Villa Tenuta Don Ruggero
Saturday 19 October 2013
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Wanderings from
the Villa
Everyone had their own travel plans before and
after our week together. Claudia and Neil Carver, from Kitchener ON, rented a small
villa in another hilltop village nearer the north coast for a week
leading up to Oct 19. Marg and Jack Dunphy, from Calgary Alberta, went for a
boat and bike
trip in Southern Italy before joining us, while Kathy and Andy Greiner, from
Ottawa, spent a week walking in Tuscany. Pat and Bruce Marshall, from Markham ON,
joined a tour of Southern Italy. Cathy Pawley and Ginny and Huibert Arnold, from
Ottawa, spent another week in Sicily at the end of our time together.
Janet Schom, from St Andrews NB, and Suzanne and David Andrew, from Oakville ON,
travelled to Malta at the end of the trip.
Activities for each day were up to the
individual. We had enough cars to ferry everyone to where ever we wanted
to go for the day. There were several interesting hilltop towns a short
drive from the villa where we could buy groceries, walk the narrow
streets, admire the views over the hillsides and visit the ancient
churches. One must-see for all of us were the fabulous mosaics
discovered in the ruins of Villa Romana del Casale. Several of the group
enjoyed a great walk in the highest hills of Madonie Park.
Breakfast
was a make your own affair at the villa while lunch was eaten on the
road or back at the villa. Dinner was a communal affair, with
delicious meals prepared by volunteer cooks in our group and enjoyed
with Sicilian wines. We had a great time.
Our arrival at Tenuta Don Ruggero Sicily:
Surely this can’t be the road to our villa. The photos on the
website we used to book one week with 14 of our friends didn’t mention
anything about a narrow rutted road. That house, farther ahead on the
hill we are climbing, doesn’t look as if it is big enough for 10
bedrooms. But it was our villa, Tenuta Don Ruggero. It was much larger
that our first impression and proved to be perfect for our group. Eight
of the women had all graduated together from Bishop’s University in
Lennoxville, Quebec. We had kept in touch with annual get-togethers in
Canada, spouses included, and three times previously, travelled to
Europe for a week in a villa. This was the first visit to Sicily for all
of us.
Ray and I had met Neil and Claudia (Young) Carver in Cefalù, 45 minutes
north, and bought groceries for the dinner we were to prepare that
evening plus enough food for breakfast for the next few day. The owners,
who live in Palermo, Maria Letizia and Claudio Buccellato, were there to
greet the Carvers and Ray and me. They introduced us to their employee,
George, and two farm workers, Giovanni and Leonardo. Maria showed us the
property and told us her family had owned the property for 300 years. We had arrived
early and the cleaning crew were still working feverishly to prepare the
house for our arrival. We stowed our groceries in the kitchen and had a
picnic lunch outside to stay out of the way of the workers.
The farm currently has
about 1200 olive trees, fields mostly used for cattle silage, and a
small kitchen garden. In 2002 her son, who is an architect, led the
reconstruction of two farm buildings, creating 10 bedrooms in the
original house and a spacious dining, living room and kitchen in what
was once a stone barn and granary. Patios with tables for outdoor meals
connect the two main buildings and the large infinity pool. There is even a play area for
children. The property is now available for groups such as ours and has
hosted several weddings. The view from the villa and especially from the
swimming pool is spectacular. Madonie Regional Park, with the highest
mountains in Sicily, after Mt Etna, is almost across the road. Ancient
villages spread over the ridges of several nearby hills. It promised to
be a good week.
Gradually the rest of the group arrived, Bruce and Pat (Fraser)
Marshall, Cathy (Jamieson) Pawley, David and Suzanne (Bouchard) Andrews,
Jack and Margaret (Hook) Dunphy and Janet (Dunlap) Schom. Huibert and
Virginia (Wayne) Arnold had a problem finding the villa. They didn’t
have the correct directions and ended up in Polizzi Generosa, about 7 km
away. No one seemed to know where Tenuta Generosa was and directed them
to another village, Castellano. The police asked the local baker, who
knew the way and the Arnolds were given a police escort to the house.
Last but not least to arrive were Andy and Kathy Greiner, who had spent
to previous week hiking in Tuscany and visiting Rome before flying to
Palermo that afternoon.
Our modus operandi is to
prepare our own meals. Breakfast and lunch is up to the individual and
Dinner is a communal affair. Volunteers are responsible for buying and
preparing a meal, complete with wine, for all sixteen of us. It has
worked perfectly every time. Our first meal, after drinks and appetizers
in the seating area next to the dining room, was served around a huge
table big enough for twenty. By the time our dinner of fish soup, salad,
pears and cheese for dessert was over we had volunteers lined up for all
the other dinners.