We very spontaneously booked one week of vacation in Sicily with our two little boys (4+1yrs old) and almost accidentally stumbled over Gioacchinos "Casale della Pergola" in Lido di Noto. We knew the area around beautiful Noto and Siracusa from one of our last round trip through the Island - but this without children. We now had picked this area because the short distance to Catania Airport (1hour) and the harmless and very shallow sandy beaches perfect for little children which cannot swim. We wanted an accommodation in walking distance to a beach, to a grocery store and only short drives to little towns like baroque Noto or sophisticated Siracusa but also something where we could let the children run around by themselves and therefore also have some chilling time for us parents. All this was offered here - and even beyond:
This location could not have been any better for us! We really had the best holiday here with children so far: totally relaxing and stressless.
There is a huge and well-groomed and due to a lot of watering ever green garden shared by two tenants but without any inter visibility where the kids were able to run around. In the garden you find patches with seasonal vegetables and herbs you can help yourself (end of August there were a lot of peppers and delicious Eggplants we used for cooking). You just walk out in "your" garden and help yourself with the ingredients you need for your dinner: Awesome! In front of the house there is a chicken barn under a beautiful and old olive tree with a nest-box where the children (and us) were able to look for fresh eggs. daily the chickens were laying a couple of eggs which you were able to take out (and share with the other party of the second house on the lawn). A donkey is living in a near enclosure producing natural fertilizer for the trees on the land. The children were allowed to feed it daily with some carrots or dry bread. A completely tame goose could be freed during the day and was staying next to us on the shady terrace. The goose was so nice that it was even able to pet here. (I think she believes she was not a goose but a human, because she also wanted to come with us all the time, this was kind of amusing. There also is a little pool of 1m depth just perfect for our 4 year old who was just able to walk in the water. Perfect for private swimming lessons and a nice cooling down option during hot August days. So during our vacation we parents were even able to relax i.e. while laying in the hammock (with espresso or a glas of Nero Davola) while the 1 year old was following the goose all the time and the 4 year old was sitting in front of the chicken barn and waiting for another egg, petting a very lovely cat who also came visiting every day or playing on the little playground.
The house itself is having high quality furniture and a cosy layout. Every window has shading doors in front of them, so you can decide how much you open up to the ever-green garden. During the day we mostly were staying outside somewhere in the large shaded areas (Pergola) and left the glas doors open all night since it was very hot at the end of August.
The communication with Gioacchino was lovely and extremely fast. The checking in works through a key box in front of the gate so you can check in independently. Every day there was someone (neighbor or host itself) coming to the property, feeding the animals or caring for the green. So in case there would have been any problems we would have had the chance to directly get in touch. But everything was just fine. He had prepared all the instructions for the house and the surrounding in clear documents you receive ahead of your stay.
In summery I can say that we never have had such a relaxing vacation with children before combined with the Italian style we were hoping for (good food+sweets and drinks). It was definitely worth spending money above our budget to stay a week in this wonderful place.
We returned very happy and recovered.
Our son never wanted to leave. He was trying to convince us to take the goose home with us ;-)
Gioacchino is a host who definitely brings in a lot of personal passion to this place (bee house, chicken barn, a whole playground for kids including pool, caring about every plant in the garden and much more), otherwise house and garden would not be in such a great condition.
We would return for sure.