Rocco Forte's decision to build from scratch on 230 hectares of untouched Sicilian coastline near Sciacca, rather than adapt an existing structure, gave Verdura Resort a freedom that conversion projects rarely allow — and a responsibility that the practice took seriously. Opened in 2009 and designed with architecture by Giancarlo Pedone and interiors by Olga Polizzi, Rocco Forte's longtime design director and sister, the low-slung sandstone-coloured blocks step across the landscape in a horizontal rhythm that echoes the agricultural terracing of the surrounding Valle del Verdura without mimicking vernacular Sicilian architecture too literally. The 203 rooms and suites are distributed across two-storey wings that keep the massing modest against that enormous sky. Inside, Polizzi's approach draws from the warm material vocabulary of southern Italian country life — four-poster beds draped in sheer white canopies, rattan and cane seating, bold ikat and geometric textiles in saffron and terracotta layered over pale concrete floors. The effect sits closer to an edited private villa than a resort hotel, personal without being precious. The crescent-shaped pool, fringed by a double row of mature palms reflected in water the colour of pale jade, has become the property's most reproduced image — and from the thatched restaurant terrace above the links, where the golf course designed by Kyle Phillips runs directly to the cliff edge, the Mediterranean stretches north toward the Sicilian interior mountains in one continuous, unhurried panorama.

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

Verdura – a paradisiacal expanse on Sicily’s stunning southwest coast – is their flagship resort. 230 hectares of sun-blushed Mediterranean coastline, countryside and hotel: space for the Forte ethos to shine. Insightful hospitality quietly caters to every desire. Sleek, environmentally sensitive architecture fuses with Latin terracottas, ochres and violets. Local charm with universal style. Italianate furnishings, breeze-brushed white muslins and, always, a sea view. Verdura’s vast scale and escapist atmosphere afford endless indulgence and choice. Choice to unfurl in its capacious spa, or lap its infinity pool. To play tennis among its orange groves. A round or two of golf. To master Sicilian cooking, or simply savour it by the sea. To explore Verdura’s 12th-century tower; helicopter across Etna; or stroll along its private beach. It’s your decision, at the Fortes’ invitation.