Camelia - Three Bedroom Villa, Sleeps 6

A beautifully finished contemporary villa with pool, internal courtyard and stunning panoramas.

With its internal courtyard garden with pool, Camelia's design has something of the traditional Sicilian baglio or Moroccan riad about it. Here, however, inward-facing privacy is perfectly balanced by large external windows and wrap-around gardens offering splendid vistas of Mount Etna and the Ionian Sea.

Inside: accommodation at Camelia is arranged on one floor that wraps around an internal courtyard. Half of the quad are given over to living and reception areas which flow organically into one another.

At the front, making the most of the floor-to-ceiling windows that offer both access to the surrounding gardens and views down to the Ionian coast and the sea, is the main living area. A parallel wall of windows looks into and accesses the internal courtyard and pool. An elegant day bed, a series of comfy sofas and divans, a large bookcase and an eclectic range of art and objets d'art populate this light, airy and generously proportioned space, providing splashes of colour and elegance.

Moving along, past the internal dining area, one comes to the well-equipped kitchen with central island and direct access to the al fresco dining area. Just off the kitchen is a double bedroom with en-suite shower room. The bedroom looks onto the pool and internal courtyard, while the shower room accesses the surrounding grounds.

The other two bedrooms, a double-twin and a double, are accessed from the living area. The double looks out onto the pool and internal courtyard and boasts an en-suite bathroom with tub, shower and a glass door leading out into the gardens. The double-twin opens onto the gardens and has an en-suite shower room. All the bedrooms are spacious, elegantly fitted and furnished and come with walk-in wardrobes.

Outside: central (in all senses of the word) to the al fresco living experience at Camelia is the cosy internal courtyard, accessed from the living area. Home to a lawned garden, a refreshing pool and a palm tree, this most private of gardens offers an ideal mix of natural shade and sun for most of the day.

Immediately surrounding Camelia is a mix of lawn, flourishing Mediterranean shrubs and flowers, citrus orchards, a children's play area, and low lava stone walls. The east-facing area of garden, accessed from the living room, offers 180-degree vistas that takes in the Ionian Sea, the coastline up to Taormina and even Calabria on the Italian mainland.

On the north side of the house, conveniently accessed from the kitchen, is a flower-strewn pergola, where you will take most of your meals. Served by a barbecue and offering superb views out to sea and up the Ionian coast, you will certainly look forward to long lazy dinners here at the end of the day. Views from other parts of the grounds take in the surrounding orange orchards and the majestic peak of Mount Etna rising up in the west.

The large citrus estate surrounding Camelia is home to another of our villas, Ortensia, which is located around 120m away. Owned by members of the same family, the villas share part of the access road but each enjoys total privacy. If you're travelling in a large group or with another family, why not take both of them.

You may also wish to know that the pool has a single depth of 1.5m.

Due to the nature of Camelia, which includes terraces with low walls, drops, steep slopes, and some unfenced areas in the grounds, younger children must be supervised by an adult when exploring the property.

Depending on the direction of the wind, traffic noise may occasionally be audible in certain areas of the grounds.
Situated in a panoramic position above the town of Giarre on the east coast of Sicily, about halfway between Catania and Taormina, Camelia is an excellent base from which to discover the area's historic towns, Mount Etna and the fascinating villages that populate its flanks. There are some lovely beaches down on the coast below, including those at Fiumefreddo and Marina di Cottone, which have received several consecutive "Bandiere Blu", attesting to the cleanliness of the water and their general ecological excellence. The chic lidos and evocative beaches below Taormina are just up the motorway, while an 18-hole golf course is a 45 minute drive away.

Further afield, Syracuse, the baroque towns of the Noto valley, the quiet beaches of Vendicari and Capo Passero to the south and Messina to the north are all comfortably reachable for day trips.

Arrival details will be confirmed by The Thinking Traveller after your villa is confirmed.

The Thinking Traveller can organise transfers and car hire and an agent will be in touch with you once your villa is confirmed.