8 - 11 BEDROOMS, SLEEPS 16 - 22 GUESTS

At this spectacular property and its surrounding Sicilian countryside, a climate prevails where spring and autumn months are a sheer delight and temperatures soar gloriously in summertime. All conditions contrive to produce the sweetest of Washington Navals, pigmented Moros, Tarocos, and Mandarins as juicy as anywhere you’ll find. They all thrive, as you might, amongst other delicious, organic citruses with blood oranges of deep scarlet flesh and zingy perfume that rival any in the world.

In from the coast, some thirty minutes form Catania, brilliantly positioned for exploring some of the greatest inland and coastal sights of the island, Meriggare is set amidst pretty gardens framed by rustling palm trees in a sumptuous part of Sicily with Etna as backdrop. Rosemary, thyme, borage and asparagus grow in roadsides and along country paths, kestrels, larks and turtle doves wheel across blue skies and if you are lucky, it’s possible to sunbathe and swim in the sea well into November.

You enter the estate off a local road, free of traffic, through private gates that lead into an estate that has been owned by the same family since the 1400s. As you approach the main house, swathes of citrus groves give way to a more manicured landscape of gardens, rustling palm trees and pretty flowers. The setting is magnificent, the property wonderfully spacious, sleeping up to 16 guests in the main house and an additional six in the “Boathouse”. There are fabulous features indoor and out. here summarised are a few of them:

- Air conditioning
- Barbecue Facilities and outside Dining Room
- CD player, DVD player and iPod Docking Station
- Internet Access (Wireless Broadband)
- Mosquito nets/ fly screens
- Sauna and private swimming pool
- Table Football and Table Tennis
- Tennis Court
- TV

MAIN HOUSE:

The eight bedrooms are furnished and decorated with Sicilian antiques and pieces gathered from around the world. The villa sleeps 16, spread over 2 floors:

- 5 Twin rooms
- 2 Double rooms
- 1 Suite

All rooms have en suite bathrooms and requests can be made for 2 additional beds, 2 cot beds and 2 high chairs. Furthermore, all rooms come with internet, heating/air conditioning, ceiling fans and fine Egyptian cotton linens.

On show is a glorious 15 x 7m (49.2 x 23ft) infinity swimming pool with a beautifully set up terrace with loungers, sunbeds and umbrellas. There are shady spots to be found under the palm trees, between trees where hammocks are perfectly positioned for an afternoon snooze amidst the pretty gardens.

A superb floodlit tennis court provides the opportunity to indulge in a little noble exercise when the day starts to cool.

There are of course BBQ facilities a fabulous outdoor dining area as well as table tennis and table football.

Recently built to add some extra space to the property the boathouse has clean elegant interiors and a wonderful position that spills out onto the pool terrace and close to the tennis court.

Bedroom configuration is as follows:

- 1 Double room with en-suite bathroom and large "Arabian" shower
- 1 Twin room with en-suite bathroom and large "Arabian" shower
- 1 Double sofa bed with the option for two extra youth beds, if required, with en-suite bathroom and large "Arabian" shower

COOKING:
The villa's food is prepared by Tunisian cook Naima in a separate lounge, dining and kitchen area that overlooks the pool. Traditional Italian staples of pasta, tomato sauce and fresh vegetables are joined by tuna, swordfish, sardines, olives, pine nuts and capers. Anchovies, whitebait, halibut and octopus also often feature. And, of course, one of Naima's specialties is blood orange jelly. The cook is included in the price and available to cook three meals per day.

SERVICE:
Maid service 7 days a week.

Air conditioning, Wi-Fi (the rural location sometimes creates slower speeds and on occasion intermittent Wi-Fi), local cell phones provided with staff numbers and local services

The estate is set in spectacular Sicilian countryside with a backdrop of Mnt Etna in the distance. It is brilliantly positioned to explore the East and South Eastern parts of Sicily, which contains some of the most interesting sights and things to do. To the North East are Catania (30 mins) and Toarmina (1hr 25). Within an hour or so to the South and East are a host of some of the treasures of the island - The World Heritage Site of Noto, Syracue, Ortygia, Ragusa, Modica and Scicli and many beaches, some of which are among the most appealing in Italy.