Villa Giuseppina was the perfect venue for our week in Taormina. This distinguished Sicilian home surrounds its guests with authentic, local deep family history in a town that itself is surrounded by and built upon all our shared human past. It was such an honor and pleasure to relax in this classic, personally appointed home, as if we were the owners' invited guests and not paying tenants.

Among Villa Giuseppina's highlights are its luxurious size, ample amenities, extraordinary location, exquisite terraces, luxuriant garden and delightful hosts. The kitchen, bedrooms, baths, living and dining rooms are equipped for easy living. We wanted for nothing. The Villa sits high against the hill topped by the Saracen Castle, the path to which begins a few meters up the road. From both its upper and lower terraces, one enjoys fetching views of the sea and town, including a glimpse of the Greek Theater. Its position relative to town provides easy access to the Parcheggio Lumbi shuttle, the covered market to the north, the supermarket to the south and numerous grocery shops (e.g., Etna) in between.

The Villa's sea-facing terraces, draped in ancient bougainvilleas, are splendid for taking long meals and passing late nights. The large central dining room upstairs provides an elegant alternative in heat or (for us) rain.

The Villa is accessed via a fancifully stone-tiled switchback path of long (~4m) steps, easy for the octogenarian in our party, its extravagant plantings presenting the visitor with a fresh spectrum of fragrances at each turn - jasmine, rosemary, citrus. Ascending to the Villa through this staged olfactory massage never failed to pluck us from the town's tourist crush and gracefully nestle us back into our peaceful hillside oasis.

Finally, considerable gratitude is due our hosts, warm and welcoming people who generously oriented us on our arrival and assisted above and beyond their remit in our departure.

We don't think we would ever return to Taormina if we couldn't again stay at Villa Giuseppina.