Our story

How it all began

I was lucky enough to grow up in Cefalu, one of the most picturesque places in Sicily. Summers were long and sunny with plenty of time playing at our local beach, exploring the Madonie mountains and meeting friends in the piazza. From a young age I have always loved welcoming visitors to my home town. Whilst having great pride in my Sicilian routes and attached to my family and friends there, I was always curious about the different cultures and languages of the people who spent their holidays in Sicily. Looking back, that is really when my passion for travel and tourism began.

It started in 2002

Keen to learn more and see the world, I studied, worked and travelled in Asia and the UK before returning to Sicily in 2002. As the internet was taking off, I seized the opportunity to create the first website guide to Cefalu, featuring holiday homes for rental and ways to experience the region, from historic palazzo rentals and scooter hire to guided hikes up volcanoes. It worked well and my rental business began to thrive.

Villa holidays became increasingly popular so in 2006 I converted my spacious family home, Villa Provenza, into a holiday villa with a pool. Set high in the Madonie mountains overlooking the sea, it became an instant hit, attracting groups of friends and families who would return year after year.

As demand grew, my business evolved to sourcing and managing other villas in the area. I employed a team to coordinate everything from laundry, cleaning and maintenance, to bookings and promotions.

By the time started building Villa Rita, my dream family villa, I was married with two children. As we divide our time between Sicily, Brussels and the UK, Villa Rita has become our second and much-loved home in Sicily.

Spreading wings

In 2011 I established my villa rental company in the UK which became known as the Massimo Villa Collection or simply Massimo Villas. We spread our wings, adding villas from other Italian regions including Puglia, Tuscany and Sardinia then further afield to Lake Como and Formentera, branching into villa sales and renovation projects too.

My focus is still about providing not just accommodation but arranging authentic local experiences to enable visitors to enjoy their holidays to the full. Private pizza evenings and special celebration meals with our favourite chefs at the villas are always popular as are cookery lessons and boat trips. For more luxurious villas, we have also created a concierge service to incorporate a high level of daily service.

My team and I now welcome guests personally at ‘Donna Luna’, my enoteca, a small wine bar in my local village of Sant Ambrogio, within walking distance of Villa Rita. Anyone staying in one of my villas in the area is encouraged to come and taste a range of delicious local wine with us and choose their favourites to enjoy back at the villa. It is a great way to enjoy a bit of ‘la dolce vita’ together!

Looking to the future

Massimo Villas continues to evolve and look to the future. As proud members of the Association of British Travel Organisers (www.abtoi.com) and I-PRAC approved ( https://www.i-prac.com/member/ip20-73360/), we are confident that we can give our guests a consistent level of quality and service. Our recent partnership with Marriott International also brings our villas to a wider audience and gives us a quality stamp of approval.

We are constantly adding new villas to our existing destinations and beyond, with luxurious new additions around Taormina in Sicily and others in Umbria coming soon. We look forward to welcoming you to one of our destinations soon.

Massimo Provenza
Founder Massimo Villas