Some places don’t enter your life all at once.
They arrive slowly — like a scent on the wind — and then one day you realize they’ve been calling you for years.

For us, Salina started with Nonno Alfredo.

Nonno Alfredo was bubbly, extrovert, and entrepreneurial in the most charming way — the kind of man who could turn a simple coffee into a plan for the day (and somehow convince everyone to join). He was a lover of life, always with the best addresses in his hands — the right restaurant, the right person, the right hidden corner to see the sunset. And he’d arrive there driving his beloved Alfa Romeo, as if the island itself had reserved him a parking spot.

With him, Salina was never “just a destination.” It was a stage for living well: good food, good people, good stories, and that feeling of being exactly where you’re meant to be.

As a child, I grew up with Salina in the background like a family legend — half memory, half promise. Even when we were far away, Nonno Alfredo’s stories made the island feel close: the sea that changes color every hour, the quiet strength of the land, the way hospitality here isn’t a service — it’s a language.

Years later, my parents, Silvana and Francesco, carried that promise a step further. After their international lives, they did something brave (and slightly crazy, in the best Sicilian way): they decided to stop running and start building. I join the project to build what I have never seen it as a “hotel” in the cold sense of the word — but a home that could welcome strangers and turn them into friends.

That’s how Principe di Salina was born.

We opened in April 2017, with a big dream, a lot of work, and the kind of faith you only have when you’re doing something for love. We wanted to create a boutique place that felt private but never lonely — where beauty mattered, but warmth mattered more. Where you could have your own space and sea view… and still end up laughing with someone you met five minutes ago over an aperitivo.

And today, that story continues — run by me, Anita, and Filippo, with the same spirit that started it all: a love for Salina, for people, and for the simple luxury of feeling at home.

Because Salina isn’t just an island you visit.
It’s a story you step into.

And if you’re reading this, maybe you’re already on your way.