Eremo della Giubiliana, a charming hotel set in a historical residence, a few kilometers south of Ragusa, to the south of Tunisi, in the Eastern Lands of a different Sicily, the one of the Hyblean plateau and pristine nature, among carob forests and stone walls.
Very old thick white stone walls surround and protect the courtyards and inner structure. Its white tower stands tall and overlooks the plateau that gently slopes towards the sea and there are miles and miles of coast as far as the eye can see.
Across, on clear days, which are common in these latitudes, you can see the island of Malta and the African Coast, a never-ending horizon steeped in mystique and history.
A vacation spent at Eremo della Giubiliana will be one to remember!
You may decide to spend it in the peacefulness of Eremo, protected by its thick walls, going for walks through the park or the medieval trails, or take advantage of the strategic location of Eremo, practically in the center of the eastern part of Sicily, and use it as the perfect starting point for excursions throughout the land: Taormina, Siracusa, Val di Noto, Agrigento, baroque centers and some of the most beautiful archeological sites are all less than half an hour by car.
HISTORY
The estate used to be part of the old ecclesiastical feudal hold of Renna dating from the 12th century, and was an old Arab rural home (Rendet gebuni), a sort of hermitage and fortified fortress dominating the sea serving as a defensive bastion against the incursions of Barbary pirates operating under the Turkish flagship their piracy activity in the Mediterranean.
The Knights of the Order of San Giovanni, stationed in the nearby island of Malta, used the Convent structure in the first half of the 16th century. Recent restorations have revealed their passage through this place.
In the 18th century the Eremo was acquired by the Nifosì, a wealthy land-owner family of the plateau. The present heiress, Vincenza Jolanda Nifosì, has decided to restore it, and in this way continuing with the family tradition by opening the estate as a rural destination and personally managing it as a splendid 5-star hotel in Ragusa.
The central part of the fortified Eremo was restored keeping strictly as it was in the past, also in it’s original materials, its ancient pitch stone and limestone floorings and its furnishings have been maintained.
The type of warm welcome is the one expected for an old Sicilian countryside residence, with its simple but refined ceremonial. It will get you involved by immediately making you feel at home.
This is also due to the land owners direct management supported by a caring and professional staff, which guarantees the guests a discreet familiarity.
The rooms have been converted from the friars' cells, and have all the comforts, telephone, TV, air conditioning and private bathrooms, furnished with old Sicilian style furniture and original household goods which make them quite different from the usual hotel bedrooms.
The Eremo has Classic double rooms, spacious Superior rooms, Deluxe rooms, Suites and stone Cottages belonging to the estate.
It overlooks the stone courtyard dominated by a large palm tree and it develops on two levels: on the main floor a refined living room is dominated by a 18th century sacristy-vestry.
On the upper floor, to which the main floor is connected through a staircase with the original 18th-century chestnut wood balustrade, there are the bedroom and the big bathroom with bathtub.
The ground floor, on request, can be connected to another double room with toilet. (This Suite is particularly indicated for families with children).
It’s one of the oldest parts of the Eremo della Giubiliana; originally it used to be the area of the guards of Saint John order.
It is all on the ground-floor, with its charming and old white stoned pavement. It has a very high ceiling with chestnut-wooden beams and it’s symmetrically divided in two parts by a big stone arch.
A little medieval door leads you to the bathroom overlooking the garden; it has two pitched sinks and a whirlpool.
So called because it was used by the owner’s uncle, the “Canonico” Ignazio Nifosì, Camerlingo at the San Giorgio cathedral in Ragusa Ibla and renowned scholar of local history and archaeology.
The tower of the XV century consists of three floors. On the ground-floor there’s a living-room and private utilities.
On the first floor there’s the bedroom with vaults and capitals of the XV century; it overlooks the private garden and the “Corte Araba”.
From the tower’s terrace you can clearly see the highlands, the coast and Malta as well.
For the cottages, guests can choose between the usual hotel service or self-catering weekly stays; both options give to the guest all the same services that the Eremo and its staff are happy to provide to the standard room guest.
A new hospitality concept for guests who appreciate freedom and privacy.
Moreover the cottages are directly connected to the private runway so that private pilots deciding to make a stop at the Eremo della Giubiliana can park their own aircraft in the grass field in front of their cottage.
It owes its name to the black cross engraved on the white stoned wall within it and to the black tunic the Malta monk-knights used to wear.
It is all on the ground floor and it is characterized by thick stone walls and white stoned pavement.
All its furniture is very antique with original Modica chests of the XVII century, old Persian carpets, damask arm-chairs, whirlpool. (High class for a very low cost).
On the first floor, in the northern part of it, this beautiful room is characterized by a high wrought iron bed (as originally in Sicily) staying under the typical “alcova” with barrel-vaults. The pavement is made with pitch-stone. It has a big bathroom with whirlpool and a great evergreen terrace overlooking the “archaeological park” and the “Antiquarium”.
Original old furnishings and oriental carpets characterize this intimate deluxe room, particularly fit to couples on honey moon.
On the first floor, in the northern part of it, this beautiful room is characterized by a high wrought iron bed (as originally in Sicily) staying under the typical "alcova", with barrel-waults.
The pavement is made with pitch-stone. It has a big bathroom with whirlpool and a great evergreen terrace overlooking the "archaeological park" and the "Antiquarium".
Original old furniture, Persian carpets and a big bathroom with whirlpool overlook the “Corte Araba”.
Bedrooms, some on the first floor and some others on the main floor with access for disabled people, look over the aromatic “Hortus” characterized by a plenty of typical Mediterranean aromatic plants, centuries-old olive trees, and an old “Arab” fountain.
The rooms are all very special and different one from each other, with the original pitch stone floorings, wrought iron beds and old furniture; all bathrooms are private and have bath-tub with shower.
This unique home was designed and built for himself by the architect owner of the Eremo della Giubiliana and only this year it was decided to offer it to Guest who can appreciate the unique design and exclusive comfort.
Built entirely of stone withe technical warning tower od XVI cent but with the steel and glass of ad house absolutely contemporary, it is located in the centre of the property with a great view on the plateau and on the coast, it has hectars of the estate available, with two stone courtyards, a heated mini-pool, garden and barbecue. Inside there is a large kitchen, a living room and the tower on three levels, the one on the top fully grazed dominates the area and the South-East coast of Sicily and the Islands of Malta.
Designed without compromises with large windows that embrace the landscape but that force you to use templates if you want to sleep during the day and with an Arabic ventilation system of windows that accelerate the fresh air of the plateau.
This house will surprise you by the refined way of life in the Plateau, but of course with all the amenities and services of Eremo della Giubiliana (room service for breakfast included).
In 1526 the Grand Master of the Order of Saint John passed by on taking possession of the islands of Malta. The summer residence of the Nifosì family since the first half of the 18th-century, the “Grand Master’s suite” is located on the upper floor of the oldest part of the Eremo with the entrance through the old stone staircase; it consists of a lobby, the Grand Master’s bedroom and a 18th-century-style sitting room with fireplace.
Two balconies hold out on the garden and the private court with an extraordinary view of the Highlands, the coast and Malta island.
The Suite is offered to guests with all the original household goods of the Nifosì family, making it one of the most refined and exclusive accommodation in the Eremo.
Settled in the grounds of the ancient sighting tower (XV century), the oldest part of the Eremo and the most exclusive, it is made up of two big stone-vaulted rooms dominated by an old fireplace; the bedroom is restored out of the ancient knights’ dungeon.
The Suite opens to a charming inner courtyard with stone floorings, and it is furnished with some of the most important pieces, while in the first hall, the “gun room”, a collection of valuable ancient weapons is exhibited.
This Suite, on request, can be connected to the Grand Master’s Suite by an internal staircase.
(Due to the historical importance on the structure, this suite is penalized with a narrow bathroom with shower only).
Paintings by 16th century Sicilian artists, ancient kneading troughs and a long refectory table complete the furnishings of this refined and suggestive ambience, which predisposes the guest to experience a journey back in time to the bygone flavours enjoyed by local landed gentry.
On mild summer evenings the restaurant seats its guests in the antique Hortus Conclusus garden where the air is scented with Mediterranean aromas and the sky is illuminated by the constellations of the southern hemisphere (the Eremo della Giubiliana is situated further south than Tunisia).
The great arched hall of the ancient refectory used by the Knights of the Order of Saint John is the evocative setting for the Don Eusebio Restaurant.
The hall opens wide its French windows towards the South to reveal a spectacular view of parkland strewn with twisted olive trees, set on a backdrop of the Mediterranean sea and the distant Maltese isles.
The cuisine of the Eremo, initially based around the sophisticated recipes of the nobility of the Hyblean Highlands and the produce of the Nifosì arable farm, evolved in 2009 into the Don Eusebio Restaurant. Fruit of the remarkable collusion which exists between Salvatore Mancini Nifosì (responsible for the general running of the family smallholding and the historical research of farm production and natural resources) and the Chef, the Don Eusebio presents itself as one of the freshest and most creative gastronomic innovations on the island.
The vigilant and accurate selection of prime local ingredients, the personal supervision of production and the re-establishing of ancient productive chains such as flour mills which traditionally stone grind quality grain, all enable the Chef to propose unique recipes for a prestigious yet critical cuisine which maintains a fine equilibrium between tradition, history and progress.
The Eremo della Giubiliana boasts a rather particular cellar, it being located in the medieval crypt situated beneath the Church of the Knights of the Order of Saint John. Accurately restored, with its stone walls and great arched setting, it contains more than 400 labels of the best Sicilian and foreign wines.
In The Crypt guests can appreciate the organic produce of the Nifosì smallholdings: the oils, the lard and the sausages of the black pigs from the Nebrodi Mountains and the sophisticated dishes on the “Masseria di Terra”and “Masseria di Mare” menus.
Guests can enjoy the view through the large glass doors while sitting in the comfort area and drinking an infusion or lying directly on the grass among centuries-old olive trees to prolong the positive effect of one of the exclusive treatments based on natural elements, as the oil and the wine of the Eremo.
The professional staff will take care of you in the pleasure of a multisensory trip.
The Asphodelus wellness area at the Eremo is located in the most exclusive area of the park, in front of the archeological site tracing back to the V-III century B.C.
The Eremo della Giubiliana is specialised in discovering the South East.
On foot, on horse, on a mountain bike or by Land Rover or by train, the guides will bring you through the canyons, the Baroque cities and coastal dunes, in a extraordinarily biodiverse land and cultural landscapes, where the canyons are the wild prelude to archeological sites like Pantalica and Cava d'Ispica and Cities of art like Scicli, Modica and Ragusa Ibla.
The Hotel is recognized as the most qualified in Sicily to give the refined traveller the most exciting way of exploring the territory, on board of the air, sea, and land vehicles, some even vintage and particularly attractive.
By air, on board of the Cessna you can enlarge your experience with dramatic sightseeing of the baroque towns, The Etna, the Eolian islands and, in a one-day trip you can visit with the pilot-guide the islands of Malta, Pantelleria and Lampedusa.
In response to numerous requests the Eremo della Giubiliana is pleased to offer guests the opportunity of taking lessons in Sicilian cuisine, under the expert tuition of the chef, together with estate owner, Lady Vincenza Iolanda.
Ragusa - Giubiliana, the southernmost aviation field in Europe, catering especially to tourism and also General Aviation. Ragusa - Giubiliana is waiting for you and wishes you a great flight.
The Duomo of San Giorgio is a Baroque church located in Ragusa. Its construction began in 1738 and ended in 1775.
The city of Ragusa in Italy rises out of rough spurs and river crags on an urban strip with steep declivity. It was an elect ground for architects who accentuated natural irregularities, creating unique connections and monumental effects.
Departure from Marina di Ragusa turistic port in a sailing boat or catamaran. Swim, snorkel and experience the beauty of the Mediterranean sea coasts during the cruise.
HOTEL EREMO DELLA GIUBILIANA
S.P. 25 Ragusa Marina di Ragusa km 7500 97100 C.da GiubilianaRagusa RGItaly