Casa Talía

Stone cottages facing the Baroque

Casa Talía is an albergo diffuso, a hotel spread over several cottages, in Modica Alta, the upper part of the town. They are old homes restored with natural materials typical of Sicily, set at different levels of the land around a Mediterranean garden. The name comes from the Sicilian "talìa", which means "look": from the garden you have the old town opposite, with its domes and bell towers. The house defines itself by "slow living", life without hurry, and puts it into practice with few rooms and a lot of garden.

The rooms and the houses

Its website presents eight rooms, each with its own name: Talía, Meridiana, Scirocco, Ginestre, Zenzero, Sciara, Mediterraneo and Sirah. The first four are superior suites, some on two levels; all are doubles. The ceilings are of cane or wood, the stone is left exposed and every floor is different: old pitch stone, terracotta with Arabic designs, desert-coloured cement or antique tiles. All have air conditioning, a safe, television, internet access, a minibar and a separate entrance with key card, and each has its own terrace or balcony. Several look onto the cathedral.

As well as the rooms there are "case", whole houses with a terrace or balcony and the same view, useful if you are travelling as a family or a group.

Pool, breakfast and services

The pool is small and surrounded by garden, with a view over the town and the Duomo di San Giorgio. There is free wifi throughout, a breakfast room with a book exchange, laundry and ironing service, babysitting on request and restaurant booking. They organise guided visits around the area, from Ragusa Ibla and Noto to Vendicari or Etna, rent cars, e-bikes and 50 cc scooters, and run transfers to Catania and Comiso airports. On request they prepare a picnic basket or a dinner with a cook.

Check-in is from 14:00 to 19:00 and check-out from 9:00 to 11:00. They answer the phone from 9:00 to 13:00 and from 15:00 to 20:00.

Getting there and parking

By car from Catania, take the road towards Ragusa on the SS 115 as far as the first turning for Modica Centro. The house asks you to put "Via San Benedetto da Norcia" into the satnav: at the small roundabout take the street on the left down to the "Talia park here" sign, park and follow the signs on foot. Without a car, AST buses link Catania airport with Modica.

What is nearby

From the house you can walk down to Modica Bassa and Corso Umberto, where the Osteria dei Sapori Perduti is, and to the Bonajuto chocolate workshop. Ragusa Ibla is a short drive away.