Zu Nillu

Main house

• Bedroom 1: double bed (180x200cm), en-suite bathroom with shower

Separate sleeping wing

• Bedroom 2: double bed (160x190cm), externally accessed shower room on upper level


• Bedroom 3: double bed (160x190cm), externally accessed bathroom with toilet facilities, and an adjacent open-air shower


• Bedroom 4: double bed (160x190cm), externally accessed shower room

Bedroom 2 and 3 access the shower rooms externally.
Bedroom 4 can either use the shower room on the upper terrace or one of those next to the Bedrooms 2 and 3.

Inside

accommodation at Zu Nillu beings is spread over a main house and a separate sleeping area spread over three levels.

The main house is on the ground floor. Its front door opens into a cosy dining room with tuff stone vaulted ceilings and antique tiled floors. Straight on from here is the master bedroom, which has an en-suite bathroom with sunken bath and shower. The dining room also flows into a living room, which in turn accesses a small but practical kitchen.

Across the shady terrace outside the main house and down a few steps, is an externally accessed shower room. A few more external steps lead down to the second part of the house, a three-level "tower" built into the quarry. Connected by an internal staircase, each floor is home to one double bedroom: the top-level bedroom makes use of the externally accessed shower room accessed from the terrace outside the main house; the middle-floor bedroom has toilet facilities accessed just outside the room, as well as an al fresco shower; the lower-floor bedroom, finally, has an external shower room next door. All bedrooms have air-conditioning.

Outside

al fresco living is what Zu Nillu is all about. If the bedrooms, kitchen and living areas are imbued with a stylish charm, the rest of the property is just out of this world. Starting from the top, on the roof of the main house, there are a couple of terraces with truly jaw-dropping views over Cala Rossa, the sea, Favignana and even Trapani and Erice on the Sicilian "mainland".

Outside the main house, is a shady dining terrace served by a barbecue and hobs, ideal for long lazy lunches. Steps lead down to a second terrace and then down into the vibrantly fertile Mediterranean quarry garden.

Paths weave through the fig, pomegranate and carob trees towards the glorious pool, a private outdoor theatre, and an inspirational al fresco bathroom! Exploration of these gardens throws up continual surprises and you'll soon be chuckling at the wonder of it all.

Across the public path in front of the main house, meanwhile, is a second private garden with shady trees and a panoramic "belvedere" overlooking the translucent waters of Cala Rossa, one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline anywhere in the Mediterranean. No one else has these views because there are no other houses nearby - you are in a truly unique position, privileged indeed!

And if that wasn't enough, a gate leads from the garden to a private path that takes you down to the bay below. Out of the peak summer weeks, when it gets busy, Cala Rossa will be pretty much all yours too!

Zu Nillu sits in an impressive panoramic position on Favignana, looking out over the gorgeous aquamarine sea of Cala Rossa in one direction and an ancient Roman tufa stone quarry to the other. Where for millennia men toiled in the blazing sun, now there is an enchanting Mediterranean garden with myriad secret corners and a sparkling, utterly private pool.

The house itself was built in the mid-19th century for the quarry's owner, who, like most Sicilian men of the time, yearned for a son to one day take over the family business. In 1867, his wife fell pregnant and the next year, to the quarry owner's great chagrin, a baby girl was born. Petronilla, however, would not grow up to disappoint, but to amaze: after 17 years and 364 days as a female, on her 18th birthday Petronilla became a man!

No one knows exactly how or why this happened, but documents in the births and deaths registry attest to the fact that Petronilla was indeed born female and died male. Petronilla, who soon changed his name to Nillo (or Nillu in dialect), eventually replaced his father as head of the quarry, where he remained for the rest of his long life. Indeed, Nillu was still going strong at 99 years of age and destined to complete his own personal century.

100th birthdays were an extremely rare event on Favignana and a cause for institutional celebration. Thus, to mark the occasion of Nillu's milestone, the mayor and the town band marched to Nillu's house to pay their respects with a special performance in his honour. Halfway through their serenade, however, Nillu died.

Nillu's extraordinary life became very much part of the island's folklore and inspired a novel and a film, Viola di Mare (Sea Violet in English). Shot entirely on Favignana, San Vito lo Capo and Trapani, Viola di Mare won two awards at the New Italian Film Festival in 2009 and received great acclaim at the Nice Film Festival in the same year.

After Nillu’s death in 1968, the house was abandoned until the 1990s, when it was bought and converted into what it is today. Bedrooms and terraces were added, and the quarry was transformed into a sunken garden with pool. The present owner, Ricky Tognazzi, a famous actor and director born to a British mother and the renowned Italian film star Ugo Tognazzi, bought the house in the early 21st century and has continued its transformation. Naming it was easy: Zu Nillu!

Due to Favignana becoming an increasingly popular island, there has been an increase in the number of tourists in the area surrounding Zu Nillu, especially during August and the summer months.

Guests at Zu Nillu are struck by the theatricality of the house and its grounds and so it might not be much of a surprise to learn that it is owned by one of Italy's most illustrious cinematic families!

Due to the nature of this property, we cannot accept bookings with children.

The extremely discreet and helpful caretaker is present on a daily basis

Please note that there is no real shallow end in the pool, whose minimum depth is over 1.5m.

The number of steps that must be negotiated to get into and around this property might make it unsuitable for people with reduced mobility.

The sea access in front of this property is via rocks and immediately deep therefore not ideal for less confident swimmers and it may not be possible to use if the sea is rough.

As this villa is located on an island, we recommend extra caution when booking your flights to avoid problems or delays with ferries and hydrofoils. It may be advisable to arrive a day earlier and depart a day later. Please contact us for any information or advice.