The idyllic Sicilian seafront villa owned by Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana – the creative duo behind the Italian fashion powerhouse Dolce & Gabbana – has just hit the market for $7.3 million.
While the seven-bedroom, nine-bathroom summer home, set into a dramatic cliff face with spectacular views of the Mediterranean Sea, may look rustic and unassuming from the outside, inside it’s a spectacular showcase for Dolce and Gabbana’s particular style.
Just don’t mention the volcano.
Hopefully there’s no connection between the pair’s decision to unload this spectacular home on the island of Stromboli, off the coast of Sicily, and the recent eruption of Stromboli-the-Volcano just a few weeks ago on July 3 that killed a hiker.
The challenge for any potential buyer will be that Villa D&G lies in the shadow of the 3,000-foot-high volcano which, with annoying regularity, has been blowing its top for the last 2,000 years.
Thankfully the northeastern edge of this tiny island that’s home to the villa, seems to be protected from the path of any lava flow. But the constant plume of smoke from Stromboli’s crater is a constant reminder of this nearby towering force of nature.
The white-washed villa sits on a cliff. Photo: Courtesy of Lionard Luxury Estates
The business partners have owned the whitewashed property since the mid-1990s, purchasing it from a local builder who joined together three small waterfront cottages to create this 5,382-square-foot home.
Outside, it’s all wide-open terraces for watching jaw-dropping pink-light sunrises over the teeny volcanic island of Strombolicchio to the east; relaxing in the shade of the villa’s lemon trees; or taking steps down to the sea for a cooling dip.
The green room. Photo: Courtesy of Lionard Luxury Estates
But it’s inside where the real jaw-dropping takes place. Each room is a kaleidoscope of color and texture, with many of the walls and floors covered with local hand-painted Italian tin-glazed Majolica pottery in wild, eclectic patterns.
The living room. Photo: Courtesy of Lionard Luxury Estates
In the living areas, over-sized, ornate chandeliers made up of hundreds of whimsical pieces of hand-blown glass, again in crazy colors, hang from the wood-beamed ceilings.
One of the bedrooms. Photo: Courtesy of Lionard Luxury Estates
Each of the seven bedrooms is distinguished by its own eye-popping hue; everything from a particularly vicious shade of electric green, to washed purple, to pink, to bright blue, to lemony yellow. No surprise to fans.
The dining area. Photo: Courtesy of Lionard Luxury Estates
And throughout the home, the wild colors of Dolce & Gabbana’s Mediterranean-inspired home-furnishing collections are seen in everything from bedspreads to sofas, to cushions and lampshades, which may look a bit like a bunch of the most exuberant nonnas you’ve ever met competed with each other for the title for using the most patterns and antiques from the attic.
Cherubs are everywhere. Photo: Courtesy of Lionard Luxury Estates
Yet there’s a relaxed, almost rustic feel to the villa. Locally-made delicate lace curtains flutter across each window; heavy wooden antique armoires, cabinets and bent-wood chairs fill the rooms; local and very eclectic art hangs from the walls. And everywhere there are squadrons of gold-painted antique cherubs. Lots of cherubs.
One of the shady terraces. Photo: Courtesy of Lionard Luxury Estates
If any of this seems vaguely familiar, the home was the setting for a Dolce & Gabbana TV commercial back in 2015 for its Intenso men’s fragrance, with sultry Irish actor Colin Farrell.
If this looks like it could be the set of a commercial, it was. Photo: Courtesy of Lionard Luxury Estates
Interestingly, the Stromboli villa isn’t the only high-priced piece of real estate the partners are parting with. Back in April, they listed their 164-foot superyacht Regina D’Italia for $20 million.
The Stromboli villa listing is with Lionard Luxury Real Estate with offices in Milan and Florence.
The island of Stromboli, with its active volcanic peak. Photo: Courtesy of Lionard Luxury Estates
