Tenuta Cammarana

Tenuta Cammarana is a historic country residence located on the Iblean Plateau between Ragusa and Donnafugata Castle. Far removed from the hustle and bustle of built-up areas, it is an elegant and austere retreat immersed in ancient beauty. It stands in a dominant position over the surrounding countryside, and on clear days, the panoramic view extends to the sea and the island of Malta. The high walls surrounding the house protect the gardens, shaded by palms and centuries- old trees, and adorned with collections of jasmine, bougainvillea, peonies, antique roses and bearded irises. Native prickly pear cacti and citrus trees grown in the orchard, which was formerly an 18th-century garden. The surrounding territory remains intact in all its beauty, unspoiled and abounding in natural flora and rare species, protected and preserved by the decision of recent generations not to engage in intensive and specific agriculture on the land.
The house’s library consists of texts on Sicilian literature and poetry, the history of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, botany, contemporary art and cuisine. It also hosts a collection of ancient Sicilian ceramics from Caltagirone and Santo Stefano di Camastra. In recent years, 5 rooms in the house have been opened to guests. They are spacious and quiet, overlooking either the sunny courtyard or the gardens. The Cammarana residence is an ideal location for those who love nature and appreciate silence, as well as those seeking to escape the routine of everyday life and visit the magnificent cities of Ragusa Ibla, Modica and Scicli, hidden gems full of Baroque treasures.
Every day, the ‘masseria’ farmhouse and agricultural estate, just a few steps away, produces ricotta and traditional cheeses such as ‘ragusano’ and ‘provola’, as well as products that all have authentic, unique flavours, such as bread made with ‘russello’ flour, the ancient grain of Sicily, and carob honey from Sicilian black bees, or extra virgin olive oil extracted from ‘tonda iblea’, ‘biancolilla’ and ‘moresca’ olives.

The history of Tenuta Cammarana
The Tenuta Cammarana estate originated as one of Baron Sortino Trono’s summer country residences. It was built in the neo-Baroque style with elements created by the same artisans who extended the family Palazzo (now a UNESCO World Heritage Site) in Ragusa Ibla after the earthquake of 1693. It was located in the centre of an 800-hectare fiefdom, stretching from 350 metres above sea level gently down to the sea, and featured dry-stone walls, Arab gardens, ancient carob trees and oak woodland. Antonio, a charismatic figure in the city of Ibla, was a much-loved doctor and was also one of the founders of the Circolo della Conversazione cultural association in Ragusa Ibla. The property was given as a dowry to his niece Maria Sortino Trono Maggiore di Santa Barbara and later to her daughter Maria Nifosì, who enlarged the gardens and offered part of it for several years without any compensation to the Municipality of Ragusa as a home for the elementary and middle school for the children of the farmers who worked in the districts adjacent to the Cammarana estate. Today, Maria Nifosì’s son, sculptor Giuseppe Pulvirenti and his wife, architect Silvia La Padula, have carried out meticulous conservation and restoration work on the house, gardens and boundless dry- stone walls, restoring everything to its former beauty. They now spend most of the year there.

Facilities and services: bed and breakfast accommodation between Ragusa and the Castle of Donnafugata
Tenuta Cammarana is the ideal solution for travellers in Sicily looking for a charming B&B in a country house near Donnafugata Castle. Guests of the estate will have the opportunity to stay in comfortable, elegant rooms, tastefully furnished with the utmost respect for tradition.

The gardens of Tenuta Cammarana
The gardens represent a small oasis within the estate, their layout dating back to the 8th century. Enclosed and protected by high walls, the green spaces unfold like a series of Chinese boxes through a series of internal courtyards, eventually opening out onto the Hortus Conclusus, which in turn overlooks and dominates the extension of the grounds towards the sea and Donnafugata Castle.

These ‘wild gardens’ continue throughout the estate as unchecked permanent grasslands and are home to species of considerable botanical interest, including Hermodactylus tuberosus, Erysimum bonannianum, Neottia nidus-avis, Oprhys fusca and other wild orchid species. The Cammarana gardens are a separate entity unto themselves, yet at the same time they are inextricably linked to the flora and fauna of the rest of the estate, which preserves and protects them from external intrusions and any form of human intervention.

The agricultural estate and its local produce
Tenuta Cammarana is also an agricultural estate where guests can experience true gastronomic excellence from the local territory. The crops are extensive, and rotational farming includes the production of the ancient Sicilian Russello wheat and hay. Grasses and wild flowers grow in fields kept for pasture. Modicana cows, a breed with a long history in Sicily, produce a creamy milk that is used to make Ragusano DOP and ricotta, cheeses that are typical of the area. Tenuta Cammarana also produces olive oil from the Tonda Iblea, Biancolilla, and Moresca olive varieties. The olive groves consist of ancient trees and new plantings that have an average age of 10 years. This allows us to produce some of the best oil in the area, due to our location at 360 m above sea level, the total absence of fog in the evening and the black soil naturally fertilised by the cows during grazing. Every year in October, the olives are harvested by hand and pressed the same day using a continuous cold cycle process. The oil is rigorously unfiltered.