Sciaraviva

Mount Etna Manor

A completely restored manor surrounded by a forest of oak beyond its olive grove and producing Nerello Mascalese DOC organic vineyard, this fully modernized manor house is the perfect slopeside perch for a crowd eager to explore Mount Etna, the Mediterranean’s highest mountain and legendary volcano.

The three-story house dates from 900 and has been modernized by owner/architect Mario Salvatore Nicolosi to include five queen bedrooms, one with an additional sofa bed. The home’s upper level, accessed via an external staircase, features a spacious, open plan living and dining area with a terrace overlooking the vineyard. Two of the bedrooms are located upstairs, one with an ensuite bath with a tub and shower, the other with a private terrace, and a hallway bathroom with a shower. The kitchen is sleek and modern and also offers access to a terrace and the pool house, which is equipped with its own kitchen/dining area and a bathroom with shower. The manor’s top floor is home to a third bedroom, also with a private bath with a shower.

Downstairs, the ground floor includes a family suite of connecting bedrooms with a terrace and an ensuite bath (shower), the smaller annex room set with a sofa bed for a child. The fifth bedroom is also located on the ground level and has an ensuite bath with a shower and a terrace.

The owners are an architect/designer couple, and the home’s styling shows it. Spare and sunny, the house has a modern farmhouse feeling, and its grounds are manicured and pretty, divided by traditional, dry stone walls creating cultivated terraces. The saltwater infinity pool glimmers in the sunshine, while the shaded pool house has a long dining table and seating areas, a barbecue kitchen, bathroom and shower.

Around

The manor stands in the shadow of beautiful Mount Etna on the eastern coast of Sicily, surrounded by a working organic vineyard and olive grove with a dense oak forest stretching beyond. It is located only three kilometers from the closest village, Ragalna, which offers all the basic services (ATM, supermarket, local groceries, restaurants and bar). It is also some 70 kilometers from Taormina and 90 kilometers from both Siracusa and Ortigia. Tthe home is an ideal base for discovering Mount Etna, though a vehicle is a must. There’s a cable car that travels to the volcano’s summit some 20 minutes' drive away, and the Rifugio Sapienza is one departure point for the walking trails up the mountain, also accessible by car not too far away. Taormina’s center is 65 kilometers from the home, and its Corso Umberto shopping street is a favorite. Taormina’s Isola Bella rises from crystalline turquoise waters off shore, and the pretty city is home to an ancient Greek theater ruin and amphitheater overlooking the sea. Beachgoers should head to Catania, about 35 kilometers from the home, to find the sand and sea.

Location

Nearest airport: Catania (30km)

Best time to visit

April to October (September guests can participate in the wine harvest)