Borgo Rovittello

A Sicilian Country House for a Wine-Loving Crowd

This stately Sicilian wine estate sits among the vineyards lining Mt. Etna some 35 kilometers from Taormina. Built across multiple levels, the spacious heritage property features a vaulted, barrel-filled cellar below ground, a 13m x 3m infinity pool spilling into the vineyard, local stone floors underfoot, and sturdy old timbers overhead.

Completely updated, the villa’s large living and dining area is anchored by an oversized hearth and furnished casually and comfortably. It's linked to the home's modern kitchen that offers direct outdoor access to a panoramic terrace. Several antique-furnished bedrooms are located upstairs, with modern ensuite baths, and one particularly beautiful bedroom is entered through a ground-floor courtyard, its exposed stone walls revealing a staircase curving upstairs to a mezzanine. This room's rustic ensuite bath seems carved from the lava rock. The principal bedroom features a private garden entry, a sitting area downstairs and a stony sleeping quarter upstairs, with a bathtub/shower combo tucked into exposed rocks and accented by painted terracotta tiles.

Experiences

The house also features an intact 17th-century Sicilian palmento, an in-ground wine press, plus a pristine modern wine tasting room to greet aficionados. Experiences available include wine tasting, Sicilian meal preparation, a vineyard picnic or a historical train tour around Mt. Etna through lava fields, pistachio and hazelnut orchards, and row upon row of terraced vineyards.

Around

Located on the northern edge of Sicily’s Parco dell’Etna, the country home is set at the foot of one of the world’s most famous and fascinating volcanos. Occasionally snow capped, sometimes red with lava, Mt. Etna is eastern Sicily’s undeniable landmark, and its National Park, founded in the 1980s, features ways to safely visit the active volcano and its craters. The Central Crater, North-East Crater and South-East Crater can be visited with expert guides, allowing for nearly entering the volcano’s mouth. The park also features impressive caves that lead within the volcano via tunnels created by cooled lava. On the park’s easternmost side, the Valle del Bove is a deep valley that runs for nearly 10 kilometers.

Mt. Etna’s landscapes range from barren to densely wooded, and its lower altitudes are home to olive and chestnut, pistachio and hazelnut orchards in addition to fruit groves. Still lower, vineyards stretch both inland and towards the coastline, and wine tourism is wonderful in the area, with tasting rooms and winery tour options numerous. There are several towns within the National Park, too, including Milo and Linguaglossa, and Nicolosi, home of Mt. Etna’s cable car towards its summit. Taormina’s center is located 35 kilometers from the home, and its Corso Umberto shopping street is a favorite. Taormina’s Isola Bella rises from crystalline turquoise waters, and the city is home to an ancient Greek theater ruin and amphitheater overlooking the sea and its string of beaches and coves.

Location

Nearest airport: Catania (67km)

Best time to visit

Year-round, Mt. Etna is skiable in winter