Why We Chose Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily to Live
/Ciao tutti! Buon Anno! We want to wish everyone a Happy & Healthy 2022!
Many people have reached out during the pandemic to ask how we found and bought our house in Sicily. The past 2 years have all of us asking big questions, reexamining what matters and how to live our best life.
It's times like these when everyone rethinks their priorities and starts thinking about making their dream life into a reality. We have consulted with a number of you on buying a home in Italy and explained why we chose Sicily and Castellammare del Golfo. So we thought we should summarize and share that here with all of you.
First, The 12 Reasons We Chose Sicily Over Other Regions in Italy
1. Cost of Living - For us, buying a home in Sicily was more than just choosing a place that felt right for us; it was also about choosing an area that offered an excellent cost of living. Most of our income goes towards fun activities like visiting friends and family, going out to eat at one of our numerous restaurants, or visiting our favorite lido on our beach!
2. The Weather - Located on Sicily's west coast, our city has a Mediterranean climate with mild winters and warm summers. The average high temperature is about 85-90 degrees in July/August and about 55-60 degrees in December/January, but we rarely experience extreme weather conditions. An added bonus? You can still enjoy winter sports like skiing when you live here because ski resorts are less than three hours away!
3. Coastline/Beaches - The largest island in the Mediterranean and our coastline is almost 400 km long and has some of Italy's most beautiful beaches.
Local Beach Spiaggia Plaia in Castellammare del Golfo Sicily Italy
4. Accessible Healthcare/Hospitals
5. Cultural Institutions - Teatro Massimo, anyone?
6. Historical Sites - best ancient Greek and Roman sites in all of Europe, plus 7 UNESCO sites
7. International Universities
8. High-Speed Internet - #remoteworking #smartworking
9. Wine - Sicily has been home to winemaking since ancient times when the island was conquered by both Greeks and Romans. Nowadays, modern Sicilian wine ranges from some of the finest in Italy to some of the most inexpensive, but either way, it’s an opportunity to try something new with your next meal!
10. Beautiful Countryside - we are in southern Europe where you will find palm trees and olive groves instead of maple leaves! Very little rain means you can go for a hike or bike ride almost every day during spring, summer, and fall! Snow can be found in the mountains in the winter if you love winter sports.
11. Attitude - Sicilians are among Italy's friendliest people and don't tend to be as uptight as their northern neighbors...I think it is because they spend so much time relaxing in our beautiful weather here in Sicily!
12. Family Values - we live by family values here...we celebrate birthdays, weddings, and holidays together as a community with large festivals all year long.
On to Castellammare...
On Italy's northwest coast, just less than an hour from Palermo by car, sits a seaside town called Castellammare del Golfo. It's a charming city with century-old homes, fresh seafood markets, pristine beaches, and great wine. If you need more convincing to move here permanently or just want some good ideas for your next vacation home, then keep reading! I'll tell you all about it below...
Aerial photo of Castellammare del Golfo
The town of Castellammare del Golfo is strategically located along a coastal highway, making it easy to reach from anywhere in Sicily—including major cities like Trapani and Palermo. Because it's set on an oceanfront location, many boat tours allow you to explore nearby villages, the hidden coves of the Zingaro Nature Reserve and national park, or visit beautiful islands such as Favignana. If boats aren't your thing, there are also the 'Strada del Vino' or driving tours through countryside vineyards where you can sample wines made right on location.
1. Location Location Location
Close to a major international airport - Palermo Airport (Airport Code: PMO, In Italian: Aeroporto Falcone Borsellino). We specifically avoided Catania! When Mt Etna erupts, it causes travel disruptions for Catania Airport, NOT PMO
Close to a European regional airport (Trapani-Birgi) - fly to Rome, Frankfurt or London in under 3 hours anyone?
On the water
In between 2 major cities - Palermo and Trapani
Close to many Historical attractions/towns - Trapani, Marsala, Erice, Palermo, Scopello, San Vito Lo Capo, Segesta, Selinunte to name a few
2. The Scenery
Beautiful sandy beaches - The coastline is some of the most beautiful in Italy. From the protected Natura riserva of the zingaro to the beautiful local beaches lined with well-equipped lidos. (We have enjoyed some of the most delicious meals at the beach!)
Mountains - Surrounded by the Inici Mountains, which makes for an exquisite microclimate with seemingly better weather than our closest neighboring towns and cool breezes, not to mention the breathtaking soaring landscape.
3. The Town
Walkable town - perfect for your evening passeggiata
Vibrant restaurant scene
Historical but not touristy
4. Food
Traditional SICILIAN Pasta busiate with Mixed Seafood
Amazing restaurants
Many local markets & shops
Fantastic gelato
Incredible bakeries/breakfast bars
5. Last but not least - The People
The brilliant ancient greek philosopher Plato sums it up best -
"Sicilians build things like they will live forever and eat like they will die tomorrow."
My kind of people :)
Our Experience So Far
Living in Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily: We wanted a place to enjoy ourselves. A retirement location where we could relax and play. It also had to be a place that could act as a vacation home if we wanted it to. We chose Castellammare del Golfo because it met all of our criteria...and then some! It was indeed an adventure coming here, but you can read more about that elsewhere on our site.
View from Palazzo del Golfo in Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, Italy
Do you have any other questions for us? Please reach out - we would love to hear from you!
