La Corte del Vespro

An 1899 Baronial Villa and Art Residence in the Cerasuolo di Vittoria Vineyards

La Corte del Vespro sits along the Cerasuolo di Vittoria wine route outside Vittoria, in Sicily's Ragusa province. It's an 1899 villa that spent its first century as a baron's harvest residence. But today, it's the residence of two creatives who're opening it to other design-loving travelers.

Toni Campo, a fashion photographer, and Francesco Palazzolo, a set designer, bought the property in 2001 and spent three years restoring it, matching every wall, ceiling, and the vaulted central hall to a single pale stone tone that shifts with the weather. The old palmento, once used for pressing grapes, is now an Arab-style courtyard.

Inside, two refined double suites, each with its own bathroom and antechamber, sit off the stone staircase. The living room is for reading and looking at the art. The open kitchen connects the dining room to the veranda. The villa sleeps up to four guests across the two suites. The former farmhands' quarters also hold the couple's private art gallery, which is hung with the contemporary works they collect, and guests are welcome to visit it.

We recommend starting your day on the covered veranda, coffee in hand, looking out over the pool before the heat sets in. Spend warm summer afternoons in the whirlpool or inside, relaxing, where ancient stone walls keep the air cool. In the evening, move back down to the veranda for dinner as the golden light illuminates the stone, and the sun goes down behind the walls of the garden.

Layout

This vacation home for rent in Vittoria sleeps up to four guests. The villa is adults-only (no children or pets) and arranged over two floors: a ground-floor living room, dining room, and kitchen opening onto the veranda and pool, and an upper floor holding both bedroom suites, reached by the original stone staircase, each opening onto the shared panoramic terrace.

• Suite 1: Double, en suite, upper floor, terrace access, private antechamber

• Suite 2: Double, en suite, upper floor, terrace access, private antechamber

• One guest WC

Experiences

Offered by hosts on request: Private lunches and dinners, wellness and health treatments.

Good to know

This is an adults-only property; children and pets are not permitted. There is no air conditioning, but the historic stone walls and ceiling fans keep the rooms comfortable. Lunches, dinners, and wellness treatments can be arranged on request, for an additional charge.

Amenities & services

Infinity pool with whirlpool, panoramic terrace, private contemporary art gallery, fully equipped kitchen with espresso facilities, ceiling fans in every bedroom, Comiso-stone staircase and entrance hall, private antechambers, vaulted central hall, covered veranda, private garden, lunches and dinners on request, wellness and health treatments on request.

Around

La Corte del Vespro sits along the Cerasuolo di Vittoria wine route, outside Vittoria in Sicily's Ragusa province. Vittoria itself has its own Baroque core around Piazza del Popolo, part of the same wave of rebuilding that gave the Val di Noto its UNESCO-listed towns. Ragusa Ibla, Modica, and Scicli are all within half an hour by car, each with its own version of the same late-Baroque style. The vineyards immediately around the villa belong to the Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG, Sicily's only DOCG red wine, and several wineries along the route welcome visitors for tastings.