Villa Neri Resort & Spa | Salvatore Puleo

THE HISTORY
For over a century the Neri family lives on the side of Mount Etna. Music has rendered this corner of the world the family’s reign. In the early 1900s the knight Vincenzo, moved to America with his brother Salvatore, a tenor who brought Italian operas to American theatres. Salvatore’s beautiful voice conquered the cultured city of New York at the beginning of the century and the two brothers reached success. However, a few years later Salvatore got ill and, after his death, Vincenzo was left alone. Within a few years and with a lot of sacrifices, the two brothers had saved some money and, being Salvatore unmarried, Vincenzo returned to Sicily with both savings. He bought lands above Linguglossa and married to a beautiful countrywoman of the place. He built his house, which now is a welcoming b&b, amongst the vineyards and olive groves for both his family and those who worked the lands. In 2012, the grandchildren Salvo and Fabio Neri built Villa Neri Resort & Spa on a part of the owned lands. The Villa is a luxurious hotel run by the family under the supervision of the parents Santo and Antonina Neri.

THE HOTEL
The five-starred hotel Villa Neri Resort & Spa is located on the side of the highest volcano in Europe, Etna Unesco heritage since 2013. Situated above a natural terrace, where you can benefit of a spectacular view of the Taormina gulf, it’s surrounded by the natural environment of the Etna Park. The hotel encompasses only 24 rooms, built according to the nowadays-available criteria. Just like the ancient noble houses, the outside is characterized by two colours: classic light blue and brick-red. The owner’s colour is represented by the light one, on the other hand the dark colour stands for the servants’ area. Natural materials from Sicily have been used for the buildings: coccio pesto (lime mixed with pottery fragments) for the light blue plaster and white stone of Ragusa, bright red and deep black for the courts, sandstone of Taormina for the outer paving and white marble for the inner one. Of the 24 rooms, 9 are suites with hot tubs, lodges or terraces and small private wine cellars with a selection of red and white wines of the 80 local wineries and glasses apt for all wines. Villa Neri Resort & Spa preserves the environment also by using green energy: 75% of the hotel’s energy requirements come from renewable sources. With solar energy, hot water is produced, and solar panels bring electricity with 120kWp power which reduces the CO2 emissions of 90 tons per year. Heating and air-conditioning systems are supplied by high rate heat pumps, whilst the sterilization of the swimming pool is obtained with salt and not chlorine. All the wastes are separated, in order to use the biofuels as fertilizers for the green areas.

THE RESTAURANT
The “Dodici fontane” restaurant has glass windows from which you can admire a view stretching out till the top of Mount Etna. In this setting, Sicily’s scents and flavours become an unforgettable experience. Elia Russo, for three years now executive chef of the “Dodici fontane” restaurant, has evolved with Massimo Mantarro, 2 star Michelin and chef of the San Domenico Palace of Taormina. Chef Russo blends technical excellence with the respect for local ingredients, reproducing in a creative way local recipes and giving birth to incredible experiments and matches. Amongst Elia’s most appreciated dishes there’s the Carnaroli Rice creamed with lemon and pepper on chopped fresh shrimps, yellowfin tuna with celeriac crème brulée, tips of mulled wine, orange blossom honey-glazed spring onions, piglet capocollo (for this recipe Elia uses the local breed Nero Siciliano) low-temperature cooked with fennel seeds roasted potato mousse and chicory leaves stir fried with garlic.
The endeavour and abilities of chef Russo brought the restaurant “Le dodici fontane” to be enlisted in the “Guida Identità Golose” and is also mentioned in the Michelin Guide.

ROOMS AND SUITES
Villa Neri Resort & Spa has only 24 rooms, 5 classic, 6 superior, 4 deluxe, 6 junior suites, 3 suites and 1 master suite. All rooms have the charm of the Sicilian noble mansions, but with a contemporary design touch and, by using local materials, you can appreciate the country both indoor and outdoor. You can easily perceive the white stone of Ragusa, the sandstone of Taormina for the external paving and the white marble for the inner one. In some of the rooms the furniture is enriched by workings of sculptors and Sicilian painters, such as masters Luigi Russo Papotto and Salvatore Incorpora.
From year 2014, Villa Neri has been eriche by 9 “Suite enoteca” (that means suite with wine cellars), that want celebrate Sicily and they bring the names of the major Etna ountrysides with wine vocation.

Classic Room
The 5 Classic rooms are elegantly furnished and the architects have given a modern style to the evocations for local traditions; for example the grey or ivory headboards that evocate the ancient beds in wrought-iron have been transformed in an object of design.

Superior Room
The 6 wide rooms with a terrace or patio with garden or Mount Etna view. They are characterized by having furniture of design and some of them have open bathroom with marble and ceramic finishings which reproduce the ancient patterns of Sicily’s patterns.

Deluxe Room
The 4 Deluxe rooms are all different both in style: researched and embellished by the artistic elements of the artist Salvatore Incorpora, native of Linguaglossa; and for the bathroom, enriched with precious marbles and a shower for couples with chromo-therapy. Furthermore, each room is provided of a small private cellar with a selection of wines from Etna: the white wines, cooled in the fridge, and the red ones whose names resemble the district ones of Mount Etna where they are produced. Whenever they wish, guests can choose to uncork a bottle of wine whilst benefitting of their suite privacy with the perfect glass apt for the selected wine. From the patio surrounded by the garden’s green area, the view stretches out till Mount Etna or till the bay of Naxos Gardens.

Junior Suite
In the 6 comfortable Junior Suites, the furniture is the perfect mix of Sicily’s tradition and modern comfort. The elegant bathroom is embellished with precious marbles, a personalized sink with decorated ceramics, a big bath and a shower with room view. The wide glass windows offer views of landscapes depicting the surrounding countryside of Mount Etna or of the Taormina sea.

Suite
The 3 suites benefit of a double room and a living area with a sofa bed or living room, the bathroom is refined with precious marbles and ceramics with drawings of ancient tiles and the shower is separated from the room by a glass window. The suites have also a bath and double bathroom. The two wide glass windows overlook the surrounding countryside, with views of either Mount Etna or the Taormina sea.

Master Suite
Is the ideal solution for a friend or family holiday: it offers a bright living room, 2 double rooms, 2 bathrooms, one equipped with bath and shower, the other one with a wide bathroom shower. Both of them have a room view and are characterized by marbles and handmade ceramics. The wonderful 60sm terrace is furnished with external furniture and with a big six-seater Jacuzzi bath with a view that embraces Mount Etna, the Nebrodi mountains and the sea.

PETRA SPA
In the wet area of the cozy Spa, with the bath tub, the sauna, the steam room, the multi-sensory shower and icefall, you can experiment a journey through water and heat, combined with lights, sounds and colours. The wellness centre also has three therapy cubicles and a relax area with warm waterbeds and herbal teas. Petra Spa offers a range of programmes and treatments whose main ingredients are the typical products of Sicily, massages with organic oil produced by Villa Neri or scrubs with Sicily’s oranges. The therapies follow the cycle of the seasons and natural cosmetics are the main elements of the pleasant and successful Spa treatments.