Despite the impoverishment of the family, the prestigious ancestry of Donna Franca made her a good catch, especially in the eyes of the Sicilian high bourgeoisie looking for nobility.

In the early 20th century, thanks to the influence of the Florio family, Sicily (especially Palermo and the town of Taormina) was an important meeting place for the European wealthiest elite.

With her yachts called Sultana and Aegusa, Donna Franca was able to attend the social life not only in Sicily, but even in the Côte d'Azur.

She was a friend of the Italian writer and poet Gabriele D'Annunzio, leading figure of the Decadent movement in Italy, who described her as "a unique woman.

[3] In 1901 Donna Franca met the painter Giovanni Boldini, an internationally renowned portraitist who used to work especially in Paris and London.

He reportedly found it risqué and "unnatural and unreal" looking and demanded that Boldini lengthen the dress and add full sleeves with wide black lace.

Franca Florio, regina di Palermo is the title of a full-length narrative ballet in two acts, with music by Lorenzo Ferrero and scenario, choreography and staging by Luciano Cannito.

A commission by the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, the work premiered there on 22 November 2007 with Carla Fracci in the title role, and was restaged in June 2010.