Giorgio Armani’s island: how Pantelleria conquered the designer

For over 40 years Giorgio Armani was tied to Pantelleria, the wild “black pearl” of the Mediterranean between Sicily and Africa, chosen by the designer as his retreat. Here he had a villa, 7 dammusi with 200 palm trees and a vineyard overlooking the inlet of Cala Gadir, on the north-east of the island, where he would come to switch off and, until a couple of years ago, spent his summer holidays. On this huge and barren volcanic rock, perpetually lashed by the wind, in some ways similar to his sober and elegant character and his love for essential beauty, Armani would take refuge and find inspiration. In Pantelleria he created a perfume, Acqua di Giò, which with its notes of bergamot, sage, rosemary and sea breezes expresses the soul of the Mediterranean, and a passito wine, Oasi, made from zibibbo grapes from his own vineyard.

Armani’s donations to Pantelleria

A love affair – though not at first sight, as he declared to Il Sole 24 Ore: “at the beginning I found it barren, surly, harsh” – that Armani also demonstrated through gestures of generosity, doing things that even institutions failed to do. Things that the people of Pantelleria remember with affection and gratitude, which earned him honorary citizenship of Pantelleria. «With the switch to digital, Pantelleria’s cinema, the only one on the island, risked closure – recalls Gabriele Lasagni, together with Fabrizio Giglio owner of the famous caper company La Nicchia – we contributed, but it was Giorgio Armani’s donation, ten times greater than ours, that saved it». Years ago he donated a CT scanner to the island’s hospital and, after a fire that even surrounded his villa, he gave the Municipality 800,000 euros for the construction of the water supply and drinking water network in the areas of Cala Gadir and Cala Tramontana, where this service was lacking. A friend and benefactor of the island, who stepped in where institutions did not.

The food, the dinners with his extended family, the wine

The memory of Gianni Busetta, founder of the restaurant La Nicchia in Pantelleria. «In my restaurant Giorgio Armani would come every year in August – says the Pantelleria restaurateur – When he arrived we would chat in the garden, about how he was, how things were going. A very, very nice person, always most kind. He never once called a waiter to complain about a dish or anything else, never! The last time I saw him was 2–3 years ago. He was unwell, we expected it. But when we heard of his passing it was a huge sadness».

In Pantelleria the designer came with relatives, friends and his entourage: an extended family. «At the restaurant he would come with his guests, most of them collaborators, such as Leo Dell’Orco (partner and right-hand man for over 30 years, ed.). Very often with Ornella Muti, sometimes with his niece Roberta and his sister Rosanna». Sometimes the guests were many. «There was also the Pantelleria staff: those who drove him around, the young men who worked at the house… At times I had to split them across different tables, and he didn’t like that, he wanted them all around him at the same table: employees, friends, family, famous guests».

Giorgio’s favourite dishes in Pantelleria

What did Giorgio Armani order at La Nicchia? «Ravioli panteschi, with ricotta and mint, which we served with butter and sage – lists Gianni Busetta – then caponata, fillets of fresh fish such as amberjack. Quite simple things. As a welcome from the house I always brought small local products: caper sauce, cucunci, sun-dried tomato pâté with capers, which Armani and his guests spread on bread and focaccia cut into pieces. In recent years he was on a diet, he ate plain pasta, meat and cheese. As far as I can remember, he was not a big wine drinker. But whites, reds and passiti were never missing from the table. They would order Yrnm by Miceli, one of the island’s first zibibbo wines, then Pietranera by Marco De Bartoli (which the designer would also have bought directly at the cellar in via San Michele, ed.), Planeta’s Chardonnay, more recently Lighea by Donnafugata or full-bodied reds such as Mille e una Notte, also by Donnafugata».

Opening photo: Giorgio Armani and Gianni Busetta, owner of the restaurant La Nicchia in Pantelleria (photo by Grazia Cucci)