N’orma

How would you describe N’orma in a nutshell?

N’orma is a small hotel in the countryside of Ragusa in southern Sicily. It is a rural farm, a baglio, a masseria, a typical Sicilian building with a square courtyard in the center and rooms that open up around it. People come here to stay, to share the space and the landscape. Without hurry.

What was your inspiration to renovate the house and open a small hotel?

Maurizio, my husband is Sicilian. From Catania. I was born in a small Ligurian village overlooking the sea where we now spend the winter months. We met in Milan where we both worked. Maurizio as a journalist for a leading Italian newspaper, and I as an interior designer. We were looking for a house in the country. Just for us.

This area fascinated us so we got married there. We choose Chiaramonte Gulfi because it is far away from the classic touristic destinations and here the landscape is of an extraordinary beauty. When we saw the house for the first time, abandoned and in poor condition, we immediately thought it was the right one for us.

How would you describe the atmosphere at N’orma?

I hope its charm lies in its essential frugality and authenticity, with no definite boundary between our home and the guests’ residence. Its charm is nothing but the legacy of the necessary, sparingly used by previous owners. We tried to establish a connection between the character of the old dwelling and contemporary living, preferring at times the first one and at other times the second.

There is no folklore at N’orma. The respect for the memory of a world that no longer exists is evident, but the house is well rooted in the present. The ceiling of reeds and walls blackened by a fire lit again and again are still there to witness the past and are now the backdrop for new experiences.

For what type of guests is N’orma ideal? And for whom is it not?

It’s the ideal place for those who see their holiday as an ideal opportunity for meeting. First with themselves and with their time, and then with us. Here they can follow the slow pace of the countryside. No worries. Away from the noise. To rest. For this reason we decided to create only two rooms, for 4 people. It’s the right number for us to pamper and care for. We prefer adults only, but in the case we get a family with children, we recommend they occupy both the rooms.

How far away are the nearest restaurants?

Forget your diet! The typical cuisine of Chiaramonte Gulfi is made from pork, beans and vegetable stuffed buns. The best place to taste this type of food is in the small village center, in an old trattoria called Majore. Here food has remained unchanged for decades. Alternatively you can sit at one of the tables inside the winery Gulfi, a few hundred meters from N’orma.

The most demanding palates can sample Ciccio Sultano’s 2 Michelin-starred cuisine. His dishes are a synthesis of Sicilian culture and cuisine, full of contrasts, contradictions and exotic influences.

But in this area food and wine are in full swing and there are many other restaurants to discover. Fruits and vegetables, olive oil, meat and cheese here are so extraordinary…

To you personally, what’s the biggest reward about opening N’orma?

This beautiful adventure called N’orma allows us to get to know other people. And with them other worlds, other cultures. N’orma is an open window onto the world. In this way at the end of each season we feel ‘richer’.

Each new arrival keeps us in suspense. Until now our guests were happy and my husband and I with them. British guests, leaving N’orma, confessed to us ’We came as guests and we’re going away as friends’. Well, I would say that this is the best reward.

Please tell us about the food.

Forget your diet! The typical cuisine of Chiaramonte Gulfi is made from pork, beans and vegetable stuffed buns. The best place to taste this type of food is in the small village center, in an old trattoria called Majore. Here food has remained unchanged for decades. Alternatively you can sit at one of the tables inside the winery Gulfi, a few hundred meters from N’orma.

The most demanding palates can sample Ciccio Sultano’s 2 Michelin-starred cuisine. His dishes are a synthesis of Sicilian culture and cuisine, full of contrasts, contradictions and exotic influences.

But in this area food and wine are in full swing and there are many other restaurants to discover. Fruits and vegetables, olive oil, meat and cheese here are so extraordinary…