Property Description

Eye-Catching and Modern Two-Bedroom Beach Apartment, in Great Condition and with Stunning Sea-View Roof Terrace

On the top floors of a modern building in a fabulous seaside location, Appartamento Francesco is a two-bedroom beach apartment perfect for a small family. Offering quality design, ample living space and first class views of the sea and surrounding countryside, it’s just 100m from the public park on the seafront of Sant’Elia, a small fishing community on the peninsula of Capo Zafferano. This is just half an hour from central Palermo, but despite its proximity to Sicily’s largest metropolis, the friendly fishing community offers abundant natural beauty and a much quieter pace of life.

With beaches and marinas right on your doorstep, this would be a sensational holiday home, but is also absolutely suitable for a permanent move if you and your family plan to relocate to Sicily. Although you face onto the street, the insulated windows and two floors of elevation keep noise to a minimum and every room enjoys access to its own balcony, several of which have sea views in their own right.

The proposal includes the flat on the second floor, the private third floor roof terrace with its outdoor kitchen and dining room, and a double garage of 60m2, connected to the apartment by an internal stairwell. With on-street parking at a premium in the narrow streets of the traditional Sicilian community, this adds significant value to the property.The building is significantly newer than most of its neighbours, having been completed as recently as 2008, and the apartment is in perfect condition, with no work needing to be done whatsoever.

The Property

Besides its two bedrooms, Appartamento Francesco comprises two bathrooms, a big living room and separate kitchen – plus of course the roof terrace upstairs. Access to the second floor is via a communal staircase in black and white marble. However, this is the only home on the second building’s second floor, so you would be the sole users of the final flight. The stairs up to the terrace are contained entirely with the apartment.

You enter into a beautiful big living room with terracotta flooring and ceilings nearly three metres in height. Modern light fittings and several large windows to the east and north keep the space bright and welcoming. There is a sea view from the windows to the east and the balcony which can be accessed through French windows.

The room is over 30m2 in size, giving you more than enough space to create separate areas for eating and relaxing, as the current owners have demonstrated to great effect. The furniture is not included in the sale, but they are prepared to negotiate if you are fans of any of the larger pieces, such as perhaps the comfortable L-shaped sofa or the suite of dining table and chairs.

The kitchen, a rectangular room with a French window onto a small sea-view balcony, connects directly to the living room through sliding doors. It’s been fitted with a high quality suite of cupboards, drawers and worktops with an integrated oven and gas hobs. The fittings are all included in the asking price.

The bedrooms are both good sized doubles. The slightly larger one, decorated for young children, is 20m2 in size with a nine metre-long balcony that contains an outdoor sink on the western side of the building. The other is almost as big, with a balcony that is smaller but gives a sea view. It might be in your interest to try to reach an agreement for the huge wardrobe and beautiful modern bed.

The bathrooms are similar size but decorated with mosaic tiles in contrasting  colour schemes, one in cream with a box shower, the other in a nautical blue and white with a tub.

Last but certainly not least, the roof terrace is a jewel. The staircase passes a useful store cupboard, and from there you step through a glass door out into the outdoor kitchen and dining area, in the shade of a large fixed canopy. Nor is there any shortage of uncovered space, as the paved terrace extends more than 100m2 across practically the full footprint of the building. You’ll love preparing local meat and fish on the traditional wood-fired grill, with a sea view that looks straight over the surrounding rooftops and out across the turquoise waters of the Gulf of Solunto.

The flat has double-glazed windows and external shutters. It’s connected to both the electric grid and the methane gas network, which powers its boiler and radiators. Water and waste water come to and from the public infrastructure, and there are two large cisterns holding 2,000 litres of water apiece, housed in the garage, to guarantee your supply even in periods of maintenance work or temporary shortages. You can cool off in summer with the modern air conditioning units present in all rooms.

Surroundings

Sant’Elia is completely walkable, and all of the local shops and services are just on your doorstep. It’s actually only a five minute stroll to our office in neighbouring Santa Flavia (Sant’Elia is the old fishing district of the slightly larger village).

Multiple marinas are found a stone’s throw away. This is obviously absolutely perfect if you happen to have a boat, but even if you don’t you’ll be drawn by the crystal clear water, busy fish market and some great bars restaurants. The nearest beach is just 500m away, and one of our favourites in this neck of the woods, Spiaggia Kafara, is only ten minutes’ walk to the north.

The archaeological site of Solunto overlooks the small town, from one of the hilltops of Monte Catalfano, an impressive outcrop which defines the end of the peninsula. Much of this land is given over to a nature reserve, where you will love the views of the hillsides plunging down to some beautiful coves and bays. We’ve written a full guide to the surrounding area which you should definitely check out when you have time.

The nearest train station is 15 minute walk away in Santa Flavia. Beyond this is Bagheria, the nearest city with around 50,000 residents. It’s barely a five minute drive, and you will be pleased to know that it has schools and a good hospital, big shops,  and great night life. It’s home to not one but two Michelin-starred restaurants.Palermo itself is reachable in about half an hour by car or public transport. If you’re bring a young family you might be interested to know that its international school is considered one of the best in all of southern Italy. You could offer your children a quiet and safe childhood in a beautiful sunny region without any sacrifice of the quality of their education

Falcone-Borsellino International Airport is 45 minutes away by car and also reachable by train.

Potential

Although the two-bedroom beach apartment is currently lived in by the vendors, they are able to move quickly in the event of finding a buyer. We can’t honestly see any changes unless you really want to redecorate, and think that some of the furniture would certainly be worth making an offer for, as it’s high quality and suits the place very well indeed.

If you see Appartamento Francesco as a second home, we would love to introduce you to our sister company, Solemar Sicilia. They have many years of experience running vacation lettings, and could help guarantee you a strong return on your investment in Sicily during the periods in which other commitments keep you elsewhere.

Alternatively, if you’re planning to start a new life in the sun, ask us about our popular Welcome to Sicily relocation management package.