The oriental side of Sicily includes the areas called “Val Demone” and “Val di Noto” by the Arabs. Mount Etna, Europe’s highest and most active volcano, is omnipresent. It dominates this side of the island and in winter, it is one of a few places in the world where it is possible to go skiing with a view of the sea.

This magnificent mountain can also be admired from its own natural balcony, Taormina, defined by Guy De Maupassant as “all that seems made on the earth to entice eyes, spirit and imagination” and still the most fashionable destination of Sicily.

Travelling in this area will take you through the early Greek origins, the chief Byzantine towns such as Syracuse, Baroque cities like Noto and Modica; the “ navel” of Sicily, the gateway to Europe.

Renting one of our finest villas, you’ll have the chance to visit an astonishing part of the island with the intoxicating scent of orange blossom in the countryside, and the beauty of the wildlife in the Vendicari Oasis and Nature Reserve, or the Gorges Of Alcantara near Taormina. The landscapes of citrus orchards, agricultural land, people herding the flock to pasture, all suggest a life that is quiet yet busy at the same time.