The south east of Sicily - a region also referred to as the Val di Noto - is tailor-made for holidays, with its special blend of beaches and Baroque that makes it unlike anywhere else. Syracuse was one of the very first urban settlements in Europe, and you don’t need to spend long in this very charming coastal city - and Ortigia, its glorious, honey-coloured old town - to understand why. The area is an idyllic base for a villa holiday, rich in history and brimming with restaurants that showcase the very best produce from land and sea.

South of Syracuse, the coastline unfolds into some of Sicily’s finest beaches. Fontane Bianche, with its white sand and turquoise water offers classic beach days out from your villa, while Capo Murro di Porco is the place to head for waves and wild beauty. Continuing south you’ll find an almost unbroken stretch of beaches, punctuated by delightful seaside towns like Lido di Noto, Marina di Modica and Marina di Ragusa. The unspoilt shores of the Vendicari reserve are alive with birdlife, and San Lorenzo and Calamosche are highlights for any beach-lover’s hit list. The 8km-long stretch of beach at Santa Maria del Focallo is also one our personal favourites.

Encompassing the whole of the south-eastern corner of Sicily, Val di Noto stretches from the Baroque splendour of UNESCO-heritage towns like Noto, Modica, Ragusa, Scicli, Palazzolo Acreide, Caltagirone, Militello and Ispica down to the southern coastline, through rolling landscapes of olive groves and vineyards.