Rooms

The rooms spill down the hillside, each with views over Modica and a separate entrance off the garden. All combine old and new: rescued wrought-iron beds topped with orthopaedic mattresses, salvaged tailors’ hangers next to flat-screen TVs, a safe hidden behind a metal oven door in the wall. Pale masonry is broken up with bright colours, beams and patterned tiles that evoke Sicily’s Arabic and Spanish past, and bathrooms come with waterfall showers (no tubs). All but the smallest rooms have private terraces - sit back and watch the town turn from golden to rose-pink as the sun sets

Largest are the Superior Suites. In desert-brown Scirocco, you’ll find a carriage axle incorporated into a mirror frame and a decorative silver swan from Cairo. The spacious split-level Meridiana and Talia, have sofabeds on their upper floors; the former is one of our favourite rooms, with a romantic lower-floor bedroom hewn out of the cliff face.

Set a little way from the others are the Dependance Houses; Casa Buendia is carved into the rock and can accommodate up to 3 extra beds within its white, cave-like walls. It has a kitchenette, too. Since our visit, Casa Agave has also been added – we're yet to personally view the space but a cube-like glass-walled bedroom and palatial terrace (with stunning views) set the tone.

Smaller but just as striking are the Superior Rooms. We loved the deep magenta walls in Sirah and the wall-full of intricate blue and white tiling in Mediterraneo.

Features include:

• Minibar
• Safe box
• WiFi

Eating

Marco and Viviana prepare a beautiful breakfast of homemade jams, fresh fruit, creamy yoghurt, blood orange juice, bread and pastries (including heart-shaped chocolate bites or sugar-dusted muffins). There's a breakfast room with picture windows at the front and a cave at the back, but in summer you sit outside in the shade of the fig tree, gazing over the banked houses of Modica.

No other meals are served, but picnic hampers can be arranged and both Casa Buendia and Casa Agave have a kitchenette - the one in the latter is not suitable for cooking, but fine for preparing snacks, with plates, glasses, a dishwasher, and a few basics such as coffee, tea, cereals, fruit and water.

For lunch and dinner, there are several restaurants within a 10-minute walk. The owner recommends the Michelin-starred Accursio, or the traditional Osteria di Sapori Perduti on Corso Umberto, where we've enjoyed delicious antipasti in the past. Or you could head to nearby Ragusa, where one of Italy's best chefs (according to Gambero Rosso magazine), Ciccio Sultano, prepares Michelin-starred Sicilian delicacies in his elegant restaurant near the Duomo, whose name it bears.

Features include:

• Breakfast
• Kids' meals
• Restaurants nearby

Activities

• Explore Modica, listed as a World Heritage site for its vernacular architecture and Baroque churches, mostly rebuilt after Sicily's 1693 earthquake. It’s divided into Modica Bassa, whose main thoroughfare (Corso Umberto) lies at your feet, and Modica Alta on the hill opposite, capped by a castle and clocktower
  
• Another impressive Baroque town is Ragusa, sited on a cliff-ringed spur 15 minutes away, with a steepled duomo rising above a jumble of tiled medieval roofs
  
• A 15-minute drive in the other direction takes you to Scicli, an outpost of the Spanish barons with wide piazzas and weathered palazzi
  
• And it’s only 30-45 minutes to the final pair of Unesco-listed, post-1693 Baroque towns: Noto and Palazzolo Acreide. The former boasts honey-stoned avenues; the latter a Greek theatre, Roman catacombs and ancient quarries. Nearby is Buscemi, a living folk museum with working olive and grape presses
  
• After all that sightseeing, take it easy on the sandy beaches lining the south coast. Nearest are Pozzallo and Sampieri (20 minutes’ drive); further west are Donnalucata and Scoglitti (30-45 minutes’ drive), both long, wide and surf-streaked
  
• To the east are the bird-rich lagoons and road-free coves of the Vendicari Nature Reserve - walk to Calamosche for total seclusion
  
• At the southern end of the reserve is Marzamemi, a sleepy tuna-fishing village which during summer turns into a chic resort filled with bars, restaurants and live music
  
• Active types can hike along the deep limestone gorge of the Cava d’Ispica, whose cliffs are dotted with hermits’ tombs and climbers abseiling into them; take a boat tour along the Ciane river; cycle through the gorge and necropolis of Pantalica (contact Sud Estremo); and spot migrating waders around Capo Passero

Activities on site or nearby include:

• Birdwatching
• Boat trips
• Cycling
• Hiking
• Historical sites
• Horse riding
• Museums / galleries
• Plantlife / flora
• Sailing
• Shopping / markets
• Swimming
• Windsurfing

Best Time to go

Our Top Tips

Location

Casa Talia is set on a hillside in the lovely Baroque town of Modica, 20km from the coast, in southeast Sicily.

By Air:
Fly to Comiso (35km away) or, if you're touring the whole of Sicily, to Catania (113km away) or Palermo (294km away).

From the Airport
From Comiso it's a 35-minute drive to Modica; from Catania it's 1.5-2 hours by road. There's also a bus from Catania airport which takes 2+ hours, and a train from the centre which takes even longer. But you'll probably want a hire car for your stay (see below).

By Car:
See our car rental recommendations. Casa Talia can be difficult to find, so make sure you take directions with you (provided automatically when you confirm a booking through i-escape). You'll have to park on the street nearby and walk a short way to the entrance.

By Boat:
If you're driving from southern mainland Italy, take the regular ferry from Villa San Giovanni to Messina.

Detailed directions will be provided when you book through i-escape.