Pantelleria Nikà

Pantelleria sits between Sicily and Tunisia, closer to the North African coast than to Italy's mainland, a volcanic island known for its dark basalt landscape, terraced vineyards, thermal springs, and rugged seaward cliffs. The dammuso, the island's traditional rural typology, is a small cubic dwelling built of volcanic rock with a white-domed roof shaped to catch the scarce rainfall, historically placed inland among the agricultural terraces rather than near the sea. Pantelleria Nikà occupies a different position: a former donkey track, now a listed access road, descends through the southeastern cliffs of Nikà bay to a small estate set directly above the water, where the buildings sit on rocks that fall into the sea.

The estate was acquired and restored in 2000 by Massimo Ghisi and Vanna Bernardelli, Mantua-based architects who run Studio DISEGNO and have spent two decades developing a consistent architectural language across three Italian properties, with Palazzo Beccaguti Cavriani in Mantua and Loft Montemerano in Tuscany the other two. The Pantelleria estate consists of an 18th-century main dammuso with living room, kitchen, and bedroom, a slightly elevated early 20th-century structure with a second bedroom and bathroom, and a separate third dammuso suite for two that can be booked independently. Interiors are reduced to polished concrete floors, African acajou wood furniture, and selected works from the owners' contemporary art collection. Four pergolas with palm-leaf roofs anchor the outdoor terraces. Access requires a four-wheel-drive vehicle for the final 400 metres of the donkey track.