My first fashion faux pas in Milan was going outside without a coat on. It may have been a sizzling 25°C in the early April sun, but I felt pretty silly in my T-shirt amongst the Milanesi in their coats and scarves. To compound the matter, I'd left my

Our host, Salvatore, beckoned us inside with a theatrical flourish, and welcomed us to his self-proclaimed Sultanate in the heart of Palermo. Exuding eccentricity, with wild, fuzzy hair and a pointy beard, he looked a little like a wizard, or perhaps ajinni. His Arabian-themed guesthouse was beguilingly bonkers, an Aladdin’