Bellini and tarocco, Renoir and Sicilian twilight -- this was Wagner's Palermo paradise of 1881 where he completed Parsifal under Lucio and Beatrice Tasca's noble hospitality at their 18th century villa.
If we weren't covering Milan's Fashion Week, we'd be on a plane south to catch the second installation of Graham Vick's Ring Cycle -- Die Walküre which bows on February 21 at Teatro Massimo.
Digs of choice? A week of Wagner's footsteps at the palm-framed Villa Tasca (sleeps up to eight), which starts at €15,730. Sure, it's steep, but you can share your morning brioche with swans named Tristan and Isolde! The FT reports here.