Across a south-facing hillside above the Sicilian coast near Sciacca, where ancient olive groves step down toward the Mediterranean in terraced rows, the Rocco Forte Private Villas were conceived not as a conventional hotel but as a small collection of contemporary residences that happen to come with the full weight of a luxury hospitality group behind them. Olga Polizzi, Rocco Forte Hotels' director of design and the creative intelligence behind most of the group's interiors, approached the brief as she might a private commission — grounding each villa in the agricultural landscape rather than imposing upon it, with warm sand-coloured render and dark-framed glazing that echoes the colours of the surrounding terrain at dusk. Inside, the palette is deliberately residential: wide-plank oak floors in a grey-washed finish, upholstered bed frames in geometric jacquard weaves of teal and ivory, and accent cushions in chartreuse that pick up the colour of the surrounding citrus groves. Tufted linen benches, ceramic table lamps with a hand-made quality, and woven rattan pendants over the outdoor dining terraces carry the same unhurried domesticity. The infinity pool, edged in pale limestone and positioned to dissolve into the sea horizon, frames a view that takes in both the golf course below and the open Mediterranean beyond — a composition that makes the architecture feel almost incidental to the landscape it was built to face.

1hr 20min drive from Palermo airport (PMO); 4hr 45min drive from Catania airport (CTA)

Space, serenity and sea views: expansive, exclusive Rocco Forte Private Villas with the lifestyle, leisure facilities and fine dining of Verdura Resort, Sicily. From their hilltop spot, our elegant 3 and 4 bedroom villas overlook the Mediterranean Sea and Sicilian countryside. Your home: airy, elegant interiors, peaceful courtyards, sunny swimming pools and seamless indoor-outdoor living. Your host: Verdura Resort, its award-winning spa, restaurants and services; its gardens, groves, golf courses and coast.