My Favorite Airbnb: A Beautifully Restored Watchtower on a Secret Slice of Sicily

Everyone seems to be searching for the same thing right now: an Italian hidden gem untouched by the algorithm. It's the summer of social feeds filled with striped parasols, nonnos playing cards, and sun-bleached port towns captioned with phrases like, “this is how Italy feels.” After all, what's not to love about capturing this country’s particular brand of romance? Over the last few years, I've noticed travel editors, influencers, and online enthusiasts proudly showing off their Italian discoveries, proving themselves as connoisseurs of la dolce vita. And, ragazzi—this summer, it’s my turn. Sitting on a seemingly forgotten beach along northwest Sicily’s Alcamo coastline is an early 20th-century tuna fishery. Crafted from golden stone, it rises proudly from the seafront, spanning three floors, characterized as a watch tower jutting upwards from the center and looking out to water. Though the building is clearly old (it was built in 1913), its shutters are a curiously contemporary shade of blue, sitting brightly next to the terra-cotta roof. This flash of color feels like a playful wink—there’s something just a little Wes Anderson about it. This area has been known f