Holiday Villa Rentals in Sicily & Aeolian Islands

Sicily is an exotic and rich island opposite the Italian mainland, with a fascinating history.  This large island was settled by Phoenicians and Greeks, and contested by the Carthaginians, Romans, Ostrogoths, and Byzantines, and later the Arabs, Normans, Spanish, and French. With its central position in the Mediterranean, a villa in Sicily has always been much in demand. The Romans built their luxury villas and the Normans their churches. We would steer you to the former, so rent a luxury holiday house with a swimming pool, and explore the wild interior or else stay in the coastal towns and villages, where dolphins and swordfish dwell in a sea the colour of sapphire.

Sicily has beckoned seafaring wanderers since the trials of Odysseus were first sung by Homer. Strategically positioned between Europe and Africa, dividing the Mediterranean into its Eastern and Western spheres, this hybrid land of three corners and a fiery volcano once hosted two of the most culturally enlightened capitals of the West - one Greek, in Syracuse, and one Arab-Norman, in Palermo.

Today, these ancient ports of call peacefully commingle the traces of the past - graceful Byzantine mosaics rub elbows with Greek temples, Roman amphitheatres,  Romanesque cathedrals and baroque flights of fancy such as the church of Santa Lucia alla Badia, Syracuse.

The invaders through the ages were not just attracted by the strategic location. They also recognised a paradise in Sicily's deep blue skies and temperate climate, its lush vegetation and rich marine life - all of which remain to this day. Factor in Sicily's unique cuisine - another harmony of elements, mingling Arab and Greek spices, Spanish and French techniques, and some of the world's finest seafood, all accompanied by big, fruity wines - and you can understand why visitors continue to be drawn here, year after year.

Sicily's popularity has been rising in recent years but the windswept heartland has barely been explored by tourists, where vineyards, olive groves, and lovingly kept dirt roads leading to family farmhouses still tie Sicilians to the land and to tradition.

There are fifteen islands off Sicily, and of these paradises of untouched beauty, some have an almost African charm, such as the Pelagie, in the province of Agrigento, and Pantelleria in the province of Trapani. Probably the best known are the Aeolian Islands, in the province of Messina, where water meets fire. Stromboli, the northernmost island, still has an active volcano which puts on a brightly coloured performance on most nights. Here nature still dictates its rhythms, and travellers can let themselves be enchanted by the magic spell of the fishermen and farmers who inhabit these isles, the last custodians of the ancient Mediterranean traditions. The choice is yours - between the lively throngs on the Aeolian Islands or the peace and quiet of the three small islands of Pelagie.

When not been treated to local specialities by your private villa cook, you can spend evenings out on the town enjoying the balmy Mediterranean air, watching Sicilian families - from the very young and unstable to the old (and sometimes unstable) in bougainvillea and frangipani scented piazzas apparently strolling about aimlessly, but obviously content.  This is an island that offers something for everyone and the sea sparkles on the warm volcanic sands of its many beaches, volcanoes smoke, temples rise up from the rocky landscape, fishing nets glisten with the day’s catch, and the lemons drip from the trees ready to be sliced into to your evening aperitif.