when you go on vacation, do you ever book a room with a view?
how about a room with a site?
the necropolis | 5th-2nd century BCE | eremo della giubiliana | ragusa, sicily
photo credits lisa walsh | innerspace
we knew that we were staying somewhere special, when upon our arrival, we were greeted at reception by angelo, the general manager, and a waiter with a silver tray holding two glasses of cold latte di mandorla (almond milk), a traditional sicilian summer beverage.
the entrance, reception and lounge | eremo della giubiliana | ragusa, sicily
photo credits eremo della giubiliana, hotels.com and lisa walsh | innerspace
room 14 | the suite della guardia | eremo della giubiliana | ragusa, sicily
the bedroom and the sitting area both have restored stone walls and floors, cathedral ceilings with chestnut beams, and antique sicilian furnishings
photo credits lisa walsh | innerspace
stone plaque dated 1536 | the suite della guardia | eremo della giubiliana | ragusa, sicily
photo credits lisa walsh | innerspace
during the 18th century, a landed aristocratic family purchased the estate. the nifosi-mancini family has owned the eremo della giubiliana since then. the present heiress, lady vincenza iolanda nifosi, decided to restore the convent for use as a five star luxury hotel, which opened in 1997. her son, who is an architect, designed the restoration project. she resides on the estate. and, she and her family manage the estate holdings.
‘when my son asked me to open the eremo to guests, he tried to convince me by saying that our family had always welcomed their guests there. i objected that all the people who had been welcomed within the privacy of our eremo were our friends, too. the answer was that, once in the eremo, our guests would become our friends.’
-vincenza iolanda nifosi
28 october 1997
architectural rendering | salvatore a. mancini architect | eremo della giubiliana restoration project | ragusa, sicily
did you notice the flag flying from the 15th century stone watch tower?
photo credits lisa walsh | innerspace
stairs and courtyard outside the grand master’s suite | eremo della giubiliana | ragusa, sicily
the grand master’s suite now occupies the top floor of the 15th century stone watch tower
photo credits eremo della giubiliana and lisa walsh | innerspace
swimming pool | eremo della giubiliana | ragusa, sicily
photo credit lisa walsh | innerspace
herb and kitchen gardens | eremo della giubiliana | ragusa, sicily
part of the kitchen garden was being replanted
photo credits lisa walsh | innerspace
chef peppe cannistra | cooking class | eremo della giubiliana | ragusa, sicily
photo credit facebook.com/eremodellagiubiliana
tenuta eremo della giubiliana estate grown products
fruit and vegetables, marmalade, olive oil and olive oil soap, capers, almonds, dried fava and cicerchia beans, lentils and chickpeas, plus organic wheat flour, couscous, and pasta
photo credit lisa walsh | innerspace
there are so many outstanding restaurants in southeastern sicily, that bob and i decided to dine out.
pietro leemann, the chef at joia, one of our favorite restaurants in milan, highly recommended some sicilian restaurants where some of his former sous chefs are now chefs. david tamburini at ristorante la gazza ladra in modica. and, accursio craparo at accursio ristorante in modica. according to giorgio locatelli, the chef at locanda locatelli in london, pino cuttaia could be considered the best chef in sicily. so, we also had lunch at ristorante la madia in licate on the way back from the valle di templi in agrigento. lorenzo, the concierge who booked our restaurant reservations, and angelo (the general manager) were most interested in our restaurant reviews!
it’s a good thing that the eremo della giubiliana is conveniently located near the archaeological sites in agrigento and piazza armerina. and, the baroque towns of ragusa, modica, and noto.
we cover a lot of territory when we travel. while we were in sicily, we drove 2000 kilometers (1250 miles)!

photo credit lisa walsh | innerspace
eremo della giubiliana
located off sp 25, between ragusa and marina di ragusa
97100 contrada giubiliana, ragusa, sicily
+39 (0)932 669119