Palazzo is a sensual and luxuriant fable. Combining a short story by Amanda Harlech and a series of black-and-white photographs illustrating the story by Karl Lagerfeld, the book explores a glamorous yet equivocal romance. The narrative depicts Principessa Allegra and her American fiancé, who at first seem to be a beautiful and enviable couple. Yet as events unfold, we see that this relationship which initially seemed flawless and sparkling, is in fact complex and shaded with reluctance. Palazzo is a contemporary drama infused with a sense of a theatrical past. Indeed the Palazzo Taverna in Rome is not only the setting for the story, but a vessel containing the complex history of the building itself, on which Lagerfeld elaborates in an epilogue in the book. While depicting a degree of decadence which many can only dream of, Palazzo also explores the disquieting emotional states present in many human relationships – expectation, compromise and regret. The allure of Palazzo is thus underpinned by familiar emotions. This is seductive fiction into which we can read our own experiences.

Published in 2007 by Steidl

48 pages / Hardcover