Agriturismo Monaco di Mezzo

A farm, hotel, restaurant, and horseback riding operation gloriously isolated in the center of Sicily

Antonio Carlotta spurred his horse to the top of a thousand-foot precipice above a rumpled quilt of brown and yellow autumnal fields. In the distance, a hill town of pastel houses clung to a peak against the forested backdrop of the Madonie Mountains.

"The Pottinos' father was a Marquis," said Antonio. "Until the 1960s and the land reforms, he owned almost all this land around here."

Antonio contemplated the view a few more minutes before turning his horse back toward the stables at the agriturismo Monaco di Mezzo.

Antonio cares for the horses and leads free-form trail rides (€11–€15) for guests staying at the ancient stone farm complex where the Marquis Pottino's sons, Ettore and Vittorio, offer eleven rustic rooms and six rambling, spacious apartments.

Mimmo Piombo, the operation's manager and chef, ensures the entire organic farm's output—from succulent veal to luscious eggplant to fresh olive oil—goes into some of the most delectable agriturismo dinners in Sicily (€20 per person).

My meal kicked off with an antipasto of wedges of tomá fresca cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, green olives, grilled eggplant drizzled with vinegar, olive oil and oregano, and a caponata (eggplant stewed with tomatoes and capers). The primo was tiny pasta shells in a sauce of fresh tomato, garlic, and herbs with big chunks of sautéed eggplant.

The secondo was a succulent veal chop—a man at a neighboring table called the chef over to declare, "This is the best I've ever had—and I'm a Sicilian!"—with a wedge of lime to squeeze over the roughly chopped lettuce that served as a salad. All this was followed by a big slice of Sicilian honeydew melon for dessert and a limoncello (lemony liqueur) on the house.

Note: The farm lies four well-signposted miles from the Ressutano exit on the A19 autostrada, halfway between Palermo and Catania and about a 90-minute drive from either.

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