Grand Hotel & Des Palmes was founded in 1874. Built in 1856, it was originally the home of the aristocratic Ingham-Withaker family and was linked by an underground passage to a nearby Anglican chapel. After the death of her first husband, Lady Ingham married Giacomo Medici, the Prefect of Palermo and a hero of the Risorgimento. The building was sold to Enrico Ragusa, a local entrepreneur who transformed it into a hotel. In 1907, Ernesto Basile, one of Italy’s foremost Art Nouveau architects, made alterations to the Foyer, one of Europe’s most attractive, and to the "Fireplace Saloon", where the ceiling, inlaid by English craftsmen, is similar to that of Palazzo Montecitorio, the Italian House of Deputies in Rome, also designed by Basile. The hotel has seen several important moments in the history of Sicily. In 1882, the future Prime Minister Francesco Crispi gave political lectures here, while the formidable twelve-course dinner served to another future premier