The question of where to stay in Sicily was resolved unambiguously thanks to the advice of my friend Seryozha Kondobarov. After listening to his stories about the atmosphere of the island and the beautiful Sicilian Mario and his wife Antonella, Yana and I did not even consider other options. The point is not to rent a hotel, but apartments in a villa, plus not just renting a house, but also imbued with the culture of Sicilians and chat with them.
Best friend advice and first impressions
Sergei also found this place thanks to his girlfriend, who on the site found apartments with local residents in Norway and decided that in Sicily this would also be a great idea. Generally, we flew to Sicily with the best expectations, which were more than justified.
Today we will show you the Villa Mario, which in December we rented for only 150 euros for 4 days + we were met at the airport, conducted several city tours, invited to dinner at the pizzeria Calvino, where they cook incredibly delicious pizza, and also showed the best pastry shops, bars and much more. In high season, of course, apartment rental will be higher, but it all pays off with the hospitality and sincerely kind attitude of the Sicilians, which, in my opinion, is priceless.
The villa is located not on the beach, but in a small village near the town of Trapani. Each house adjoins a large area where locals grow olives, oranges, pomegranates and other fruits. In this house, which was built over 200 years ago, Mario was born and raised.
So the villa has a large garden with lemons, oranges and olive trees, which even in December was quite beautiful. I can imagine what beauty is here from March to October. By the way, Mario and Antonella themselves make olive oil, which you, of course, can taste.
In general, everything that grows in this garden can be safely tried.
Inside the villa is very cozy, without any hint of luxury, but with all the amenities and many interesting details.
Oh, what a tile! There is something national Sicilian about this.
The villa has all the necessary utensils and cutlery.
The apartments are executed in yellow colors, and are called Appartamento Limone. The adjacent door is the Appartamento Melograno, almost the same, only in red colors and with an extra single bed.
In general, the villa is designed for 6 people, but you can only rent one apartment and live together, as we did.
How to book apartments yourself
Villa Mario and Antonella can be found both at Bucking and other booking sites, but we ordered all SMS correspondence. We wrote a message in English with the following content: "Hello Mario and Antonella. My name is Artur. My friend from Germany Sergey srtongly recommended to stay in your villa while visiting Sicily. I plan to stay in Trapani with my wife (2 persons) from 11/30/2013 to 12/02/2013. Is your villa availible in this period? Please send us price for 3 nights. ”After confirmation, we talked a little about the dates of our arrival in Trapani. You can write in English or Italian. Although Mario and Antonella speak only Italian, it’s easy to find a common language with them.
In our opinion, the most correct way is to go around all the reservation systems, go our own way and contact the owners directly. This will help not to pay a commission to agencies and support these wonderful people. True, keep in mind that by contacting directly you do not pay any advances and penalties for a possible non-arrival and change of plans on your part. Try not to let these good people down. We and our friends have repeatedly seen their decency and sincerely recommend this option of a real Sicilian holiday. You will be asked to make a reservation for 1 night in one of the systems so that you have the opportunity to write a review about them.
Contact Mario and Antonella:
Phone: +39 339 868 92 73 - call in Italian.
Villa Mario in reservation systems
Villa address:
Strada Solfarello, 84
91100 Salinagrande TP
Map
How to get to Trapani?
- By plane from Rome to Trapani. We flew by www.ryanair.com and gave 99 euros for 2 2-way tickets (Rome Ciampino - Trapani). If you buy tickets in 2-3 days, you can always find an option for 50-60 euros one way. The flight takes one hour.
- On your own car, traveling on the roads of Italy. For example, you can rent a Roman airport in Fiumicino, ride with stops to the west of Sicily 1000-1500 km, and at the end, rent a car at Trapani Airport and cheaply return to any city in Italy. Renting a good car with all insurances will cost 45-60 euros per day. We recommend choosing a profitable option using the service of our serviceauto.italy4.me
- If you do not rent a car, then Mario will arrange a free transfer to your villa, and will also take you from the villa to the main attractions, train station or port. Clients are primarily his friends, who, like us, are sure to return to them more than once.
What does the villa look like in June 2014
We liked the villa and this beautiful Sicilian family so much that we decided to return to Mario and Antonella as part of our trip to the south of Italy with our parents. This time we spent 5 days in the villa, renting two rooms at once. At the request of readers and friends, we supplement (and will supplement) this article with new photographs. We hope that after reading these articles we will still have places for these wonderful people.
So, we arrived at the villa on the last day of spring on May 31. I wrote repeatedly that traveling just for the sake of sights is not so interesting to us, but the atmosphere and people are priceless. Becoming a Sicilian friend is a great honor for me. Since Mario, in addition to sporting achievements, is also a professional gardener - in his garden you can find 25 species of fruit-bearing trees - Yana's parents decided to surprise him and brought pine tree unprecedented for these places from the distant Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk.
Antonella and Mario met us with a small but very tasty appetizer of homemade limoncella and ice cream.
We ourselves do not drink alcohol, which in Italy is a huge minus, and the joy of enjoying this wonderful drink went to parents.
I personally, as a well-known sweet tooth, got 2 servings of ice cream as compensation.
Since this time we traveled to Trapani from Rome by car, the option of free parking inside the villa was very helpful. We parked right by the garden with olive trees.
Apartment Limone
Yana and I still stayed in an apartment called Limone.
Apartments Melograno
Our parents settled in neighboring apartments called Melograno (with Italian garnet). They are as cute as Limone. In the bedroom there is a wardrobe, which belonged to the grandfather of Mario. Estimated age of about 100 years.
Of course, it can and should be used.
Hangers deserve special attention.
The apartments are ideal for 2-3 people, for example, for a family with a child.
The bathroom is clean and tidy.
Summer atmosphere
Since 25 different types of trees grow in Mario’s garden, something practically blossoms and bears fruit in every month of the year.
Everything that grows on trees, you can safely tear and try. You can’t buy lemon with such a rich taste even in an Italian supermarket. His own.
The gazebo is a great place for breakfast, reading and quiet spiritual conversations.
Almost all the time outside sleep in the villa we spent here.
A vineyard is located 20 meters from the villa. In September it will be very tasty.
This year we plan to return to Mario and Antonella at least 2 times. The second time in November, I begged Mario to “arrange” me for the collection of olives. We will be involved in agriculture. Stay with us.
To be continued.
