Pop superstar Dua Lipa and actor Callum Turner took over Palermo, Sicily, on Saturday to host a €1.5 million second wedding celebration. The couple rented out the 18th-century Villa Valguarnera to entertain 300 A-list guests. But the lavish affair quickly hit a nerve with everyday residents, triggering protests over locked-down public spaces and severe traffic disruptions.
The Italian bash arrived exactly a week after the pair officially tied the knot in a quiet civil ceremony at London’s Old Marylebone Town Hall on May 30. For the sequel, they went pure Hollywood. Villa Valguarnera boasts serious cinematic history, most recently appearing in the opening credits for HBO’s The White Lotus and famously housing the ballroom scene in Luchino Visconti’s 1963 film The Leopard.
The guest list was packed with heavy hitters. Donatella Versace, Charli XCX, Joe Alwyn, and Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker all made the trip. Sir Elton John, who collaborated with Lipa on the 2021 hit “Cold Heart,” delivered a special piano performance of “Your Song” as the couple exchanged vows. After the formalities, superstar DJs Carl Cox, Martin Garrix, David Guetta, and Peggy Gou took over the music.
Outside the villa’s gates, the mood was distinctly less festive. Residents grew frustrated by sweeping road closures and tight security cordons that essentially paralyzed the neighborhood. Some locals even hung protest posters reading “Palermo is not for rent,” pushing the newlyweds to quietly pay out compensation funds to those living in the disrupted parking zones.
City officials were quick to defend the inconvenience. Palermo Mayor Roberto Lagalla openly backed the event, viewing it as a highly lucrative advertisement for the region’s cultural tourism. According to the JFC research institute, the three-day celebration is projected to generate a €268 million economic impact for Palermo. For a couple that bonded over a shared novel when they first met in 2023, the Sicily weekender certainly closed the book on their wedding festivities in style.