Il Borgo

Between Catania and Syracuse on Sicily's glittering eastern coast, Il Borgo is one of the most extraordinary private rental estates in the Mediterranean — a 17th-century masseria on more than 100 hectares whose cluster of converted outbuildings gives it the unmistakable character of a small rural hamlet, entirely private and entirely yours. From the bedroom windows, Mount Etna's snow-capped summit appears on the horizon. In the garden, archaeological remains dating to 800 BC lie quietly among the orange and olive groves. A small estate church stands ready for weddings and christenings. This is Sicily at its most layered, most atmospheric, and most deeply itself.
Ten beautifully appointed ensuite bedrooms — all air-conditioned, all with minibars, each opening directly onto the central courtyard through a magnificent stone arch — accommodate up to 24 guests with the independence of a boutique hotel and the warmth of a private home, attended throughout by a full house staff. A huge reception room faces a stone-vaulted patio perfect for breakfast, while the formal dining room opens onto exquisite gardens. An 18x9-metre pool anchors the leisure area alongside an indoor spa with Turkish bath, and a summer kitchen with outdoor dining extends the living space seamlessly into the warm Sicilian air.
Beyond the formal garden, the estate stretches endlessly — orange groves, olive groves, pastures, green woods, and a stream running through a wooded valley — with the beaches of the eastern coast just 20 minutes away by car.