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Nights In The Past

Truly Historic UK and European Hotels

Historic Hotels, Castles, Bed & Breakfast Accommodation, Luxury Spas, Romantic Getaways, Old Inns

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Historic Hotels in Sicily and Corsica

Grand Hotel Timeo
Via Teatro Greco 59, Taormina, Sicily

Located in its own park, full of olives and magnolias, and opposite the town’s Greek theatre, the Grand Hotel Timeo dates back to 1873. Since then it has been an ongoing haunt of cultural icons, drawn to the remarkable views to be had from its terrace - it is even possible for one to see Mount Etna in the distance.

A veritable host of famous figures have rested here: Guglielmo Marconi, Guy de Maupassant, Oscar Wilde, Kaiser Wilhelm II and D H Lawrence for starters.

San Domenico Palace
Piazza San Domenico 5, Taormina, Sicily

One of the most famous monastery-hotels in the world, The San Domenico Palace only began to accommodate guests in 1896.

With origins dating back to the 14th century, the hotel’s views across the Ionian Sea and to Mount Etna were described by Goethe in 1767 - "To have seen Italy without having seen Sicily is not to have seen Italy at all, for Sicily is the clue to everything."

Oscar Wilde, Guy de Maupassant, D H Lawrence and Richard Wagner were all patrons, as somewhat less gloriously was Field Marshall Kesselring who made San Domenico his headquarters during World War II.

Grand Villa Politi
Via Maria Politi Laudien 2, Syracuse, Sicily

Located in the extraordinary setting of the ancient quarries of Latomie de Cappuccini, the Grand Villa Poilti has long been established as a haunt of the rich & famous. Indeed, Edmondo de Amicis celebrated it in his Memories of a Sicilian Journey: “I can’t remember more delightful hours than those I spent on the terrace of the Grand Albergo Politi”.

Winston Churchill is said to have stayed here on more than one occasion, with the public lounge named in his honour the place in which he would spend his afternoons painting.

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