The house is surrounded by 8 acres of citrus groves, olive grove and vegetable gardens, and has a lovely garden with century-old trees, cacti and a swimming pool. It is around 5 kilometres from Trapani centre and under a km from Paceco, a small insignificant town where there are however, shops and cafes.
The farm is a typical Sicilian 'Baglio' where the Curatolo family have lived for generations. The farm is now run by the three siblings who are grown up now and proudly continue with the family tradition. The house is surrounded by 8 acres of citrus groves, olive grove and vegetable gardens, and has a lovely garden with century-old trees, cacti, a swimming pool and a children's play area. Tours can be arranged with local vineyards in the area.
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In one of the wings of the great baglio is a good restaurant, where guests can enjoy traditional specialties from this corner of Sicily. Here the Italian cooking style has been influenced by Arab countries in North Africa. Dinner consists of a set menu which starts at 20.15/20.30 and all the guests at the farm dine together in the restaurant.
Throughout the years, sailors from Tunisia and Libya have visited Trapani and for this reason you'll find that most restaurants have couscous on the menu. If you are interested in cooking, the family are happy for you to have a look at how things are done in the kitchen.
In addition to the owners' homes and the restaurant there are 16 apartments for rent on the farm. Some are located in the main building whilst others are in the annex buildings around the grounds where were once the original farmhouses, warehouses and stables. These have all been restored over the years and the owners have put a lot of effort into making sure that they are as welcoming inside as it is outside. They are all different and simply furnished and have air conditioning. Breakfast is also included in the price - something usually only found staying at a hotel / B & B and rarely associated with renting apartments.
Read about the apartments at Duca di Castelmonte
The stay at Duca di Castelmonte were special in the way that especially the dining were different. We had dinner at a refectory table with all the other guests and got served an excellent dinner, which we probably wouldn't have ordered, if it wasn't "arranged" like that for us. Lovely common area, lovely apartments - a bit worn down and not so comfortable with the noise at night - what could it be - and a dog barking, so we couldn't sleep one of the nights. But all in all an exciting and good experience.
We were 2 adults and 3 kids, who lived 6 days at Duca di Castelmonte. We loved the place, with the sweets hosts, the longtables and the good food at night. The place has a special atmosphere with the old buildings, tools that hang in the corners and the good restaurant, who is filled with local guests at night. We took a couple of trips in the area to San Vito lo Capo, a boat trip with the hosts to the Aegean Islands and more.
A grand experience!
