There is the church, a vegetable garden down in the valley that would make anyone without such a garden envious, and, raising your eyes, you see Tropea, which at night from here looks like a nativity scene. The strengths of Villa Paola, a five-star boutique hotel with 12 rooms in a 16th-century former monastery perched on a cliff, are more than one.
For those who want to get married, there is the church and the awakening in one of the sea-view suites after dinner in the gourmet restaurant “de’ Minimi.” The name has its reason: the monastery was once inhabited by the Minimi friars of the order founded by St. Francis of Paola, and the past is felt as soon as you pass through the entrance gate and walk through the cloister. But you don’t have to get married to stay here: you can book a room (and enjoy the terraced garden with the infinity pool) or come to Villa Paola for an aperitif or a fine dining dinner where chef Emanuele Pucci serves incredible dishes: fruits and vegetables from the garden or ingredients that are 96% locally sourced, and they come out (in my case, though the menu changes with the season) as purees of eggplant, Sila trout with salted lemon gel, dill, and beetroot: the restaurant has a Michelin star, the first in Tropea to receive one.
Lo chef ricerca e seleziona piccole imprese agricole, fattorie e allevatori calabresi che promuovono una produzione sostenibile fra cui la Masseria de Tursi, Il Nero Calabrese, la Fattoria della Piana, il Pastificio Sorelle Salerno, il Frantoio La Valle (un olio extravergine IGP di Calabria con certificazioni biologiche). Dichiarare la filiera è sempre un ottimo biglietto da visita.
La ricerca continua in cucina, cercando di ridurre gli sprechi. Anche gli scarti delle verdure vengono utilizzati per la produzione di jus e fondi. Da qui la collaborazione di Villa Paola – unica sul territorio – con l’app Too Good To Go: tutte le eccedenze del giorno sono vendute a prezzo ridotto sull’app, pronte per il ritiro da parte dei clienti.