For a sunset, it would be hard to find anywhere to beat Verdura. Set on Sicily’s southwest coast, The Verdura Resort, a Rocco Forte hotel has an uninterrupted view out to the Mediterranean, with the next stop being Tunisia some 500 miles away. The resort makes the most of its situation, the low slung villas set back a few hundred metres from the 1.8 km stretch of private beach, so that as the world turns and the sun moves across the resort, it heats those lying by the pools, scorches those playing golf, and then in the evening, the sun hangs just above the horizon while drinks are served.
It takes more than unrivalled sunsets to make a luxury resort, of course. Set between the fishing town of Sciacca and the famous Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, Verdura was designed by Italian architect Flavio Albanese and has modern straight lines, flat roofs and grassy surrounds, planted both for insulation and to
