Pressed between the slopes of Etna and the Ionian shoreline on Sicily's eastern coast, a nineteenth-century baronial villa and a scatter of low-slung contemporary lodges hold an unlikely conversation across several acres of subtropical garden. Donna Carmela Resort & Lodges takes its name from the noblewoman who once presided over this estate near Riposto, and the layering of periods is the property's defining architectural argument — the original tiled-roof villa with its rendered facades and tall shuttered windows set against pavilion-style guest lodges whose exposed concrete ceilings, floor-to-ceiling glazing, and wide-plank oak floors belong firmly to a contemporary Italian design sensibility. The lodges carry the more resolved interiors: raw concrete soffits left deliberately unfinished, dark-veined stone panels used as vertical headboard inserts, steel-framed furniture in dusty blue upholstery, and pale oak joinery forming open dressing rooms that blur the boundary between sleeping and bathing spaces. Outside, lava-stone retaining walls enclose lawns planted with Canary Island date palms, citrus trees, and bougainvillea — a garden that feels more North African than European in its botanical ambition. The pool-side restaurant pavilion is framed in dark timber with a woven-reed ceiling that filters afternoon light into something amber and warm, wire bistro chairs set around white-linened tables oriented toward the circular pool and the layered greenery beyond.

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A home in the parkPlaced in the heart of a nursery specialised in Mediterranean plants, Donnacarmela is ready to welcome you in a 19th century Sicilian house that has been refurbished in full respect of the original but given all the modern comforts. Elegantly refined, the building dominates the ten thousand square metre nursery garden. Here you may enjoy a guided tour to discover the hundreds of scents and varieties of Mediterranean plants. It is also possible to admire a private collection of subtropical plants. The courtyards in lavic paving, the ancient cistern and river pebbles, the well-stocked wine cellar and the swimming surrounded by secular olive trees, the comfortable spaces designed to relax and the quiet reading room, the wide halls and ample dining room: all this has been designed to make your stay exceptional. Ten hectares in the most prestigious wine area on mount Etna are where we produce the Doc wine for Donnacarmela. The vineyards were bought by Donnacarmela in 2006 and they are between Solicchiata and Passopisciaro on the northern side of the volcano in the territory of Castiglione di Sicilia. The vineyards all grow Nerello Mascalese, the vine that produces the most appreciated wines in this area. This is where the ‘Montedolce Etna Doc’ is born from the passion and commitment of the Faro family in an area that has wine for its vocation. The name of the wine comes from the place where we produce it. The wine-making is done in a well-equipped cellar in Mascali, the area of origin of the Nerello Mascalese, only a few kilometres away from Donnacarmela.Montedolce is characterised by its ruby-red colour, red berry scents with mineral notes, and by the complexity, persistence and elegant tannin it offers the palate.We do not only offer wine and taste, however. A little lower down the mountain side, between the Ionic coast and the first hills, it is possible to find the Mediterranean plants that have found the best environment to grow here. Thus, they develop into unrepeatable shapes and colours: the Abutilon, the Agave, the Ficus, the Cistus, the Opuntiae, the ornamental Citrus plants are all to be found in the gardens of Donnacarmela. They are the essence of Mediterranean gardens. Tese plants and flowers offer themselves to visitors in all their charm.