Last week, Italy lifted its compulsory five-day quarantine on all arrivals from the UK; if you’re fully vaccinated and have a negative Covid test in hand, you’re good to go. But where to start?
Consider a southerly point – Salina, one of the largest of Sicily’s Aeolians. And my favourite, boasting as it does gorgeous water and some spectacular hikes in its interior. Malfa’s where you rent a house; Pollara’s the village to do sunset aperitivo in; Rinella is where the direct-from-Palermo ferry docks. (Also: capers, growing wild everywhere, and Malvasia vines, made into gorgeous whites.) Though all of Sicily is currently designated a “yellow” zone – meaning masks are required indoors and out, and certain museums and cultural sites need to be booked online in advance – restaurants and bars are still open at night, and everything else is more or less business as usual.
Where to stay? Capofaro is a perennial, for its sleek, elegant cottages, huge kitchen garden, killer pool and the viticultural deep-dive it offers (it’s owned by the Tasca d’Almerita family, whose Malvasia, produced right on these acres, was one of two wines served to Barack Obama on his final state visit). Hotel Signum is the grooviest, with its traditional Restoration Hardware rooms, the perfection of its terrace bar, and the estimable talents of Martina Caruso, the owner’s 31-year-old Michelin-starred daughter in the kitchen. Then there’s the Principe di Salina. It’s simple; its 12 rooms are spare and white, its sitting room a cute hybrid of California and Sicily. It might not be the most luxe thing you’ve ever seen but it’s a nice round-out to what the other two offer; and its situation – right at the top of the slope down which Malfa tumbles prettily toward the sea – can’t really be beat. capofaro.it, from €310. hotelsignum.it, from €250. principedisalina.it, from €220