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Scoglitti

The Residence is located about 1 km from the picturesque town of Scoglitti, with its shops, restaurants, marina and fishing port (don’t miss the traditional fish auction sales in the beginning of the afternoon!)

Our self-catering apartments are ideally situated within easy reach of the main Baroque sites of the Hyblaean Mountains: Ragusa, Modica, Scicli, Noto, as well as Piazza Armerina, Syracuse, Agrigento, Caltagirone and many others.

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Beaches

Especially appreciated for its beaches of fine golden sand the Hyblaen seaside resorts are ideal places for families and children.

The south-eastern Sicily coasts have many popular and picturesque/pleasant destinations: Scoglitti town and surroundings, the Natural Reserve of Randello, Punta Braccetto, Torre di Mezzo and Punta Secca made famous for being the set of “Commissario Montalbano” by the homonymous TV show.

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Donnafugata (8 km from Sikelika)

Set in rolling countryside among rocks and giant carob trees, the castle dates back to the mid-17th century. You’ll wonder where exactly you’ve arrived when the gracious Venetian-style facade looms into view.

This fascinating amalgam of styles is further confused by the lush, gilded, trompe-l’oeil Baroque interior.

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Donnafugata Golf (8 Km from Sikelika)

The 18 holes designed by Franco Piras stretch out over two big valleys, each with a lake that makes the golfing more interesting. The course blends perfectly with the nature reserve, the sea and the island of Malta on the horizon.

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The fairways are incut with renaturalised areas that caress them and highlight their shapes, adding colours and fragrances that change through the seasons, recreating the original atmosphere of each place. A huge maritime pine is the only tree on the course where large bunkers define the fairways. The course is like a links, except for the presence of the two large artificial lakes that serve as irrigation reserves and oases for migrating birds. Indeed many species find and return to their natural habitat here.

The course is highly exposed to the dominant wind from the sea and has multiple tees for each hole to change the course from one day to the next. One of the features of the course is its green approaches and collars in agrostis up to the mounds that surround the greens, thus accentuating the links characteristics. The landscaping with gentle slopes alternately hides players behind mounds, cutting them off from the rest of the course, and then provides them with incredible views of it and of the sea.

Modica - St Peter's Cathedral

Modica (45 km from Sikelika)

Modica spreads across a plateau which is divided by a deep canyon. Magnificent churches, palaces and houses rise from the bottom of the gorge and seem stacked one upon the other. Church domes and bell towers are dotted over the red-tiled roofs in a show of baroque beauty. The Church Of San Giorgio is a must to visit.

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Modica perpetuates the centuries-old tradition of Sicilian chocolate making and chocolate shops are plentiful in the town. This is a reminder that Sicily once belonged to Spain and shared in the new foods brought back from the Aztec Empire by the Conquistadors.

Scicli city

Scicli (37 km from Sikelika)

Sitting in a gorge a few kilometres from the long sandy beaches of Sampieri and Donnalucata, Scicli is a fascinating Baroque town also possessing many caves and rock dwellings. The Palazzo Beneventano is particularly worthy of note, with its fanciful gargoyles and decorative features. The Via Francesco Mormina Penna is an excellent example of a harmonious late Baroque street.

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Ragusa - Ibla cityscape

Ragusa Ibla (30 km from Sikelika)

The old town of Ragusa Ibla is one of the masterpieces of Sicilian baroque. This style is wonderfully expressed in the architecture of the San Giorgio Cathedral and the Zacco palace. Beautifully crafted stone adorns facades all over the town, and a walk after dark through the illuminated old streets of Ragusa makes for an unforgettable experience.

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Siracusa

Syracusa (119 km from Sikelika)

Syracuse is a place not to be missed. In the fifth century BC the city was the most important in the Western world, and later the capital of the Byzantine Empire. It was the home of Archimedes.

The archaeological site of Syracuse lies in the northwest of the town, with its famous Greek amphitheatre dating from the 5th century BC. It is the largest ever built and is still used for performances during the annual Greek theatre festival between the middle of May and the end of June.

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The historical heart of Syracuse beats on the island of Ortygia. After crossing the short bridge from the mainland let yourself be drawn through the maze of narrow, picturesque streets where architectural styles vary from Greek and Roman to medieval and Baroque. On the Piazza del Duomo lies the magnificent Cathedral constructed on the site of an ancient temple of Athena; the columns of which are still visible as they are incorporated in the structure of the Cathedral.

Noto

Noto (84 km from Sikelika)

Noto is the best-known and most complete example of Sicilian Baroque planning and architecture. The town was totally destroyed by the earthquake of 1693 and was rebuilt from scratch on a new site based on Baroque ideals. Along the town’s two main thoroughfares, the Corso Vittorio Emanuele and the Via Cavour, lie a myriad of Baroque houses, palaces and churches all rivalling with each other in originality and decorative embellishment.

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The town is busy and vibrant, and acquires a particular magic at the end of the day when the setting sun lends a soft glow to the local limestone out of which the buildings are made.

10 km away is the site of the ruins of the ancient Netum, the pre-earthquake settlement. The site contains ruins from Greek, Roman and Medieval times.

Agrigento - Valley of the Temples

Agrigento and the Valley of the Temples (125 km from Sikelika)

Around Agrigento, the ancient Akray of the 6th century BC, lies one of the most impressive archaeological sites in the world (1,300 acres), the Valley of the Temples. The valley is in fact a ridge atop which sit Doric temples, shrines, cemeteries, and ruins of Greek and Roman buildings overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The Temple of Concordia is the best preserved of these buildings, and one of the most intact Greek temples in the world.

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Panorama di Piazza Armerina

Piazza Armerina (56 km from Sikelika)

Piazza Armerina is a medieval city situated deep in the Sicilian hinterland and is one of the best-known tourist spots on the island. The town itself is worth visiting. It boasts a 14th Century Aragonese castle, but most people come to see the Villa Romana Del Casale.

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The Villa constitutes the largest and most significant example of Roman mosaic art in the world and is a UNESCO Heritage site. Mosaics spread over an area of 3,500 m2 portray mythological scenes and scenes of everyday life, including the famous tableau of young women exercising in their “bikinis”.

Caltagirone city

Caltagirone (40 km from Sikelika)

Close to Piazza Armerina is Caltagirone, the town of ceramics. The Arabs brought ceramics to the town centuries ago and the tradition persists today. The highlight of Caltagirone is the 142 steps of the Scalinata di Santa Maria del Monte that connect the upper and lower towns. The upright part of each step is decorated with colourful ceramic tiles.

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Comiso Pio La Torre airport (25 km from Sikelika)

Comiso Pio La Torre airport was opened to the public in May 2013. There are several airlines that fly there. These include Alitalia, Ryanair, Thomas Cook Airlines, Transavia and XL Airways.

It is about 25 km from Sikelika.

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