A Life in Pantelleria
Eleonora, a globetrotting actress, arrived on the island of Pantelleria in 1970. A handful of houses, lava flows plunging into a deep and untamed sea, Mediterranean vegetation glowing against the black rock.
With the wind in her hair as she explored the island on a Vespa, Eleonora stopped in front of a wide terrace that, like the bow of a ship, opened onto the reddest sunset she had ever seen.
She never wanted to leave.
That desire to stay led her to renovate and expand, over more than 55 years, this dammuso (a traditional Pantelleria house) dating back to the early 1900s. She blended styles and colors inspired by her many travels through North Africa and Sicily.
She infused the place with details that echo the island’s eclectic soul: hand-painted ceramics from Sicilian tradition, and architectural elements and materials rooted in Arab culture.
Each apartment in the large dammuso takes its name, and its inspiration, from the view it offers. The Gabbiano is the original unit, whose terrace overlooks the Berte seagulls gliding over the coast of Punta Polacca; the Tunisia faces the stretch of sky that gifts unforgettable sunsets over the nearby African coast; the Gibele looks toward the ancient crater of the volcanic island; and the Sicilia, the smallest, is a studio opening onto the inner courtyard, dominated by a fifty-year-old bougainvillea.
Today, Eleonora still welcomes guests with the same warmth that once made her stay. She loves sharing stories about the island, its winds and legends, the secrets of its hidden coves, and the life she built here. For her, every arrival is a chance to pass on a piece of Pantelleria, its colors, its silence, and its soul, to those who choose to call this place home, even if only for a little while.
