THE SECRET OF THE SOUK
The souk in Marrakech is full of secrets. It’s a warren of dusty, rust-red walls, mostly six feet high or more, concealing the courtyards and buildings within from the prying eyes of anyone wandering down the narrow lanes. Restaurants, shops and cafes appear, almost conjured, from nowhere. A small sign might be the only evidence from the street, but duck through the door, and there’s a wonderland within. Nothing, though, suggests the presence of a vast complex hidden at the medina’s heart, in the neighborhood of Dar El Bacha: a riad that is one of the largest private homes in the city, other than the king’s palaces. It’s fitting, then, that the owner named his estate the Secret.
The nine-bedroom, 14-bathroom mansion has been a passion project for the owner, an Italian businessman who has lived across the world during his long career but now considers Marrakech home and resides full-time in the 23,680-square-foot riad, with its 17,000 square feet of terraces and gardens. The idea behind the sprawling property was simple: He wanted to create a haven for
