Stay at Dimora Delle Balze, Noto, Italy

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An abandoned 19th-century castle just north of the baroque town of Noto seems an unusual birthday present – but following a scrupulous nine-year restoration project, Elena Lops now shares the joy, along with the discerning eye of interior designer Draga Obradovic. The estate’s masseria soul remains fully intact, its freckled grey walls and earthy, tiled rooms blending seamlessly into the surrounding prairie-like scrub and lush, rolling woodlands. Sun-dappled courtyards decorated with wrought iron day beds and large terracotta pots lead into pared-down pastel-hued bedrooms, more courtyards, and a light-filled dining room where local cheeses, meats, apricot pastries and brioche spill across a farmhouse table for breakfast. This is savoured on a weathered stone terrace, with views of Val di Noto’s gold and green haze framed by disfigured classical columns salvaged from the abandoned estate. Even the pool area seems to have seized upon the organic theme – where moonlight toys with the water’s tar-like ripples in the evening as diners drizzle focaccia generously with the estate’s own olive.

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