LA LOCANDA D ARTE SICILY ITALY
At Locanda Colonna in Gesso, exactly halfway between the Ionian and Tyrrhenian slopes of the Peloritani hills above Messina, stands a farmhouse built from the same golden stone that lines the hillside.
From this single point, you can watch the sun rise over the Ionian Sea to the east and set over the Tyrrhenian to the west. The ancient Greeks understood this geography. A Sicilian family raised a farmhouse here over a century ago — walls a metre thick, terracotta on every floor, arched doorways of old brick. The building has absorbed more Sicilian light than most people will see in a lifetime.
The land grows lemons and walnuts. The courtyard is anchored by an ancient mulberry tree. There are two outdoor living areas — one open gravel courtyard under the mulberry, one terracotta terrace with teak furniture and parasols for long lunches. Through a stone arch, the rooms begin.
We are restoring this property into La Locanda d'Arte — a small, deeply honest, art-filled agriturismo retreat. Not a hotel. A place where slow travel finds its most natural home, and where a wellness programme built around ancient elements — fire, cold water, steam, stone, and land — gives guests something no resort can replicate.
