The choice was not easy as each artist’s work has its own merits. The names of the bedrooms themselves are redolent of the experience to come: The Water Bearers, Lunaria, The Tower of Sigismondo, The Hammam… We chose the Hammam created by Sislej Xhafa and were transported to a desert oasis complete with tiled fountain, semi-circular bed, wood-panelled doors studded with wrought iron and even a steam room.
You can book an ‘ordinary’ room but the opportunity to stay in one of those themed by an artist is too good to miss. The monochrome theme continues with whimsical cartoons inviting you to ‘Flex your Mind’. The reception is entirely wall-papered with a variety of Italian newspaper front pages.
Enter to book a room, and you cross the threshold to another world. The only give-away from the outside, is a golden column fashioned in the shape of a woman who holds up the entrance to the atrium. Founded by Antonio Presti, it is a piece of installation art in its own right, as well as one of the most unusual hotels on the island. Should you want to stay the night, you may be expecting a small pensione but definitely not the Atelier Sul Mare. The small fishing village of Castel di Tusa on Sicily’s Tyrrhenian coast is a pretty place to stop for lunch overlooking the beach.
