My husband and I stayed at Nuccia's place the 1st week of January and had a comfortable stay in her lovely apartment above the busy city of Palermo. The apartment itself is in the heart of the Old City in easy walking distance (<10 minutes) to the Norman castle and other historic buildings and about a 4 minute walk to the busy Ballero Market. In spite of being close to the heart of the city, it was a quiet refuge to return to since it sat high above, on the third floor with a private rooftop terrace. Our Hostess, Nuccia, met us at the apartment earlier than the allowed check-in so we could store our bags while she completed getting it ready for our stay (the last guests had left earlier the same day).
When we returned, we found a spotless apartment, beautifully and tastefully decorated. All appliances and furnishings appear new as does the paint and trim. The flooring is a comfortable hardwood. Additional 'special touches' included discreet and tasteful holiday decorations, (a small twinkling tree, a couple festive knick-knacks) and a small library of books to help us guide our stay in Sicily. The bathroom was clean and spacious, there was a washing machine, although we did not use, the kitchen was equipped well enough to create meals from our market shopping at Ballero Market. Nuccia also graced us with a bottle of local wine to start our celebration. The WiFi was dependable, and Nuccia was easily available when we did need her for one unexpected travel request (we were away from Palermo overnight without our passport and need our numbers to stay in Catania - Nuccia was able to provide these so we provide to the hotel as required).
We were fortunate to find such a comfortable, clean, and central place to enjoy this trip to Sicily.