beautiful enormous old-fashioned house

Dear Guest,
Welcome at our place!
Please, when you send a request, write us:
1. your desired check in time.*
2. how you arrive (train, flight), what time you arrive and where you arrive (station, airport).
3. how many guests, how many bedrooms and in which dates you need.
We will answer as soon as possible to confirm your request.
Once you book, you will receive via email detailed information about:
a. how to contact us.
b. how to reach Esagono Monello.
c. suggestions and tips about Avola and the surroundings.
NOTES:
*Please note that our preferred check in is 1pm - 9pm.
Check out is normally within 10 am on the day of departure.
Please contact us to arrange a different check in/check out time.

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THE STRUCTURE:
Esagono Monello is a family-run guest house situated in a building dating from the early 1800s, in the heart of the old town of Avola, Sicily, just a few miles away from Syracuse and Noto.
The old building, which retains the original 19th-century facade, was completely restored after the earthquake of 1990 destroyed part of eastern Sicily.
The house, which has two storeys, can accommodate up to 14 people and consists of:
• 4 large bedrooms
• 1 living room with sofa bed.
• 1 spacious,fully-equipped kitchen
• 4 bathrooms.

Bedroom 1, on the ground floor, with en-suite bathroom, is perfect for a couple and can also be used as a single.
The three upstairs bedrooms overlook an inner courtyard and each has a balcony in typical Art Nouveau style.
Bedroom 2, with en-suite bathroom, can accommodate up to 5 people and is perfect for a family with children or a group of friends.
Bedrooms 3 and 4 are located on the first floor in a separate wing of the house, which can be independent of the others, and are ideal for two couples, a group of friends or a family.
On the first floor, for the use of guests there is also a small terrace for drying clothes and enjoying the cool on hot summer nights.
All rooms are equipped with air conditioning and heating.

• Bedroom 1 - double bed, private bathroom.
• Bedroom 2 - double bed + 3 single beds, private bathroom, balcony.
• Bedroom 3 - double bed + 1 single bed, bathroom shared with Bedroom 4, balcony.
• Bedroom 4 - double bed, bathroom shared with Bedroom 3, balcony.

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AVOLA
Avola is a hospitable town of approximately 30,000 inhabitants in the province of Siracusa in Sicily.
The three bees on the town’s coat of arms indicate the industriousness of its citizens.
With its characteristic hexagonal plan, the town of Avola began to take its present form around the end of the 17th century, after the earthquake of 1693, when the surviving inhabitants of Avola Antica, in the Iblee hills a few kilometres away, moved to the coast and reconstructed their town.
The city of Avola occupies a flat site within an extraordinary landscape overlooking the Ionian coast of Sicily in the Eastern Gulf of Noto. Situated south of Syracuse, it includes what was long ago one of the oldest Greek routes in Sicily: the Via Elorina.
The territory of Avola, between the Ionian Sea and the Hyblaean mountains, boasts a rich coastline of beaches of fine golden sand. Cool perfumed breezes from the hills to the north-west of the city reduce the temperature during summer nights.
From the large Piazza Umberto I, in the heart of the famous hexagonal centre of the old town, the Baroque streets of Avola, typical of the nearby city of Noto, radiate outwards
Avola’s location provides access to an exceptional cultural and environmental heritage for visitors to explore.

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A BEAUTIFUL LAND
Architecture, Art, Culture, Nature, Local products, Excursions, Activities.
Avola is located in an area rich in natural and architectural beauty, culture and art.
The sea is about 800m from the house, with wonderful beaches within walking and cycling distance. Surrounded by nature reserves, the territory of Avola is an ideal place for an outdoor holiday – including excursions into the countryside, climbing the surrounding hills, hiking in the mountains, diving in the clear waters of the lakes that lie in the caves carved out by rivers, bird watching and luxuriating in the abundant flora and fauna of the Mediterranean.
The town of Avola and surrounding areas provide various sporting facilities: for tennis, golf, soccer, water sports and scuba diving, wind surfing, rafting, diving, snorkeling and fishing, as well as indoor and outdoor (summer) cinemas
In the Porto Vecchio area to the south of the town, you can buy fresh local fish and eat delicious typical Sicilian dishes in seaside restaurants.
For wine lovers, visiting the many local wineries and wine cellars, or taking wine tasting tours, will introduce you to the typical products of Avola and Sicily.
A few kilometers away from Esagonello Monello , there are numerous attractions of great historical, cultural and natural significance:
• The lakes of “Cava Grande del Cassibile” Nature Reserve.
• The Nature Reserve of Vendicari with pristine beaches.
• Syracuse, the Greek Theatre, the Ear of Dionysus and the spring of Arethusa in Ortygia.
• Noto, the beautiful baroque city with its municipal theatre, the old town perched high above and the famous cathedral, which collapsed in 1990 and is now restored.
• The old fishing village of Marzamemi.
• The reserve of Pantalica and other nature reserves in the vicinity of Avola.

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TYPICAL PRODUCTS
The special microclimate of Avola makes it an ideal area for growing grapes, almonds and lemons, which are exported as high quality products.
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limone_di_Siracusa

Avola gives its name to the Avola Almond, known as "Pizzuta d'Avola ", famous worldwide for its exceptional flavor and organoleptic properties, and because it is the favorite variety for confetti (sugar-coated almonds usually eaten at wedding ceremonies).
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pizzuta_d%27Avola

The world-famous Nero d'Avola grape also has its origins in the town of Avola: its name, “Calea Aulisi”, in local dialect means "grape of Avola”.
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nero_d%27Avola_(vitigno)

Wines containing Nero d'Avola are exported all over the world and local wineries have won major awards in the industry.
The following Sicilian Nero d’Avola wines were rated among the best wines in Italy in the 2011 Gambero Rosso ‘tre Bicchieri’ awards.
• Cartagho Mandrarossa '08 Settesoli.
• Nero d' Avola '08 Versace Feuds Pisciotto.
• Neromaccarj '07 Gulfi.
• Sàgana '08 Cusumano.
• Feud Maccari Saia '08.
• Tancredi '07 Donnafugata - Nero d'Avola and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Typical products of Avola can be tasted and purchased from local businesses.
http://www.prodotti-tipici-siciliani.it/prodotti_tipici_citta.cfm?citta=AVOLA&provincia=SR&p=Siracusa

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SURROUNDINGS / UNMISSABLE PLACES
A few kilometres from the historic center of Avola are breathtaking attractions visited by tourists from all over the world. Here is a list of the closest areas not to be missed:
• The Nature Reserve of Cava Grande del Cassibile on the karst plateaus of the Iblean mountains, famous for the extraordinary natural formation of the landscape and for its archaeological and anthropological.features. The cave is 10 kilometres long and over 250 metres deep. Along the steep canyon walls, produced by the erosion of water courses over millennia, are eight thousand rock tombs dating from the Paleolithic era, around the tenth and ninth centuries BC. At the bottom of the valley is a system of small waterfalls and ponds of crystal clear fresh water, which are ideal for swimming.
http://www.cavagrandedelcassibile.it/home_page.asp

• The Vendicari Nature Reserve is an environmental oasis of international importance for the beauty of its beaches and the remains of ancient places of worship, cemeteries and catacombs. Its has five marshes, and is a regular destination of numerous species of migratory birds: herons and pink flamingos, swans and spoonbills, Kentish plover, moorhens, water rail, reed warblers, and some specimens of little grebe, pink gulls, shelduck and glossy ibis. It also includes the remains of the salt marshes of tuna in 1400 and 1700.
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riserva_naturale_orientata_Oasi_Faunistica_di_Vendicari

• The Archaeological Park of Ancient Avola and the Necropolis of Cassibile.
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necropoli_di_Cassibile

• The archaeological site of Pantalica Nature Reserve, UNESCO World Heritage Site, with the acropolis and necropolis.
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantalica

• Syracuse, World Heritage Site, with its Greek Theatre, Ear of Dionysius, altar of Hiero, and island of Ortigia, the centre of the old town, which houses the remains of the Temple of Apollo and the Temple Athena, on which the beautiful 7th-century cathedral was built.
http://www.comune.siracusa.it/
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1200

• Noto, a beautiful UNESCO World Heritage listed baroque city, with its famous baroque cathedral, which partly collapsed in 1996 as a result of the 1990 earthquake and is now restored, the Municipal Theatre, its historic centre perched high above the surrounding countryside, overlooking the stunning beaches of the Vendicari Nature Reserve.
http://www.comune.noto.sr.it/

• Marzamemi, a quaint fishing village dating from the mid-17th century, with its tuna trap active from the time of Arab domination. In the old village, which has been featured in famous movies and advertising, the "Festival del Cinema di Frontiera" takes place every year,making the town a destination for filmmakers, actors, producers and film critics of international repute.
http://www.marzamemi.com
http://www.cinemadifrontiera.it/

• Palazzolo Acreide, a village with a unique triangular-shaped plan, rich in churches and surrounded by archaeological sites and natural attractions.
http://www.palazzolo-acreide.it

Visit the Nature Reserves of Avola.
http://www.siciliaparchi.com/_riserveNaturali.asp?order=prov&voce=Siracusa

---SOUTH WEST---
• The beaches and the tomatoes of Pachino.
http://www.saporidipachino.it
• The Isle of currents at Portopalo di Capo Passero.
http://www.comune.portopalo.sr.it/pagine/associazioneproloco.htm

• The Aztec chocolate and Sicilian Baroque of Modica di Ragusa, also known from the famous TV series, Inspector Montalbano.
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cioccolato_modicano

---NORTH EAST---
• The wonderful city of Catania, covered by lava from nearby Mt Etna and rebuilt several times, abounds in architectural works stratified over the centuries, which makes it a Greek, medieval, renaissance, baroque and 20th-century city.
http://www.comune.catania.it

• The Greco-Roman theatre and the other wonders of Taormina.
http://www.comune.taormina.me.it

• A walk on the slopes of Mount Etna.
http://www.parcoetna.it

• A trip to the Gorges of Alcantara.
http://www.parcoalcantara.it

---NORTH WEST---
• The ceramics of Caltagirone.
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caltagirone

• The mosaics of Piazza Armerina.
http://www.piazza-armerina.com

• The Belvedere of Enna, also called the Navel of Sicily.
http://www.comune.enna.it/index.php/turista-a-enna