‘The White Lotus’: Inside the Opulent Sicilian Villa From Episode 5

In reality, the home is Villa Elena, an updated 17th-century monastery owned by AD100 interior designer Jacques Garcia and featured in the September 2019 issue of AD. It is located near Noto, a baroque city on the opposite side of Sicily from Palermo. You may remember Noto from episodes three and four, when Daphne (Meghann Fahy) and Harper (Aubrey Plaza) spent the night there in the equally stunning Villa Tasca, which, incidentally, is located in Palermo.

Villa Elena’s appearance in The White Lotus is just the latest chapter in its rich history. “This 17th-century monastery is built on a 12th-century Norman villa, which replaced a 10th-century Moorish palace, which replaced a fifth-century Roman house, which replaced a Greek villa of the third century before Jesus Christ,” Garcia previously told AD. By the time he purchased the property, it was in disrepair, and he had to do major construction before he could begin outfitting the home with the opulent furnishings it holds today. He did a fantastic job, as Tanya observes while entering one of the numerous sitting rooms, saying, “Oh, my God. You must have dumped a fortune into this place.”

Bursting with antique furniture and valuable paintings, statues, and busts, every inch of the home is draped in silk canopies, dripping with chandeliers, and swathed in gilt, marble, and elaborate wall-coverings. This extravaganza of opulence perfectly suits Quentin, especially given the revealing conversation he has with Tanya after they return from seeing Madama Butterfly at the opera—and before that shocking cliffhanger ending. (We won’t spoil that for you here!)