The reason for this is its location in that part of the hilly countryside of the Trapani and Valderice provinces which is furthest from the coast.  Villa Giardinata is situated on the highest point of those hills dominating a wide amphitheatre where Monte Cofano, Erice, Trapani and the archipelago of its three islands, Levanzo, Favignana and Marettimo are spread out below as if on a stage.
From this superb position guests can admire panoramas of exceptional beauty and every evening watch the sun set over the sea.
The hilly contours also favour the accumulation of rain waters, and in fact until the last century there were seven wells in the area, a veritable oasis in a traditionally arid land.
This privileged place has probably been known since ancient times.  Records show that during Robert of Anjou’s expeditions in Sicily in 1314, Frederic III of Aragon fell in love with it and wanted to donate it to the Chiesa Matrice church in Erice.
The fief of Giardinata remained the property of the church for more than three hundred years before passing into the hands of the Grazie family, thanks to the close friendship between the Royal Chaplain Don Angelo Grazia and Philip IV of Spain, who conferred on Don Angelo the title of Ciandro.
The good cannon Don Angelo Grazia died in Madrid on 21st October 1665, to the great regret of the royal court, and such was his renown that his mortal remains were taken to the Chiesa Matrice in Erice where the great Carvini gave his funeral oration.  In recognition of the many merits and valued service of this illustrious doctor and priest, the fief of Giardinata was passed on to his closest relatives.  A grandson, Giovanni Di Grazia, was the first to take possession of it at the end of the 17th century and from that time to this day it has been the property of the Di Grazia family.
When the Di Grazias acquired the fief they found it a veritable paradise.  Here was a garden where peacocks roamed, where the palms and the many other varieties of plants and trees cultivated in the domain thrived better than in any other part of the countryside.  An ancient royal road ran right across the property and for that reason a watch-tower was built; later rooms were added; then a mill where the millstone still survives today.  It was from that very tower that one sad day in 1839, on 28th April, Giovanni Di Grazia, in an access of despair over an impossible love, decided to put an end to his young life.
Who knows if these are true stories or ghost stories.  But we are always happy to recount them, and more…. over a glass of good Marsala, of course!