The best villas in Sicily to book this year
Ever since The White Lotus landed there for season two, Sicily has been growing in popularity as a holiday destination. Little wonder when the best villas in Sicily offer the chance to live out all your Italian holiday fantasies, offering sweeping views of its various coastlines, smoking volcano and dynamic countryside. Sicily is a large – and hot – island, with lots of different spots to choose from. The foothills of Etna are a great place to set up shop and from there, explore the beautiful Ionian coastline and bustling Taormina and Catania. There are plenty of charming villages and towns dotted around, lots of churches to pop into and of course, Etna is right there for the geology fans who fancy booking onto a hike up to the crater (weather-dependent). The north is where you'll find the buzzy capital Palermo, as well as popular beach towns like Cefalú. Out west has a Trapani, Marsala and a more undiscovered vibe, while the long stretches of coast to the south offer heat, sea and lots of seafood. The south east has become very popular of late, thanks to the baroque towns of Noto, Modica, Scicli and Ortigia, as well as pretty fishing villages like Marzamemmi.
The best villas in Sicily
1/9L House, Piedimonte Etneo (tried and tested)
Of all the places I've stayed in Sicily, the area around the foothills of Etna is my favourite. Whether in a hotel or villa, there's something magical about watching the sunset over the sea as the twinkling lights of Taormina appear on one side and watching Etna smoke (and if you're lucky, erupt a little bit) on the other. The L-House, which is part of the growing Monticello estate, offers both of these views up in abundance and is perhaps the best villa in Sicily for them. It's set on a hillside position outside the town of Piedimonte Etneo, amongst the owners' enviable olive, citrus and almond groves. We stepped out the house of a morning, plucked oranges from the tree with our toddler and took them back into the huge open-plan kitchen, living and dining room to juice them and have with our breakfast.
The L-House was designed by architect Ben Masterton-Smith of Transit Studio and it's been done brilliantly. The L refers to its shape, with the long part housing the master suite – complete with double height ceilings and a mezzanine level – and living space, while the shorter end has the other two bedrooms, bathrooms and utility room. The interiors are light and cool, precisely what you need to counter the lava stone outside and the strength of the Sicilian sun. It's incredibly well equipped with everything we needed for a toddler, as well as every piece of cooking equipment we could have possibly wanted and a very well stocked pantry, which made cooking there even more enjoyable.
The outside space is hard to beat, with an infinity pool overlooking the valley that slopes down to the sea, shaded dining area, barbecue and endless grounds to explore. There's even a playground on the estate, as well as a rose garden and a church, currently being renovated. As for its position, the town is a five minute drive and has lots of shops for groceries, while Taormina is close enough, as are the lovely towns of Linguaglossa and Randozza. From Linguaglossa, you can drive 30 minutes or so up Etna to get an up close and personal experience, and from there embark on guided tours to one of its craters.
For anything we needed at any point, the housekeeper Maria was always contactable and there in a flash to sort it. One note, as with the rest of Sicily, there are lots of sweet little cats running around the estate and one has taken a shine to the house and wandered in and out during our visit. All well and good, but, if you're an allergy sufferer like me, you may want to pack antihistamines and keep the door closed to stop the cat popping in of an afternoon.
Sleeps: 6
Bedrooms: 3
Rates: from £5800-7850 per week
cristina moschella slow picture studio,cristina moschella slow picture2/9Arboli, Villasmundo
In the grounds of San Giuliano - the centuries-old estate of a Sicilian marquis - an outbuilding has been turned into a spacious villa, with Mount Etna as its backdrop. A 40-minute drive from Catania airport brings you to Villasmundo, a hamlet in the south east of the island, close to beaches like Spiaggia dell'Arenella, villages such as Brucoli and one of Sicily's main attractions: Syracuse and Ortigia. Arboli's four bedrooms are filled with pieces that reveal the owner's storied family history alongside carefully chosen antique furniture. Served under a pergola, breakfast includes jams made on the estate. It is the T-shaped pool, however, that is the epicentre of the house, where everyone can gather to relax. Arriving back here each evening is magical - watching as the wrought-iron gates open to reveal the magnificent façade of the main house, before you wind through cactus gardens and fields of palm on the way to the villa.
Sleeps: 8
Bedrooms: 4
Rates: from £8,050 a week
3/9Villa Buccellatum, Castellammare del Golfo
This charming house is on the north of the island, between Trapani and Palermo. It's a lovely large house with comfortable interiors that are rustic and traditional, yet stay cool and breezy in the summer. The house is classic Mediterranean, kept dark in the daytime to stop the sun from heating it up too much and with ample outdoor space to enjoy. Terracotta tiled floors and white walls dominate, with antique furniture and patterned pieces bringing colour and atmosphere to the space. There's a large, enviable pool to enjoy and shady spots for dining and reading.
Sleeps: 10
Bedrooms: 5
Rates: from £581 per night
4/9Perla Nera, Viagrande
On the south side of Etna, a 20 minute drive from Catania nad the airport, this villa is traditional Sicily done well. The furniture throughout is ornamental and magnificent, the architecture is imposing in all the right ways and the gardens are brimming with flora and fauna native to the island. The main house sleeps 10 comfortably, but for larger groups, another property on the estate can be hired to accommodate four more guests. It's hard to choose the best bit of this property from between the garden statues, the beautiful tiled kitchen and the ample character inside thanks to a dedication to keeping the Sicilian aristocratic feeling alive.
Sleeps: 14
Bedrooms: 7
Rates: from €5,500 per week
5/9Villa Tasca, Palermo
Fancy pretending you're in The White Lotus season 2? Well look no further, as it's partly filmed in Villa Tasca. The scenes of Harper and Daphne on their solo trip to Noto were in fact filmed in this rather wonderful – and mad – villa, which is in fact in very central Palermo. The villa and estate on which it is located date as far back as the 1500s, with many updates from the 19th century too and it is as grand as they come, with frescoes and murals on the walls, a beautiful façade and incredible gardens to explore. It's the place to book for living a true Sicilian high life.
Sleeps: 8
Bedrooms: 4
6/9Casa della Caccia, Zafferana Etnea
This pretty pink house, draped on one side in ivy, benefits from being high above sea level, meaning it's a breezy place to stay with far reaching views down to the Mediterranean. It's a lovely spot, with beautiful, traditional but light interiors, a sympathetic touch with colour and pattern and a real charm to it. It's on the foothills of Mount Etna, not too far from Catania and Taormina for day trips, with the beach in reach too. It is worth noting that this property does not have air conditioning.
Sleeps: 6
Bedrooms: 4
Rates: from £3756 per week
7/9Villa Paceco, Trapani
Villa Paceco is in the countryside near Trapani, on Sicily's western shores. It's straight out of Call Me By Your Name, full of traditional Italian details and charm. Think lovely tiles, antique furniture and a delightfully retro blue kitchen and you have the gist. It has been respectfully preserved while having every modern amenity sorted, including a swimming pool, of course. Marsala is a short drive away and worth a visit (and a tasting of the eponymous wine), as well as the lovely stretches of coast along the western side of the island.
Sleeps: 8
Bedrooms: 5
Rates: from £3456 per week
8/9I Lentischi, Noto
It comes as no surprise when you discover that the owners of I Lentischi are designers, as their countryside villa outside Noto is immaculately designed to blend the house's heritage with their love of contemporary design. They've done it brilliantly, adding polished dark tiled floors and a sleek kitchen to rustic farmhouse touches and truly lovely outdoor spaces. The pool is a slender sliver to practice lengths in, while the terrace is shaded and offers panoramic views of the Sicilian countryside. It's a tranquil, lovely escape that is hard to leave at the end of a holiday.
Sleeps: 7
Bedrooms: 4
Rates: from £3512 per week
9/9Masseria Cardinale, Noto
If you want a holiday house with serious personality to transport you from our normal life, Masseria Cardinale is the one. It sleeps 14 guests so it's ideal for group holidays, with plenty inside and around the house to keep everyone occupied. There are murals throughout, a theatre room, stunning pool and plenty of garden to roam and for when you want to get out and about, Noto's baroque architecture, the Vendicari nature reserve and Ortigia are all nearby for a visit. As will all The Thinking Traveller properties, a private chef can be arranged for any time during the visit, which might be an idea if you are hiring Masseria Cardinale for a group.
Sleeps: 14
Bedrooms: 7
Rates: from £11,714 per week
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