Staying at Marco’s was one of the highlights of my 10day trip to Sicily in which we stayed in Syracuse, Agrigento, Cefalu and Catania – using each as base to see the nearby sights. Me and my partner stayed in the ground floor room which was clean, spacious and well furnished. We went in August and slept comfortably due to the high ceilings without the use of air-conditioning. Marco’s farm is well situated to see the surrounding areas: a 10 minute drive to the Syracuse archaeological park, 15minute drive to Ortigia and an easy commute to nearby Noto. Driving in Ortigia can be a nightmare and not recommended, so driving from Marcos and parking at one of the parking-lots or streets before Ortigia is highly recommended. The farm was beautiful and the pool area large and very nice. The communal garden space is also well designed and pleasant to relax in.
Marco and his wife Aphelia deserve their status as “super-host” due to their warm and kind nature, displayed through the generous fruit bowl greeting you upon arrival, as well as the tasty Sicilian pastries he kindly offered on the first and last nights of our stay. I managed to lightly scratch our car rental (approaching Ortigia at one of the many chaotic roundabouts) and Marco once again was kind enough to offer some polish which managed to remove the scratches!
We would highly recommend staying at Marco’s farm if: you are driving, you want to see more than just Ortigia and the archaeological park, you want to escape the hustle and bustle of Syracuse, and importantly you don’t mind having no wifi or a strong data connection for mobile internet.