Long term stay in Sicily

What time of the year?
Will you have a car or relying on public transportation?
Do you plan to stay in one place only for the entire month, or would you consider splitting locations with one or two week at each location? Sicily is very large and cannot be visited from one base only.

What a great opportunity. Do you want coast and beaches, nature reserves, ruins, mountains? Do you have a preference for the eastern or western side of the island? Will you have a car or depend on public transportation? Here are a few places I would consider.

My first choice would be Castellammare del Golfo or Trapani. Both give you proximity to many many beautiful, easily reachable options: Erice, Segesta, Palermo, Monreale, Marsala, Mazara del Vallo, Scopello, El Zingaro, Favignana, etc.

My second choice would be Scicli. This puts you close to the coast but not on it and to Modica, Ragusa, Noto, Marzamemi, Siracusa/Ortygia.

Third suggested base is one of the Aci towns. This puts you close to the Etna area and its vineyards, Catania, Taormina.
Fourth suggested base is somewhere in mountains off northern coast like Caccamo or Castelbuono. This gives you proximity to Cefalu, Palermo, Santo Stefano di Camastro and the Madonie mountain towns.
Last suggested area is somewhere near Messina. This gives you options like Messina and the nearby islands, Milazzo and Tindari.

We plan to be there in March and will rent a car. We realize that we can't see all of Sicily. But we like to combine sightseeing with just hanging out in an area to get to know it well instead of just passing through. That's why the area is important.

March is still winter and not yet daylight savings time. Although temperatures in March in Sicily are already nice (in the 60s F) however it's still likely to be rainy at times, and still low season, therefore small towns, including those on the coast that are busy in summer, will be dead.
I would stick to a city, like Palermo or Siracusa, which are the most beautiful cities IMO. If Palermo is too overwhelming, then consider the district of Mondello. It's not in the city center, it's on the coast, it has nice restaurants and cafes, and a short bus ride to Palermo city center. Palermo will provide plenty of things to do and see also in winter. Traffic and parking in Mondello is not bad at all and, especially outside of summer, it will feel like being in a small town, although it's next to SIcily's capital city. You will probably use the car only for out of town outing when you plan to do so. You could actually do without a car, and could rent just for the periods when you intend to do out of town trips.
https://www.summerinitaly.com/guide/mondello
https://sicily.vacations/sicily/holiday/beach/mondello

Take into account that Sicily is large, in fact the largest island in the Mediterranean. If you burrow in for a month, make it in the area that has the most to offer within reasonable driving distance. And unless you are going to take a few overnight trips elsewhere, you wont see much of all the wonders the island has to offer.

We were in Taormina in March. No tourists, quiet, lower rates since off season. Not everything is open but you get quiet and the beauty of Taormina. Our 2 bedroom apartment with a rock star view and minutes from the Main Street è was only $600/week.
Hiking. Beach. Best food. Nicest locals. Lots of day trips possible including Mt Etna ( use EtnaPeople for the best tour).

Hi californiacuore, we are planning a trip next May to Sicily, could you share where you stayed, and would you stay there again?