Case Perrotta, organic farm stay in Sant'Alfio, on Etna's east slope

Case Perrotta is an organic farm stay in Sant'Alfio, on Etna's east slope, at about 800 m, halfway between the Ionian Sea and the volcano. From the estate you see the sea and the summit craters. It is a country house for those who come by car and want to sleep among olive and chestnut trees, have breakfast on what the estate produces and have a restaurant at home at the weekend. It is 40 km from Catania airport and 10 km from Giarre-Riposto station.

Two buildings with history

The rooms are in two nearby buildings. La Casa was first a convent: when it became a farming estate, the monks' cells became the family's home, where they came in summer and for the grape harvest. Today it has five large rooms with barrel vaults, each named after a flower.

Il Palmento is the winery, built around the middle of the 19th century for treading the grapes and carrying out the first fermentation of the must, and it worked until 1990. It keeps the marks of that work and houses another five rooms with wooden ceilings, named after fruit trees of the estate.

All have their own heating, a bathroom with bath or shower and hairdryer, minibar, kettle with tea, coffee and chocolate, satellite television and a safe. The soaps are made from olive oil and are sold in the estate shop. There is free wifi and a book-swap corner.

Breakfast, restaurant and experiences

Breakfast is a continental buffet from 8:30 to 10:00 with produce from the estate. The restaurant serves regional cooking of Catania and Etna with what they grow, wild herbs and old recipes of the monzù, the cooks of noble houses. It is open at lunchtime on Saturday and Sunday, from 13:00 to 14:30, and for dinner from Friday to Sunday, always by reservation; closed on Monday. It has its own restaurant page.

The house organises excursions on Etna, oil tastings, Sicilian cooking classes, herb-gathering outings and the Treno dei Vini dell'Etna, a train journey through the wineries.

Getting there and what is nearby

You need a car: the estate is about 40 km from Catania airport and 10 km from Giarre-Riposto station, the nearest. Reception is open from 9:00 to 14:00 and from 16:00 to 20:00; at weekends, without a midday break. Check-in is from 17:00 and check-out until 11:00; if you need another time, ask.

From here, the Valle del Bove and the Zafferana slope are close, and the Rifugio Sapienza with the cable car is reached by mountain road.