists. On Saturday, the spotlight will shift to the Villa Valguarnera in Bagheria.
The couple fell in love with Sicily while on holiday last summer. They were photographed sitting on a sidewalk outside a small bar called Dal Barone in the maze of winding alleys that make up Palermo's crumbling historic centre.
Salvo Morello, the bar manager, said Lipa and her then-boyfriend were happy to sit on the sidewalk, just like all the other tourists.
"They stayed here for about three hours. They drank some wine and smoked a few cigarettes. She was very normal, very calm. We are delighted that she chose to return to Palermo."/ The Telegraph
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