WANDERLUST

Clockwise from far left: the courtyard-facing entrance to Seven Rooms Villadorata; in one of the hotel’s lounges, a frescoed ceiling and a Mis en Demeure chandelier that mimics an 18th-century model; the lobby of Musciara. PLACES

In southeastern Sicily, Val di Noto Cities by offers small-town charm, world-class architecture and the Sea even stunning beaches.

By Kate Maxwell Photographs by Diego Mayon

GIVEN THE DISTANCES to be traveled and the imperfect roads, conventional STAY breakfast — ricotta pie, fennel wisdom stipulates that even ambitious short-term visitors to Sicily stick salami and candied orange rinds — to either side of the island. There’s no wrong choice, though it’s the eastern Dimora delle Balze In a rural is served at a long dining table coast that’s home to the majestic Mount Etna, Europe’s highest active expanse west of Syracuse and north beneath a draped crystal chandelier. volcano. That was also the side favored by the Greeks, who colonized Sicily of Noto, you’ll find this 11-bedroom Make sure to browse the handmade between the eighth and sixth centuries B.C. (before the Romans, the hotel, which opened in 2017 in a soaps for sale on the ground floor; Byzantines, the Arabs, the Normans and the Bourbons all took their turn), 19th-century fortified masseria. Its their artisanal spirit harks to Seven making a bustling capital out of Syracuse. In more recent times, the hilltop owner, Elena Lops, began restoring it Rooms’s bucolic sister property, town of Taormina has been the popular eastern-facing destination — it was eight years earlier, offsetting the Country House Villadorata, which is even the site of the 2017 Group of 7 summit. As its cobblestone streets earthy pale-yellow limestone walls and five miles outside of town and have become ever more crowded, though, the Val di Noto region — which is Cementine-tiled floors with velvet surrounded by prickly pear trees. a two-hour drive south and includes the towns of Ragusa, Modica and Noto barrel chairs and slatted-back Kettal 7roomsvilladorata.it — and the nearby city of Syracuse are finding new life. sofas. Guests can lounge by the Following the 1693 Sicily earthquake, locals rebuilt this cluster of saltwater pool or in any of the three Musciara There are plenty of lovely towns in the late Baroque style of the day, with central piazzas anchored by large courtyards — or wander the public swimming spots on Sicily’s stone churches with carved griffins and tiers of Corinthian columns. 60-acre grounds filled with lavender, southeastern coast, from the shallow Thanks to funding from the European Commission, many of the towns’ olive trees and an organic vegetable water of San Lorenzo to the lagoons buildings were restored in the early 2000s, which spurred entrepreneurs to garden that supplies the compound’s and rocky coves of the Vendicari open small, jewel-like hotels and restaurants. Noto, especially, contains kitchen. dimoradellebalze.com nature reserve. This 17-room resort many pre-eminent examples of Sicilian Baroque — it was built anew six across the bay from Ortygia, however, miles from the original city, the still half-standing Noto Antica — as Seven Rooms Villadorata Right near comes with its own arc of private well as other attractions, from antique shops to a nature reserve filled with Noto Cathedral is Nicolaci Palace, chaise-lined beach. A former tuna grazing flamingos. with wrought-iron balconies and corbels factory, the hotel is decorated with And yet, Val di Noto still feels fully alive. The steps of Noto Cathedral are adorned with centaurs, sirens and Baroque-style furniture and faded routinely used as seating for junior-school performances, while women sell winged horses. The 18th-century Prince kilims, and in the lounge, a purple fresh blood oranges at the daily market on Syracuse’s island offshoot of Nicolaci and his descendants once whale-tail chair sits by a picture Ortygia. This exquisite port town is a good place to begin a tour of the region, lived in the 90-room house, part window looking out to the sea. The having been continuously inhabited for 3,000 years, with beauty left over of which now functions as a discrete terrace restaurant, which serves from multiple points of the area’s varied history. Next door to the white- hotel. Its high-ceilinged suites are pesce crudo and grilled octopus, stone Duomo is another church that houses a late masterpiece by Caravaggio, elegantly appointed with antique also promises an arresting view.

74 T: THE NEW YORK TIMES STYLE MAGAZINE TIMES STYLE THE NEW YORK T: 74 who arrived in Sicily in 1608 after escaping from prison in nearby Malta. mirrors and tufted armchairs, while siracusaresort.it Clockwise from top left: a corner of the L’Annunciata bedroom at Dimora delle Balze, named not for the painting shown here but for one by the 15th-century artist Antonello da Messina; the Palazzo Castelluccio foyer with original trompe l’oeils; Noto’s Chiesa di Montevergine at sunset; Dimora delle Balze’s saltwater pool; at Palazzo Castelluccio, a 19th-century re-creation of one of the celestial globes Louis XIV commissioned from Vincenzo Coronelli; the Lungomare d’Ortigia road and walkway, which wraps around the southeastern part of the island.

EAT creamy almond-scented bowls of Caravaggio’s ‘‘Burial of Saint Lucy,’’ (as well as silk scarves and candy- it at the parasol-covered tables out this boutique and sometimes colored glass plates). The blends Manna Noto A block over from Nicolaci front. caffesicilia.it exhibition space is dedicated to the were developed in collaboration Palace, in what used to be the prince’s work of Italian designers and with the noted Florentine perfumer wine cellar, is one of Noto’s best Crocifisso In Noto, it’s not uncommon craftspeople. Chiodo means ‘‘nail,’’ Lorenzo Villoresi, who has also trattorias, its barrel-vaulted rooms now to see people making impromptu and the shop’s ethos is further worked for Armani and Gucci. filled with Bertoia chairs, starburst picnics out of sfincione (focaccia pizza) reflected in its exposed beams and ortigiasicilia.com pendants and mounted maiolica. The and pane di casa from the family rough-hewn wooden slats. There’s dishes, too, are a satisfying mix of classic bakery Panificio Maidda. On the other a wide-ranging edit of bohemian SEE and contemporary — try the linguine with end of the spectrum is the elegant staples: buttery leather clutches, seared red prawns or the tagliatelle Crocifisso, with white tablecloths, leaf-print silk dresses, elegant Palazzo Castelluccio One of with duck Bolognese. As in its former polished black floorboards and dim straw hats, statement jewelry Noto’s six grand palaces, Palazzo life, the space also carries an impressive lighting. The sommelier Gianmarco made of brass and round-frame Castelluccio is open most days for array of Sicilian wines, from the Iannello’s European-centric list sunglasses from the 1980s. guided tours. It was built in 1782 and peppery Nero d’Avola to the dessertlike stretches to Greece and Slovenia and chiodoshowroom.wordpress.com shuttered in the 1980s with the Malvasia delle Lipari. mannanoto.it features a number of orange wines death of its last marchese owner. In (made with the grapes’ skins intact). Ortigia Started in 2006 by the 2011, an anonymous Frenchman Caffè Sicilia Over the course of The 60-euro five-course tasting British-born Sue Townsend, inspired by ‘‘The Leopard,’’ Giuseppe 127 years, this corner cafe in downtown menu features artichokes with licorice a founder of Crabtree & Evelyn Tomasi di Lampedusa’s 1958 novel Noto has built a reputation as Sicily’s and mussel-topped cacio e pepe, who now lives in Florence, this about a Sicilian nobleman, purchased (and some say the world’s) best spot while the à la carte options include independent, all-natural soap and the property and began decorating for gelato, perhaps because, like his such Sicilian classics as fava-bean scent company is named for the it with period-style flourishes such parents and grandparents before him, soup with ricotta and spaghetti alla southeast Sicilian island, even if as golden candelabras, acanthus- Corrado Assenza, one of its owners, chitarra with sardines, sultanas the palm tree and leopard graphics leaf-carved urns and a flamboyant makes expert use of local nuts and and fennel. ristorantecrocifisso.it on its packaging are taken from a leopard-print tiled floor. There are citrus — don’t miss the Montezuma Byzantine mosaic in Palermo’s also portraits of various Sicilian royals flavor, a heady mix of chocolate, SHOP Palazzo dei Normanni. At the Ortygia and a Canaletto-style landscape. But cinnamon and orange- and lemon- location on the island thruway of it’s not all high glamour. Though out candy peel. A glass case holds equally Chiodo In a tiny courtyard near Via Roma, the shelves are lined with of use for decades, the 1950s-era delicious pastries, but the real star Ortygia’s Piazza Duomo, where candles and body products infused kitchen still smells distinctly of cheese.

76 T: THE NEW YORK TIMES STYLE MAGAZINE TIMES STYLE THE NEW YORK T: 76 may be the granita: Patrons linger over you’ll find the church that houses with jasmine, amber or pomegranate palazzocastelluccio.it