This 3 bedroom house which spans over 3 floors is situated in Piazza Madonna Suffragio with magnificent views of both a beautiful 400 year old church and the Ionian sea; it is walking distance from the heart of Acireale, a 17 C baroque town bursting with beautiful historical buildings. 'Casa Aranci', recently refurbished, retains some of its original features and integrates within the square.
Casa Aranci sleeps 5 people.
The first floor is dedicated entirely to an en suite bedroom with a king double bed, it also has a single sofa bed for a third guest.
The second floor comprises of a king double bed room and a single room both sharing a 'wrap around' style balcony with individual access from the respective rooms and a bathroom with shower. The highlight of 'Casa Aranci' has to be the third floor which is the kitchen and dinning area leading out to a garden terrace which benefits from magnificent views of the sea. There’s also a bathroom with shower on this floor.
All rooms have air conditioning which can also switch to heating in the few cold winter nights between Nov and April.
Catania, Taormina Mt Etna and Siracusa are within one hour drive.
Thermal Site; Acireale's Santa Venera Thermal Site dates back to Roman-times but unfortunately it is currently closed to the public.
Excursions to Mt Etna: Etna volcano, the largest Volcano in Europe, towering above Catania, Sicily's second largest city, has one of the world's longest documented records of historical volcanism, dating back to 1500 BC. Historical lava flows of basaltic composition cover much of the surface of this massive volcano. The Volcano, truncated by several small calderas, was constructed during the late Pleistocene and Holocene over an older shield volcano.
If you are a volcanoes amateur it is possible to organise a trip to Refugio Sapienza and the cable car that departs from there followed by a ride in a four wheel drive shuttle and take advantage from there of the guided tours with highly trained experts in geology and volcanology that can lead you on small groups to the summit of mount Etna. In Casa Aranci you’ll find vouchers for a free snack and drink for everyone taken the excursion to the summit.
There are good restaurants in Acireale and around. "Vecchia Aci" trattoria in the square on the side of the San Sebastian church, also from Piazza Duomo you can walk across on via Cavour until you see the steps of the church of San Domenico, and across the church is the restaurant "Il Fico d'India" also a very good restaurant/pizzeria and quite good value ( these are my favourites). -please note: Fico d’India means The Prickly Pear, which is a typical Mediterranean plant and nothing to do with Indian food!
The recently open restaurant-pizzeria “Frumento” in the fish market of Piazza Mazzini are open for dinner, their food and wines are very good quality and they’re very popular already.
The pizzeria “Vecchio Teatro” round the corner from the house in via Romeo has reopened after being closed recently for refurbishment and it’s very economical. .
For an aperitif just seat at "Costarelli" or any bar near Piazza Duomo and enjoy the scenery and the passeggiata (walk on the main street Corso Umberto up to Villa Belvedere gardens).
Locals have their midmorning snack of "granita" - a sorbet made with almond paste - you can sample different flavours also at cafe' "Cipriani" just across the church of San Sebastian -closed on Wednesdays-
In Santa Maria la Scala there are several good sea-food restaurants "Scalo Grande", "La Grotta", “Al Mulino” and "La Timpa" (their granita is renowned).
For a special evening, the town of Acitrezza has several sea food restaurants, the best one, "Da Federico", is in the main square or my friend Emmanuele's "Il Covo Marino".
Also "La Bettola dei Marinai, Da Lorenzo" in the town of Santa Tecla and "Aquapazza" near the small port in that the same town.
In the small town of Capomulini try the restaurant “Al Mulino”, it’s position on stills right on the sea, their menu and service are very good. - practice your Italian in google translate!
Also the Pinacoteca Museum in via Marchese di San Giuliano is one of the most important in Sicily and the nearby Teatro dei Pupi (a theater of traditional sicilian marionettes playing scenes of history in Sicily) and its own museum upstairs are worth visiting.
There's a foot bridge across the square from the house that leads to an ancient path to the sea in the village of Santa Maria la Scala, you'll enjoy the walk; this path is known as "Le Chiazzette" (a natural reserve now); you'll find a metal post about half way down, you can go on walking up to the town square or take the steep steps on the right that takes you to the old flour mill (Il Mulino) and the sea. The sun goes behind the hill in the afternoon so the best time to go is in the morning. For the summer months the town hall built a free entry wooden platform on the rocks with showers and a little bar with deck chairs to rent.
We should also add that the old church across the square tells the time with its bells from 7am to 10pm. This is an ancient custom in Sicily that has been carried out for centuries since the period when it was the only way for most parishioners to know when it was time to get up, have lunch, the Angelus and go to bed... This is difficult to understand nowadays when we all have watches and phones to do that job!
However, we provide earplugs in the house if you think it may affect you!
