Once upon a time there was a King, who fleeing for his life from his home town, was in search of a place where he could fulfil his passion for hunting. It was the end of the eighteenth century and the King was King Ferdinand IV of Borbone. Fleeing from Naples he chose to settle in Palermo and while looking for a place to build his own hunting lodge, he came across the monumental and impressive Busumbra Rock and was ecstatic. It was by his wish that 30km south of Palermo, at the foot of the Busambra Rock, that an imposing royal lodge was built and 12,000 hectares of wood created where woods had never existed before. The Ficuzza wood is still today the most widespread forested area in western Sicily.

It is well-known that the rulers of Sicily have always been foreigners, and not always very well liked, in particular by the powerful Princes, who tried to take on their role and sometimes showed their annoyance in a rather eccentric way. The Prince of Belmonte, for example, seeing the intentions of the King, bought 7000 hectares of the confining land and built the splendid Masseria Rossella right in front of the royal lodge, beyond the valley. The princely farm estate of the Masseria Rossella was thus born from a "royal" offence!

In the early nineteenth century the Masseria was passed down to the Baron Dara family who, through two centuries of dedication, still run it today with great passion. Today it is an organic agricultural company and an enchanting farm stay. The whole building, now renovated to its former splendour is recognised by the Local Council for Cultural Heritage for its high historic value.