Italian hotel full of design character
Taormina, Italy, has many faces. The town is a mazelike series of streets that hearken back to medieval times with fortified gates as point of entry, and seemingly impenetrable buildings.
These streets are the town's center, which begin the slow ascent to the hilltop's fortresslike structures that dot the landscape, including buildings such as churches, government buildings and private villas donning crenelated parapets and ramparts and narrow windows suggesting impending warfare.
It is precisely this mix of architectural elements that give Hotel Villa Carlotta its overall character.
Dating back to 500 B.C., the main feature and entrance to the hotel is a stone-clad tower structure with Moorish keyhole windows. It's lobby and seating area feature catacombs from its previous history, with Sicilian ceramic Moorish heads in silver leaf. The fantasy tone of the decor is captured in the cream and salmon, wide-stripe wall finish, and beaded pearl chandelier designed by Florentine Interior Designers Studio Area.
This quirky boutique hotel has a beautiful rooftop restaurant and terrace overlooking Isola Bella Island. The panoramic views are a spectacular backdrop to the amazing kitchen of chef David Costa. It was a delight to hear this historian turned chef describe a few of his dishes with historical references.
A tasty and colorful recipe from the Sicilian gastronomic tradition is the Pasta alla Norma: pasta with eggplant, ricotta cheese and tomatoes, all Mediterranean classic flavors. This dish was named in honor of Vincenzo Bellini's opera "Norma."
The story says that during the 19th century, Nino Martoglio, a Sicilian writer, poet and theater director, was so impressed when he first tasted this dish that he compared it to "Norma," Bellini's masterpiece. And the name has lasted ever since.
A short distance from Taormina - but a world away in terms of landscape - lies the lush green town of Castiglione di Sicilia. Amid the rolling hills lie the vineyards at Villa Fischetti. Dr. Fischetti and Michela Luca, his wife, have brought a once dormant and almost abandoned farmhouse and its vineyards back. Twelve years of work have restored the farmhouse and vineyards, which boast grapevines that are 80 years old, and a select few which are more than 130 years old.
As Dr. Fischetti explained, constant maintenance goes into the vineyard, which now produces Nerello Mascalese, Cappuccio, Carricante and Cataratto grapes, for the production of Etna Rosso, Etna Bianco and Etna Rosato, some of Sicily's finest DOC wines.
The farmhouse, which dated back to 1860s, has been restored in the very best of taste to show the historical aspects of wine producing in old barrels side by side with large industrial containers used in today's productions.
The farmhouse and other ancillary buildings have a rustic yet sophisticate decor appropriate of a vineyard, mixed in with great abstract paintings by Dr. Fischetti's mother, fashion designer and artist Amalia Tomaselli. The gardens contain over 40 varieties of roses and the vineyards are dotted with pear, cherry and almond trees.
Villa Fischetti holds private wine tastings with local foods and produce which they describe are from "0 kilometers away."
• Joseph Pubillones is the owner of Joseph Pubillones Interiors, an award-winning interior design firm based in Palm Beach, Florida.
© 2016, Creators Syndicate