Giardino is a stunning 17th century masseria set among lush, flower-filled formal gardens on a huge country estate between Mount Etna and the Mediterranean. The villa can accommodate 24 guests with 12 bedrooms. There are views of both sea and mountain, and the house, with its palm-shaded courtyard and white-stucco, ivy-draped outbuildings, is simply gorgeous.
The outbuildings have been converted into ten bedrooms, decorated with consummate taste and simplicity, and all open straight onto the courtyard, itself entered through an evocative stone arch. With air-con, ensuite bathrooms and mini-fridges, they are as independent as rooms in a boutique hotel. The villa is usually rented with staff. A huge reception room opening onto a stone-vaulted patio is a perfect setting for breakfast, while the main dining room opens onto the exquisite formal gardens — where archeological remains dating back to the Bronze Age have been discovered
There is a large leisure area with swimming pool (18 x 9m), a spa with Turkish bath and shower, a summer kitchen, an outdoor dining area and two further self-contained bedrooms. There is even a small estate church – ideal for weddings or christenings. Beyond the formal garden and pool the grounds stretch for over 100 hectares, with orange groves, olive groves and pastures, woods, a stream running through a valley, and a rich variety of Mediterranean plants and trees.
