Epifanio’s house at the lower edge of town is perfect. You rent the entire floor. Two balconies overlook a beautiful valley with miles of olive trees and a spectacular view of Villa Franca, Burgio and Caltabianca. The view is absolutely breathtaking. It is like every postcard of Italy you have ever seen. Be careful when you open the balcony door in the master bedroom; the left side door has a latch at the bottom that you have to swing up before you open the door; the left side shutter door has a slide at the top that you have to slide down before you open shutter. Everything is new construction. There are three bedrooms, two bathrooms, full kitchen, living room and dining room, TV’s throughout, stereo, couches, a shower, a massive tub, a washing machine and a clothes line. Everything was perfectly clean. The kitchen is very well supplied. There is a heat pump in the master bedroom. There is a fireplace powered by gas and crushed olive pits and probably wood if you want it, but I was traveling solo and had no need to use it. Please hang the key on the door when you leave; I think I locked Epifanio out when I left the key on the table.
The Market del Risparmio di Valenti corner market is a few feet away. It will keep you supplied with deli meats and cheeses, pasta, Sicilian wine, hygiene products and juices. You can hire the owner as a driver if you want to tour the surrounding area. Ristorante Galbasa and Ristorante Rocca are within a couple of blocks. Both have wood ovens and a huge selection of pizzas and both are very reasonably priced. The comune is within a couple of blocks. The Panificio Cortese bakery is a couple of more blocks and has the most amazing bread from a 100 year old oven and is not to be missed. The Rosticceria E Paninoteca is within a couple of blocks and is the place to get a take away lunch from a rotating lunch selection. The open air market with the stalls of vegetables and meats and cheeses and olives sets up downtown on Monday mornings. There are more businesses, but I was only there for a week, so I did not have time to visit them all. Everyone was wonderful.
To get there take the 14:25 Gallo bus from the #5 stand on the left (not the #5 stand straight ahead) at the Palermo Autostazione next to Stazione Centrale for 13 Euro round trip. As of October 2018, it goes direct, takes a little over two hours, and parks overnight at the corner of Via Aia and Via Buonocosiglio, a couple of blocks from Epifanio’s house. It returns at 4:25 (more like 4:15) a.m. and that is the easiest place to catch it. There is an easy transfer to a waiting bus on the way back. The return trip took a little over three hours.
Italian law requires you to provide identification to the carabiniere and sign a contract not to remodel the place, bother the neighbors, let anybody else live there or engage in any nefarious activities. Take an extra copy of your passport and Epifanio will take it over to the carabiniere and bring it back for you with the contract and the receipt.
Epifanio and his wife are wonderful hosts. I could tell you more about them if my Italian/Sicilian were better, but my language skills are limited. His brother lives on the ground floor and is available if need be. Epifanio and his family live on the top floor.