Dream home between Etna and the sea

The luxury of feeling at home: a dream home between Etna and the sea

What you feel when you arrive at Rocca delle Tre Contrade is a great feeling of freedom. This gem of Mediterranean hospitality is located in Santa Venerina on a private plateau overlooking an extraordinary landscape: on one side Etna with its energy and restless charm, and on the other the vast and calm Mediterranean Sea. Here, nature is clearly felt; it seduces and conquers, welcomes and regenerates. Jon is the proud host who chose the unique character of the place to make his dream come true and share it with guests from all over the world.

"My first impression was: something must be done here. This place is too beautiful, full of energy, light and wind."

Rocca delle Tre Contrade is a villa/hostel with all the comforts and services, but above all it is a home. When Jon and his partners decided to renovate the abandoned and dilapidated former aristocratic property, which they immediately fell in love with, they started with this thought. It was a long journey, a project that took shape over time, required patience and was carried out with the right amount of risk-taking and initiative.

A great traveler (both by work and by vocation), Jon seized the opportunity to create a hospitality venue that perfectly combined holiday luxury with the comforts of home: twelve rooms, a 25-meter infinity pool, a tennis court, a vegetable garden and citrus grove, a 24-hour kitchen, and courses held by international chefs.

He wanted to offer the best of Sicily, respecting the soul of the house and striving to preserve its period features; but he also created an environment that reflected his personality, choosing the furniture, decorations and artworks himself, without the help of architects and interior designers. Free from the limitations that experience in the field can impose, he followed his own intuitions and ideas to build and share the home of his dreams.

"True luxury lies not so much in gold-plated fixtures or marble, but instead in space, light, ceiling height – things you don't find anymore."

Travelers who choose Rocca delle Tre Contrade know that they will enjoy all the benefits and services of a state-of-the-art hotel as if they were at home: they will never have to share the pool or lie side by side with strangers on the sun loungers. They will only be surrounded by friends, family or the people they want to share their vacation with.

"The first thing we tell our guests is that they have arrived home."

The kitchen plays a very important role in this oasis of well-being and relaxation: Jon has chosen to offer traditional Sicilian recipes with elements of Italian and international culinary art. The person who brings these ideas to the table and transforms principles and philosophy into tasty, simple and authentic dishes is Isidora, known as Dora – the chef at Rocca delle Tre Contrade.

As the guardian of a tradition passed down through generations, Dora coordinates the kitchen, takes care of the shopping, chooses the ingredients, listens to Jon, interacts with the guests, and manages to make each recipe special.

"We simplified the dishes to make them as clean as possible without changing them too much."

Every year, in spring and autumn, guests at Rocca delle Tre Contrade can take part in cooking classes with star chefs – another opportunity for gourmet travelers to spend precious moments together, guided by professionals who generously share their experience and are inspired by the quality and abundance of ingredients that only a land as generous as Sicily can offer.

Jon, Dora and everyone who collaborates on this project are the family we all want to be welcomed by: discreet, attentive, caring and with an ability to make us feel at home so we can live a dream.