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ITALY

It’s still summer in Sicily: the top island stays

From catwalk-cool villas to award-winning wineries, Sean Newsom has the Italian island’s choicest bases

Palermo
Palermo
GETTY IMAGES
The Times

You can’t help but wonder: why did it take us so long to find it? Because just about every Mediterranean civilisation has washed across Sicily’s shores. Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Saracens, Byzantines, Normans, Germans, Angevins, Spaniards . . . they all grew fat on this large island’s rich volcanic farmland, gradually bequeathing it one of the most deeply layered cultures in southern Europe. And yet it’s only recently that us Brits — educated, globetrotting travellers, or so we claim — have added Sicily to our must-visit list.

At least we’re making up for lost time. “In the mid-2010s we saw a surge in interest,” says Eleanor Poulton at Villatravellers. Based in Palermo, the Sicilian villa-holiday specialist now has 65 properties on its books and reports growing demand for a more rustic-luxe style of holiday let.

A new generation of hotels has opened too. Inland wine estates have led the charge, with their light-touch refurbishments leaving old walls knobbly and pergolas draped with vines. Combine two or three of these with the glittering mosaics of Palermo’s Palatine Chapel and ancient Greek temples around Agrigento and you’ve got the makings of one of the Mediterranean’s most fascinating — and surprising — fly-drives.

Recent big-news launches on Sicily’s coast are also changing the scene. One is the Adler Spa Resort Sicilia, the eco-sensitive offspring of an Alpine hotel group. Built into the side of coastal bluffs, it brings an entirely new, clean-lined aesthetic to the island. The other, in Taormina, is the swanky San Domenico Palace, now revitalised as a Four Seasons property and from next month, appearing on our TV screens in the second series of HBO’s White Lotus.

Add Sicily’s gobsmacking scenery into the mix and it’s clear why the island is so desirable right now: desirable enough even for Mick Jagger, who purchased a villa near the island’s southern tip last year. Temperatures are pretty toasty, too. Last week, at Taormina, the mercury was still nudging 27C, and the warm weather holds until early November, meaning it’s not too late for a last-minute jaunt if you can’t wait until next spring. To kick-start your planning, here are 25 of the island’s loveliest holiday properties.

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A terrace at Massaria Susafa
A terrace at Massaria Susafa

1. Massaria Susafa, Polizzi Generosa

The bedrooms occupy former cattle byres. The restaurant sits in an ex-granary. And now, at this country-estate hotel south of the Madonie mountains, much of the electricity is generated by solar panels. Yet this is no spartan experience. A member of the Small Luxury Hotels group, Susafa is instead the kind of place where bespoke sofas top flagstone floors and linen drapes billow from four-poster bed frames. Pair it with time in Palermo, 90 minutes away, or stay put and gorge on the estate’s produce.
Details
Seven nights’ B&B from £885pp, including flights and car hire (justsicily.co.uk)

A bedroom at Villa Domus
A bedroom at Villa Domus

2. Villa Domus, Cassibile

In Sicily’s southeast, this is canyon country — that of the dramatic Cavagrande di Cassibile, whose rippled limestone walls shelter ancient archaeological remains, waterfalls and the perfect wild-swimmer’s river. Villa Domus perches close to its northern rim: a low-rise, contemporary mix of big windows, buffed concrete floors and dry-stone walls. Although colourful tiles and groovy furniture enliven airy interiors, outdoor spots are what make this three-bedroom property special. From its infinity pool you can see both the canyon cliffs and the azure Ionian Sea.
Details
Seven nights’ self-catering for six from £1,300 (sawdays.co.uk). Fly to Catania

A bedroom at Monaci delle Terre Nerre
A bedroom at Monaci delle Terre Nerre
NOT KNOWN

3. Monaci delle Terre Nere, Zafferana Etnea

The Monks of the Black Soil picked a plum spot for their monastery in the 19th century,on the fertile and lush lower slopes of Mount Etna. Now, guests at this Relais & Châteaux hotel get the benefit: soaking up Straits of Messina views while sipping the estate’s organic wines, grown beside the active volcano. All is arty and elegant inside, mixing antique mirrors with modern paintings and curvy Arne Jacobsen chairs. Also chic, the onsite Locanda Nerello restaurant draws heavily on ingredients from local farms and homemade olive oil.
Details
Three nights’ B&B from £1,079pp, including flights and transfers (kirkerholidays.com)

Relais Antiche Saline
Relais Antiche Saline

4. Relais Antiche Saline, Trapani

Alongside the salt pans of Trapani, amid western Sicily’s windmills, watchtowers and long sandy beaches, this simple country masseria (farm estate) offers a quiet and inexpensive bolt hole. Expect to find much nautical blue in the interiors as well as lots of lovely outdoor space: roof terraces, courtyards or surrounding lawns. It’s a relaxing spot to catch your breath in between day trips to Trapani’s ancient harbour and swordfish suppers at the local Torre di Nubia restaurant (mains from £13; latorredinubia.com).
Details
Seven nights’ B&B from £510pp, including flights and car hire (thesicilianexperience.co.uk)

A room at Q92 Noto Hotel
A room at Q92 Noto Hotel

5. Q92 Noto Hotel, Noto

Delusions of grandeur await in the chic, boutiquey Q92, which opened last year close to Noto’s magnificent, honey-coloured Piazza del Duomo. There may only be nine bedrooms, yet the style is more palazzo than pied-à-terre. Frescoed ceilings, wrought-iron balconies and walls packed with paintings add to the elegance, and views of the southeastern city’s baroque cathedral beckon from a rooftop terrace. Great pizzas await next door in the Ristorante Vicari (mains from £15; ristorantevicari.it), and several soft, sandy beaches are within 20 minutes’ drive.
Details
B&B doubles from £261 (q92notohotel.com). Fly to Catania

A pool at Brezza di Zefiro
A pool at Brezza di Zefiro

6. Brezza di Zefiro, Valderice

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Inside, this three-bedroom villa is all cool contemporary chic. But step onto its ample terracing and all thoughts of its groovy sofas or contemporary colour schemes immediately evaporate. The sensational panorama here swings round from the lonely peninsular of Monte Cofano to the hilltop Castello di Venere, filling in the gap with the glinting Mediterranean. A pizza oven and pool further capitalise on the outdoor space. There are plenty of reasons to tear yourself away, however, be it wine-tasting in nearby Marsala or beach-hopping along the west coast.
Details
Seven nights’ self-catering for six from £3,500 (villatravellers.com). Fly to Palermo or Trapani

The infinity pool at Nefele, Capo d’Orlando
The infinity pool at Nefele, Capo d’Orlando

7. Nefele, Capo d’Orlando

Perched above northeastern Sicily’s seaside town of Capo d’Orlando, this uncluttered modern villa gazes across the Tyrrhenian Sea. It’s a four-bedroomed property whose every part is designed to embrace that aspect: from large windows and bedroom balconies to the infinity pool and garden terraces. A sizeable summer kitchen and shaded outdoor dining encourage alfresco lunches as well. Still, do pop out for the odd day trip — to waterfalls in the Nebrodi mountains, perhaps, or down to test the ice cream on Capo d’Orlando’s two-mile promenade.
Details
Seven nights’ self-catering for seven from £2,280 (wishsicily.com). Fly to Palermo

Sea views at San Domenico Palace
Sea views at San Domenico Palace
FOUR SEASONS

8. San Domenico Palace, Taormina

Taormina’s pin-up, this cliff-top hotel reopened as a Four Seasons property in 2021 and has been wowing guests ever since. It’s a place where charming service, palatial dimensions and vast sea views combine to dazzling effect. Some rooms even look out onto Taormina’s epic Greek theatre. In fact, so posh and photogenic is the San Domenico that it stars in series two of HBO’s White Lotus — the cult black comedy skewering the super-rich on holiday, set in Hawaii for series one.
Details
Seven nights’ B&B from £2,351pp, including flights and transfers (britishairways.com)

The Calanica Resort
The Calanica Resort

9. Calanica Resort, Cefalu

No wonder Calanica’s circular bungalows look incongruous; they’re inspired by Polynesian beach resorts. There’s no arguing with their sense of space and privacy though, nor with the location on a hillside outside the classy north coast city Cefalu, close to a private, pebbly cove offering an eyeful of azure blue. Once you’re done gaping, flop on a sunlounger at the hotel’s beach club or go canoeing under local cliffs. Only an hour away by train, days out amid Palermo’s manic markets promise a dramatic change of pace.
Details
Seven nights’ B&B from £1,200pp, including flights and transfers (classic-collection.co.uk)

Alfresco dining at La Lanterna delle Stelle
Alfresco dining at La Lanterna delle Stelle

10. La Lanterna delle Stelle, Brucoli

This three-bedroom villa occupies a former lighthouse, so the spectacular setting should come as no surprise. But what makes La Lanterna delle Stelle irresistible is its recent makeover, which sends turquoise tiles zig-zagging across the rooftop terrace, and cools the interiors with white walls and limestone floors. Day trips to the historic city of Syracuse are a doddle from this east coast location. But with your own private walkway leading to the sea, and views to Mount Etna from the terrace, you might prefer to stay put.
Details
Seven nights’ self-catering for six from £4,847 (oliverstravels.com). Fly to Catania

A pool at Capofaro Locanda & Malvasia
A pool at Capofaro Locanda & Malvasia
CESURA SANTESE

11. Capofaro Locanda & Malvasia, Salina

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This understated seaside retreat has its own lighthouse and there’s an 11-acre estate vineyard too, supplying two wines — one sweet, the other dry and floral — to the on-site restaurant. Salina is the greenest and most agricultural of the Aeolian Islands, 25 miles off Sicily’s northern shore, so most ingredients on the menu are local. Mix in boat trips, sunset picnics and long, lazy mornings on Capofaro’s terrace and you’ve got the recipe for a profoundly restorative trip.
Details
Seven nights’ B&B from £2,430pp, including flights and boat transfers (expressionsholidays.co.uk)

Sicily travel guide

A courtyard at Villa Baglio Campofranco
A courtyard at Villa Baglio Campofranco
ROSARIO SCALIA

12. Villa Baglio Campofranco, Scicli

Inspector Montalbano fans, listen up. His seafront house at Punta Secca is only 15 minutes’ drive from this fortified farmhouse. The handsome town of Scicli, wedged into the mouth of a river canyon, is even closer. In between explorations, your five-bedroom base awaits with shady courtyards, a roof terrace and a 17m swimming pool. Two and a half acres of grounds enhance the extraordinary sense of space, as does a herb garden whose offerings can garnish your alfresco lunches.
Details
Seven nights’ self-catering for 12 from £3,171 (sicily4u.co.uk). Fly to Catania

Palermo Cathedral
Palermo Cathedral
GETTY IMAGES

13. L’Olivella, Palermo

Palermo’s star is rising. Pedestrianised streets and a nightlife that lasts until dawn have turned Sicily’s much-maligned capital into an energetic, fun-loving hub — and this central B&B offers an inexpensive ringside seat. Heirlooms below high ceilings and the odd splash of contemporary colour create an elegant atmosphere as the immediate surroundings offer a perfect springboard. One of the city’s best ice-cream shops is next door and Piazza Olivella, around the corner, makes a lovely lunch spot before you set off in search of markets, galleries or glittering medieval mosaics.
Details
B&B doubles from £52 (olivellabb.it). Fly to Palermo

A room at Feudi del Pisciotto Niscemi
A room at Feudi del Pisciotto Niscemi

14. Feudi del Pisciotto, Niscemi

There’s no mistaking the purpose of this southern hilltop estate. Between vineyards and olive groves, it’s home to an enormous palmento — a kind of co-operative barn where grapes were once pressed in giant basins. They still make wine here, as well as hosting guests within an atmospheric, 18th-century wing and feeding them in a gastronomic restaurant whose menu bulges with seafood and local produce. Cookery classes are run in association with New York restaurant Le Cirque, while a spa and swimming pool await between wine tastings.
Details
B&B doubles from £127 (feudidelpisciotto.it). Fly to Catania

Sea views at Tenuta Frantoio
Sea views at Tenuta Frantoio
BENEDETTO TARANTINO

15. Tenuta Frantoio, Panarea

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If Tenuta Frantoio were any nearer the sea, you’d have to sleep on a lilo. New to the UK market, it’s a three-bedroom villa occupying a former olive press on Panarea. Access to the small Aeolian island’s sole sandy beach? Through your garden gate. That press remains in situ, slap-bang in the middle of the sitting room, as part of a respectful makeover. Elsewhere, volcanic stonework mixes with colourful tiles, lemon trees shade the courtyard and a long veranda looks seawards.
Details
Seven nights’ self-catering for five from £5,492pp (thethinkingtraveller.com). Fly to Palermo and take the hydrofoil

Verdura Resort
Verdura Resort

16. Verdura Resort, Sciacca

Outside the school holidays, this expansive south coast hotel hums with golfers. Predictably so, given that this deluxe seaside resort is home to two championship courses. You’ll also find padel courts for players of that trending sport and a 4,000 sq m spa featuring 11 treatment rooms plus plentiful pools and saunas. Despite these myriad facilities, one day trip is non-negotiable: a pilgrimage to Agrigento’s Temple of Concordia, probably the finest monument to survive from the pre-Christian days when southern Italy was known as Magna Graecia.
Details
Seven nights’ B&B from £1,300pp, including flights and transfers (scottdunn.com)

La Fuitina
La Fuitina

17. La Fuitina, Trecastagni

Officially, La Fuitina sleeps four, with one couple in an annexe and another using the main villa (a former wine press). But really, this feels like a couples’ retreat. Buried in Etna’s fecund farmland, with sea views from several terraces, it offers ample seclusion. The charming main building is built from giant blocks of volcanic rock and decorated with implements from and photographs of this eastern area’s agricultural past. But let’s face it — whenever the sun shines, you’ll be lying outside by the garden pool.
Details
Seven nights’ self-catering for four from £1,707 (akvillas.com). Fly to Catania

A bedroom at Adler Spa Resort
A bedroom at Adler Spa Resort
MONTEFUSCO

18. Adler Spa Resort Sicilia, Siculiana

Newly launched, this is the first beach option from Adler, a luxurious group hitherto known for back-to-nature mountain hotels. It’s gone for a wild, undeveloped stretch of the southern coast. On low bluffs, behind a long stretch of protected woodland and dunes, the resort is mould-breaking in all kinds of ways — including the use of unbaked clay walls to regulate temperatures, and numerous water channels for an added sense of calm. Garden yoga and sunset horse rides both feature on the activity menu.
Details
Seven nights’ half-board from £1,833pp, including flights and transfers (inghams.co.uk)

The fishing village of Punta Secca
The fishing village of Punta Secca
ALAMY

19. Baglio Occhipinti, Vittoria

There has been a fortified farm on this southeastern spot since at least the year 600, and it’s easy to get a sense of history from the exposed walls and ancient archways of today’s quiet country hotel addition. Expect pops of colour — jazzy tiles, jolly cushion covers — amid the pale limestone, as well as constant garden views. There are vineyards, olive groves and a big kitchen garden, and you’ll taste their various bounties in local dishes such as scacce ragusane, stuffed flatbreads cooked in wood-fired ovens.
Details
B&B doubles from £157 (bagliocchipinti.com). Fly to Catania

Villa Letojanni’s pool
Villa Letojanni’s pool
ALFIO GAROZZO

20. Villa Letojanni, Letojanni

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Think of this new seven-bedroom villa as your own private balcony above the Ionian Sea. From its sleek wooden pool deck, edged with date palms, the view is straight down onto the small poshed-up fishing village of Letojanni, with Taormina and its Greek theatre to the south and mainland Calabria just across the Straits of Messina. Behind you, meanwhile, geometric white cubes faced with glass enclose rooms so big they’re practically assembly halls. Mount Etna makes an obvious excursion, but consider the water-filled, black-lava Alcantara Gorge too.
Details
Seven nights’ self-catering for 14 from £12,224 (theluxurytravelbook.com). Fly to Catania

A sea-view terrace at the Therasia Resort
A sea-view terrace at the Therasia Resort

21. Therasia Resort & Spa, Vulcano

Set at the northern tip of Vulcano — the Aeolian island famed for hot, healthy mud baths — Therasia does its cliff-top position proud. Terraces step down to the sea as well as girdling the infinity pool, with all four restaurants (and most bedrooms) also looking waterwards. Thanks to chef Giuseppe Biuso’s colourful and inventive cooking, Michelin-starred Il Cappero is the place to eat. But not until it’s dark. Before then, everyone’s trying for a table at I Russuri (The Blush) cocktail bar, named for its sumptuous sunsets.
Details
Seven nights’ B&B from £1,400pp, including flights and transfers (citalia.com)

Views at Dimora delle Balze, Palazzo Acreide
Views at Dimora delle Balze, Palazzo Acreide
DIMORA DELLE BALZE

22. Dimora delle Balze, Palazzolo Acreide

When they rescued this rural southeastern masseria from ruin, the designers Draga Obradovic and Stefano Guidotti had the sense not to take their modernisation too far. The result is a feast for the senses of touch and smell. Jasmine flowers, weathered limestone, orange blossom, unvarnished wood: you’ll enjoy them all while drifting from your artfully under-decorated bedroom to a shaded terrace or dinner in the glass-walled, organic restaurant. Noto and Syracuse are within easy day-tripping distance if the pool can be resisted.
Details
Seven nights’ B&B from £3,185pp, including flights and car hire (redsavannah.com)

View of Catania cruise port
View of Catania cruise port
GETTY IMAGES

23. Asmundo di Gisira, Catania

Built in the aftermath of a catastrophic earthquake in 1693, this upmarket B&B’s building is late baroque. Yet its atmosphere is thoroughly modern. Several bedrooms are conceived almost as art installations; others mix neoclassical antiques with 21st-century lighting and lustrous fabrics. Beyond the front door, central Catania awaits, buried to its eyeballs in history, and buzzing with fish markets, beeping scooters and pavement stalls selling whatever’s fresh from the slopes of Etna — which is easily visited on day trips, as is chichi Taormina.
Details
B&B doubles from £211 (asmundodigisira.com). Fly to Catania

La Foresteria Planeta
La Foresteria Planeta

24. La Foresteria Planeta Estate, Menfi

Although based in this rural southern area for 500 years, the Planeta family only recently took up viticulture. Considerable success has followed, and you can sample not only their wines but also an arty, unfussy approach to hospitality at this Menfi hotel where aloes line the driveway and herbs scent gardens. Drawing heavily on traditional Sicilian ingredients to serve its ravioli stuffed with sheep’s-milk ricotta or Mediterranean scabbardfish, La Foresteria’s restaurant is another perk — as is the sandy, blue-flag beach five minutes’ drive away.
Details
Seven nights’ B&B from £1,288pp, including flights and car hire (justsicily.co.uk)

La Plage Resort’s beach club
La Plage Resort’s beach club
FOTOWARE_NL

25. La Plage Resort, Taormina

A little nub of rock and greenery just off Taormina’s shore, Isola Bella is your constant companion when staying at La Plage. Its beach club and bar have bagged the plum spot, right next to a spit of pebbles leading to said islet. As for the 61 bedrooms, these occupy bungalows scattered through the gardens, as well as the main hotel. There’s no pool, admittedly, but who needs one when azure Ionian Sea waters are so temptingly lapping at your feet?
Details
Seven nights’ B&B from £968pp, including flights and transfers (tui.co.uk)