Explore an overlooked part of Italy from this luxurious resort
The resort
Baglio Oneto, Marsala, Sicily
The resort, with its pool and tower.
Check-in
Marsala is not merely one of the world’s most famous wines, it’s also among its most misunderstood. This 47-room, centuries-old winery resort offers a much clearer understanding of this sweet or dry fortified drop, well beyond its reputation as an ingredient in savoury dishes and desserts. It’s also a fine base to experience the incredible eponymous region of western Sicily where marsala is produced. A quarter of an hour’s drive from Marsala, the seaside city after which the wine derives its name, this family-owned and operated baglio (meaning a fortress-like rural estate in Italian), has more than enough to enchant and entertain even the most ardent teetotaller or marsala-dissenter.
The look
Enjoy striking panoramas of Sicily.
This is authentic Sicilian country style. Set on a hilltop overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea and surrounding rural countryside, Baglio Oneto dei Principi di San Lorenzo, to employ its full name, is dominated by a landmark 18th century stone tower, replete with its own rustic luxury suite, next door to which is a splendid casa padronale (manor house) of the same vintage. From the bar beside the large swimming pool, there are striking panoramas of western Sicily, best viewed at sunset over Sicilian sundowners. Marsala, anyone?
The room
Some rooms are boldly blue.
The main guest rooms, which were renovated in 2020, are arranged in a separate contemporary, though aesthetically sympathetic, wing. It, like the rest of the resort, was designed by the family patriarch, a trained architect, and inspired by an ancient Sicilian village. The rooms overlook either the surrounding countryside or a courtyard dominated by a large swimming pool. Your reviewer’s luxurious, traditionally and elegantly decorated second floor room, with its walls boldly painted in a Sicilian cerulean blue, offers views across wineries and olive grows to distant mountains.
Food + drink
The glorious walled courtyard from the 1700s.
In fine weather, breakfast, lunch and dinner are served within a glorious walled courtyard from the 1700s which faces the manor house, where inside there’s a more formal dining room and lounge. Unsurprisingly considering the baglio’s location, exquisite fresh local seafood dominates the a la carte menu with dishes served with Sicilian aplomb. The Oneto family’s own drops, including the signature marsala DOC (controlled designation of origin) as well as various Sicilian styles such as a nero d’Avola, can be sampled here or as part of a tasting in the cellar below the manor house.
Out + about
Among the objectives of the passionate and enterprising owners, who as well as wine also produce extra virgin olive oil, is to encourage more visitors to western Sicily, which they feel is overlooked in favour of other attractions on this culturally rich island. Certainly, they can be proud of this corner of Sicily and what it offers. Aside from the walkable small city of Marsala, not far from the resort are ancient salt pans studded with historic mills while, at the other end of the altitude scale, there’s the medieval mountaintop fortress town of Erice for dramatic sea and coastal vistas. If that isn’t enough, only 30 minutes from Baglio Oneto is Segesta, the site of remarkably preserved 420BC temple ruins and a largely intact 2nd century BC amphitheatre.
The verdict
The views are best enjoyed at sunset over Sicilian sundowners.
The luxurious yet unpretentious Baglio Oneto dei Principi di San Lorenzo is a handsome and tranquil base from which to fully savour the fruits of this culturally rich region.
Essentials
Rooms from $412 a night for independent travellers (bagliooneto.it). Baglio Oneto dei Principi di San Lorenzo forms a three-night stay on Albatross Tours’ 17-day “Italy, the Deep South & Sicily” fully escorted journey between Rome and Palermo. Prices, airfares excluded, from $10,347 a person. Phone 1300 135 015; see albatrosstours.com.au
Our rating out of five
★★★★½
Highlight
Baglio Oneto is a salubrious delight but the real star is western Sicily as a whole and its wealth of natural and man-made attractions.
Lowlight
Despite all the bemoaning of marsala’s reputation as merely a cooking ingredient, veal a la marsala still manages to make it to the table.
The writer travelled as a guest of Albatross Tours.
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