Five Days at Azienda Agricola Mandranova Olive Farm Sicily

We visited Sicily in May/June 2025. We were hoping that the weather would be warm and sunny, but not the mid-summer’s stifling heat. And that’s what we got: temperatures consistently in the high 20s C (around 80 F), with very little rain.

We travelled through Sicily counter-clockwise, starting with Catania and then taking the train to Cefalu and then to Palermo, where we rented a car to drive through the island to the south coast to the olive estate Azienda Agricola Mandranova near Agrigento, then on to Syracuse/Ortigia and back to Catania.

We didn’t see the western coast of Sicily. Maybe next time.

This post covers our stay at the olive farm, Azienda Agricola Mandranova.

We chose to stay here for three reasons:

• It would be a place to relax, sit by the swimming pool up in the hills, and “do nothing” in the country
• It would be our home base to drive to the Valley of the Temples to the west and the ancient Roman villa of Casale at Piazza Armerina to the east
• A friend had stayed there five years ago and loved it—reason enough to go

Typically, the drive from Palermo to the Mandranova takes about two-and-a-half hours, but we stopped a few times along the way to take photos. By mid-afternoon, we arrived at the farm.

The drive took us through the heart of Sicily, which was parched in the bright sun. Fields of wheat and olive orchards rolled up the sides of rough hills, usually tended to by an old farmhouse and a few outbuildings.

Every time I see a scene like this, I wonder what it would be like to live there. Doesn’t look like it’s changed much for centuries.

I had wanted to visit the town of Enna on the way, but we decided it was too much of a detour and wanted to get to the Mandranova. I was curious about Enna because of two books I’d read. One was the history of Sicily, and the other was about World War II in Sicily.

Both books mentioned Enna because of its strategic location, high up on a plateau in the center of Sicily. Whoever controlled Enna could oversee the roads running in all directions.

During Sicily’s Roman era, they ruled from there and built the Temple of Ceres, the Roman goddess of grain and fertility.

During WWII, the Germans occupied Enna, using it as a strategic defensive position to try to thwart the Allied invasion from the south. It worked for a while until the superior strength of the Allies overran them.

Anyway, maybe next time. I’d still like to visit Enna.

Driving in Sicily is Crazy, Frustrating, and Mysterious

First, the good news. The main roads in Sicily were surprisingly well-maintained with clear signage. Out in the country, the local roads needed some love, but we expected that.

The crazy, frustrating, and mysterious part was our rental car that read the speed limit for every section of the road and started beeping as soon as we were three kilometres over the limit.

Then there was the matter of the speed cameras. We’d been warned about speeding tickets and saw some of the cameras mounted on poles above the highway.

And yet, the locals seemed to drive well above the speed limit both on the highways and on the regional roads.

We felt like we were holding up traffic with a long parade behind us. What gives?

I had to ask AI for the answers.

What North Americans might not know is that all new cars sold in Europe since mid-2022 have Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA). It works using a combination of GPS and a small camera on the vehicle that can read and decode speed limit signs.

We don’t have that pairing of technologies in North America, so it was news to us.

What about speeding tickets, though? Maybe the speed cameras don’t really work?

Well, maybe. Apparently, it’s a combination of some of the cameras not working, others that are dummies, and others that do work, and the locals know exactly where to slow down and then speed up again.

So, the net answer is that tourists should obey the speed limits since there is a possibility you’ll get an expensive ticket (mailed to your home address, often months after the fact). Locals? Well, they know how to get around the law.

The Azienda Agricola Mandranova Was Heaven

Our five days at the Mandranova were perfect. We were assigned a superbly comfortable room (the Coratina room, ask for it) on the second floor of a building overlooking the courtyard in front of us and one of the many olive orchards out the back. Buffet breakfasts were tasty and varied every day.

We had dinner in the courtyard every night. At €45, Mandranova offered a four-course set menu. For example, one night’s menu started with homemade sourdough bread and one of their olive oils, followed by fava bean cream, pasta with meat ragout, kingfish with Aeolian sauce, roasted courgettes, mashed potatoes, and cannoli for dessert.

Note that this is a nightly set menu. There are no other choices.

The wine list was all local with a good selection of Etna wines. Perfect for us.

We felt like we were living in a movie. The weather was ideal, the service was friendly and efficient, and the grounds were well-maintained with flowering trees, palm trees, and cacti. Our fellow travellers were a mix of Europeans, Australians, and North Americans.

A Swimming Pool Above the Orchards

We soon discovered the swimming pool, a short walk up a hill through the olive orchards. Again, it was like a movie set or a Slim Aarons poolside photo shoot.

It’s a small pool (originally the cistern to collect spring water to irrigate the garden), surrounded by cacti, agave and aloe plants, a palm-leaf-covered shed, lounge chairs, and shaded by a centuries-old carob tree. There’s no service up there, so bring your own refreshments.

We were happy to spend hours by the pool doing nothing other than marvel at the view.

A Short History of Mandranova

I was curious about the history of the estate, so I did some research.

The heart of Azienda Agricola Mandranova is a farmhouse built in the late 19th century, when this part of the Agrigento countryside was laid out in large agricultural estates.

When the farmhouse was built, the ground level was for the animals, with the living quarters upstairs. So, when you’re getting your breakfast buffet or buying olive oil in the office/store, you’re in the original animal quarters.

Over time, the property grew to include two distinctive structures:

• Il Casello – once a railway station on the Agrigento–Licata line (early 1900s), later restored as guest accommodation.
• La Robazza – a palmento, the traditional Sicilian grape-pressing building, has now been adapted for hospitality.

The estate remains in the hands of the Di Vincenzo family, who worked the land for generations. In the mid-1990s, Giuseppe and Silvia di Vincenzo transformed the farm into a modern olive-oil estate, planting local cultivars and developing Mandranova into one of Sicily’s most highly regarded producers, while preserving the historic character of the property.

Quick Canadian note: Until recently, Mandranova olive oil was available in Toronto, but the retailer went out of business. They’re looking for new outlets.

Mandranova also sits in a landscape touched by war. In July 1943, during the Allied invasion of Sicily, the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division advanced eastward from Licata close to the estate. While no specific battle is documented on the farm itself, it almost certainly lay along the corridor of movement as American troops pushed inland.

For us, our stay at Mandranova was one of the highlights of our Sicilian trip. Relaxing, friendly, great food and wine, and close to the highway when we wanted to explore. Highly recommended.

Coming up: posts on the Valley of the Temples, the Roman villa of Casale at Piazza Armerina, Cefalu, Syracuse/Ortigia, and more.

Note: this post isn’t sponsored, we just enjoyed our time here. If you’re thinking of going, here’s the site for Azienda Agricola Mandranova. Book directly. Leave some room in your suitcase for bottles of olive oil.