Accommodation is divided into two separate wings, one housing the communal spaces, the other including the bedrooms. The villa has been renovated to the highest standards and every room oozes charm, grace and elegance. The interior design works in total harmony with the old charm of the building's original architectural features and is an object lesson in how to match classic elegance and 21st-century comfort.
The main entrance to the first wing opens in to a cozy hallway, where a door on the right leads into a spacious open-plan living and dining pavilion, whose walls of glass, lofty white wood-beamed ceilings and creamy stone flooring blend to create an incredibly luminous and airy ambience.
To one end is a massive dining table, while to the other, set around a fireplace, is a thoroughly chosen assortment of armchairs and sofas, ottomans, and antique furniture. Glass doors open out onto the surrounding terrace courtyards and gardens.
On the opposite side of the entrance hall, moving past a guest WC, is the lovely kitchen, where your private chef will make delicious Sicilian meals using ingredients grown on the estate. Capacious, professionally equipped, and featuring the same lofty wood-beamed ceilings and creamy stone floors as the living space, the kitchen has a large central island and a double-sized range cooker.
Just across the courtyard from the communal wing is the sleeping area, which includes 2 suites and 2 bedrooms, all of them accessed separately from the terraces. Each one has original flagged floors, a mix of stone and smoothly plastered walls, antique tiles, and chic wallpaper depicting exotic Indian-themed scenes.
Suite 1 offers a double bedroom with lounge area, fireplace and a wonderful en-suite bathroom with a large square indoor pool and a separate shower.
Suite 2 is spacious with a double bedroom with lounge area and a huge en-suite bathroom. To one side is a large square indoor pool and lounge area, while to the other is a good-sized shower room.
The 4 remaining bedrooms offer double beds (though one of them can be made up as a twin), walk-through wardrobes, and beautifully finished en-suite shower rooms (one also has a separate bath tub).
Al fresco life at the villa is a feast for the senses and a balm for the soul. The 100-acre estate surrounding the villa is planted with thousands of lemon trees, which act as a secluding and green barrier against the outside world. Immediately outside the two wings of the house are a number of spacious terraces, some flagged, some cobbled, some with in-laid designs. Dotted with olive, palm and banana trees (to name a few) and delimited by low dry stone walls, lovely water features, colourful flowers, exotic cacti and climbers, these terraces also boast a lot of of lounge areas, both shady and sun-kissed.
On the northern side, accessed from the communal space of the pavilion, is a charming dining area, one of several options for al fresco meals. Next to this, outside the sleeping wing is a large square portico, whose elegant surrounding arches open beautiful glimpses of the breathtaking sea views and a veil for the first tempting pool surrounded with greenery and stylish sun loungers and lounge areas,.
A path from these north-facing terraces winds through the lemon groves to the main perk of the property, the second pool, a large, curvaceous affair which measures some 25m in length. Its refined, lake-like form, which features a shallow, beach-effect border and a long infinity edge, boasts panoramic views over Sicily's southeast coastline. The pool area itself has been designed for those who want to spend the whole day swimming, sunbathing and lounging in the shade. There are shady pergolas, various lounge areas, daybeds, loungers, a bar, showers, a WC and a dining area.
Back on the south side of the house, the terraces are changed by swathes of deep green lawns, while to the west is the magical Arabic garden, whose cool shady fountain, screened by a trio of arches, feeds a 35m-long ornamental water feature that originated from the agricultural irrigation channels introduced to Sicily by the Arabs over 1,000 years ago. Bordered by walk-ways and aromatic rose bushes, it ends with another large expanse of lawn. Here there is a second fountain and a pair of historic caffeaus, an original feature of 18th-century southern Italian aristocratic country houses, where guests would retreat after dinner to sip coffee under the stars and the refreshing night skies.
PRI 0280 is nestled on the top of a hill overlooking the Ionian Sea and Sicily's southeast coastline, from Syracuse to near Noto. Should you wish to venture out for a while from the pleasures of your villa, there is much to see nearby, starting with Syracuse, whose historic island centre, Ortigia, and world-famous archaeological site is a 20-minute drive away. One of Sicily's most picturesque and captivating town's, Syracuse is home to many amazing restaurants, bars, private shops and a lively food market.
Other towns within easy reach include Noto, Modica, Ragusa, and Scicli, whose fabulous baroque town centres are united as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Concerning restaurants, shops and other facilities, Cassibile and Fontane Bianche are less than 10 minutes away. Fontane Bianche is also home to a picturesque bay and arc of golden sand. Other beaches nearby include those of Gelsomineto (a little paradise) and Arenella, which are about 10 and 20 minutes away respectively.
You may also wish to venture further south to Vendicari Nature Reserve, home not only to a wide choice of fabulous beaches, but also migrating flamingos, nesting turtles and the remains of an old tonnara (tuna fishing station) dating back to Arab times, some 1,000 years ago. For those in search of the activities, there is some good walking in the nature reserves of Cassibile and Pantalica, this latter home to a prehistoric necropolis.
