Masseria della Volpe

Masseria della Volpe

The Val di Noto is the part of Sicily that the baroque architects chose, which tells you everything about the quality of the light. Noto, Ragusa, Modica, Scicli, and Syracuse are all within an hour, a concentration of UNESCO World Heritage cities with stone the colour of honey and a food culture built around almonds, anchovies, and capers. The sea, the Ionian on one side and the Mediterranean beginning to be felt on the other, is never far. Masseria della Volpe is on a hill above all of this, a 19th-century manor farm surrounded by olive trees, carob, citrus groves, and an unobstructed view across the valley toward the coast, and the foxes that gave the estate its name still appear at dusk in the grounds if you are paying attention. The 22 rooms and suites are individually designed around handmade Sicilian tilework and local stone, with private terraces or balconies in most, and the larger suites have private gardens and enough space to lose an afternoon in. The Codarossa restaurant draws on the estate's own organic production and the surrounding larder, a Sicilian kitchen that takes its ingredients seriously and serves on a panoramic terrace in warmer months with the valley spread below. The pool is generous and correctly positioned for the long afternoons. The spa runs to a hammam, hydromassage, and a treatment menu built around organic botanical products from the estate's own farm. The entire property runs on solar energy, which at this latitude is a practical decision as much as a philosophical one. This is a hotel for people who want Sicily properly: the baroque cities, the Vendicari nature reserve, the beaches at Marzamemi and Calamosche, the wine from the Nero d'Avola country that begins at the end of the driveway. A car is essential and earns its place every day. The short version: Twenty-two rooms in a 19th-century organic masseria on a hill above the Val di Noto, with a restaurant drawing from the estate's own farm, a panoramic pool, and the baroque cities of southeastern Sicily within an hour in every direction.