Italy · Noto, Sicily · Venue guide
A Wedding at Dimora delle Balze, Sicily
Dimora delle Balze is a small, beautiful world of its own in the south-east of Sicily – a 19th-century estate with high walls, courtyards, a lemon orchard and only eleven rooms, on the plateau between baroque Noto and Siracusa. Paige and Andrew eloped here in October 2021, with a ceremony in a courtyard at sunset and dinner in the garden, and it remains one of the most romantic places I have filmed in Italy.
- Where
- The Hyblaean plateau between Noto and Siracusa
- Built
- 1886, as a summer estate of Don Salvatore Zocco
- Rooms
- Eleven, each with its own style
- Open
- From Easter to the end of October
The estate
The nobleman Don Salvatore Zocco built Dimora delle Balze in 1886 as his family’s summer retreat, while farm workers lived on the estate all year round. It was built like a small fortress: high battlemented walls around a central courtyard, a tower at the entrance, vaulted and frescoed ceilings, and gardens with Byzantine columns and a pergola resting on classical columns. Since 2009 the Lops family has restored it into a boutique hotel with three courtyards, a pool, a small spa and a restaurant.
An elopement or a small wedding
With eleven rooms, Dimora delle Balze is made for intimate celebrations – an elopement, or a wedding with your closest family and friends. Paige and Andrew said their vows in a courtyard decorated with flowers as the setting sun turned the stone golden, then sat down to dinner in the garden by candlelight and danced under the lights to live acoustic music. Earlier in the day they drove through the baroque streets of Noto in a vintage convertible – one of my favourite scenes of their film.
The hotel also hosts larger celebrations in its courtyards and gardens, with pool parties and dinners overlooking the countryside of the Val di Noto; larger groups stay in Noto and nearby hotels.
Getting there and around
Catania airport is about 70 to 85 minutes away by car. Noto, one of the Late Baroque towns of the Val di Noto on the UNESCO World Heritage list, is close by, as are Siracusa and the island of Ortigia – wonderful for a few days before or after the wedding.
The hotel is open from Easter to the end of October. May, June, September and October are my favourite months in Sicily – warm, but not as hot as high summer. In Italy a civil marriage is celebrated by the comune, so ask your planner about the legal ceremony. More about weddings in Italy.
Planning your wedding at Dimora delle Balze?
Tell me your date and place – I’ll let you know if I’m free.
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