THE JACQUES GARCIA VILLA – NOTO

At the Jacque Garcia Resort in our gracious drawing room.

We had originally only planned one night in the vicinity of Noto, staying at a manor house that was around 45 minutes away. After running this plan by our friends William Brockschmidt and Richard Dragisic we changed our itinerary to include two nights in Noto and we reduced our time in Taormina to one night. Our friends also steered us to the Jacques Garcia Resort. We were quite happy to have received such valuable guidance as there is really so much to see in and around Noto – it contains the very best Sicilian Baroque and beyond – and the Jacques Garcia Resort is superb. Located just outside of Noto, the resort is a stone’s throw away from everything. Jacques Garcia bought a large parcel of land there and has been refurbishing and converting the structures into private villas with pools. The villa where we stayed was actually Jacques Garcia’s personal villa while he was refurbishing a much larger villa for himself! Like all that Garcia does, it was an absolute dream, capturing the essence of the place with a poet’s sensitivity.

Jacque Garcia resort.

Painted doorway detail – Jacque Garcia resort.

Our bedroom at the Jacque Garcia Resort.

I generally like to stay at a hotel and enjoy the luxury of being served, but I have to say, having privacy in such an idyllic Sicilian setting was wonderful. We used the villa as our jumping off place to explore Noto, Siracusa, and Ortigia, but before all that, we spent an entire day just lounging poolside and blissfully disconnecting.

James Andrew – Poolside at the Jacque Garcia Resort.

We had a proper introduction for our visit to Baron Beneventano and his gorgious palazzo in Ortigia. After taking in the beautiful town, we headed over to the Palazzo Benevantano where we had gin and tonics on the balcony overlooking the piazza – a truly magical way to begin our evening!

Dressed to visit Baron Beneventano - exploring Ortigia.

There is certainly much more to see in Noto and the surrounding area than we had time for and a return to the Jacques Garcia Resort is now on our short list!

At the Jacque Garcia Resort in our gracious drawing room, I’m sporting a Gucci white cotton safari jacket and leopard espadrilles, Michael Kors knit top, Cartier Tank Divan watch, and my fragrance is Tom Ford Neroli Portofino

For a day of lounging pool side I am wearing Tom Ford leopard print swim shorts, black knit top, Lock & Co straw hat, Tom Ford “Marco” sunglasses, Tom Ford era Gucci strappy black leather sandals, and Cartier Tank Divan watch

To visit the Baron Beneventano, I’m sporting a Tom Ford pink silk “Spencer” jacket, pink and white check shirt, fuchsia and pink silk pocket square, fuchsia pink velvet ikat slippers, Cartier Tank Divan, white Uniqlo jeans, KJP white cotton belt, and my fragrance is Creed Original Cologne.