Property Description

Beautiful Three-bedroom Property in the Nebrodi Park, with Spectacular Hillside Views, a Huge Fertile Estate and an Outbuilding to Renovate

A three-bedroom country house with a huge old outbuilding that offers vast potential, Casa Anna stands on the lower slopes of a beautiful green valley on the western edge of Sicily’s stunning Nebrodi Park. With a generous 140m2 of indoor space in the main building alone, and roughly the same again on offer in the rustic annexe, the asking price is almost too good to be true.

From all corners of the cool, rustic property, the view is green, whether pastures, woodland, uncultivated hillsides or orchards. Indeed, a 1.4 hectare plot belongs to the house itself, with fruit trees and ploughed fields sloping gently down the valley.

At 280m above sea level the views are fantastic and a fresh breeze helps cool things down in the sultry heat of a Sicilian summer, but only six kilometres inland, you are by no means out of reach of the beaches and towns of the island’s picturesque Tyrrhenian coast. The hillside slopes down to the east, surrounded on three sides by peaks of over 1000m. It’s a heavenly place to buy a Sicilian home for lovers of hiking, cycling or scenic country drives.

The property is in fair condition, with some investment needed in the outer walls and the electrical wiring, but no structural issues. There are no cracks or sagging, and although it has been closed for many years there is no infiltration of water or humidity. The outbuilding to the rear is much more of a project, with two separate sections in need of varying degrees of investment. We’ll tell you in more detail about these in a moment.

All of the furniture and contents seen in our photography and virtual tour are included in the asking price. Much will need to be replaced, but you will certainly want to keep hold of (and indeed, make use of!) the antique wine press in the workshop, as well as a tractor and all of the agricultural equipment you will need to take care of the estate and its crops.
We imagine the final property to have a fourth bedroom in the outhouse annexe, a refurbished outdoor kitchen and dining area and a splendid harvest of fruit and vegetables, without losing any of its character and effortless Sicilian charm.

The Property

The main house is a simple design, very traditionally finished with a rough plaster exterior. A note of orderly stonework around the front door and the recently restored balconies give a smarter contrast. A broad arbour runs alongside the house, allowing vines or creeping flowers to give you a perfect canopy in summer, and a stone wall at the front of the property mirrors the outbuilding.

The ground floor is a single, huge, living room, with an open fireplace in one corner. There’s no indoor kitchen yet, but there is more than enough room to add one if you want to live here all year round. Open stairs with marble tiles lead up to the landing, where you find three double bedrooms with hillside views. The family bathroom has a shower, full tiling in sky blue and with a neat white suite of ceramics. Lastly there is a storeroom.

The master bedroom has twin French windows – facing north-east and south-east. This makes it particularly beautiful and bright in the mornings. Wrought iron railings frame the deep, recently restored balconies, from which you have magnificent views up and down the valley.

Behind the main house, the covered outdoor kitchen has a permanent oven, a sink and a dining table all under a sturdy wooden canopy. The kitchen opens into the long outbuilding, whose sturdy wooden roof timbers are a highlight, as is another fixed oven. It would be a wonderful guest house or perhaps a huge rustic kitchen. 80m2 of space is split into two large rooms and a loft, and then the final room of the building is accessed from a separate door. This is 67m2 in size and currently uninhabitable, but the whole building radiates character. The rough stone construction will certainly be something you want to keep on display.

In the estate, about 250 olive trees produce 400/500 litres of oil each year, enough to be a profitable little micro-business. The garden has many ornamental plants and fruit trees, including prickly pears, plums, mulberries, medlars, figs, oranges, lemons, persimmons, grapes and apples. There’s ample space to create a vegetable garden.

Besides the tractor and wine press, equipment included in the sale includes a recently bought motor hoe, two brush cutters, two electric saws, lots of tools, aluminium containers for the oil, nets for collecting the oil and the machine that beats the olive trees to make the fruit fall at harvest time.

Although somewhat remotely located, the property in the Nebrodi Park is connected to the municipal power grid. Water comes from a privately owned well, and a natural spring from which just two properties (Casa Anna and one other) can legally draw water. A cesspool facilitates the discharge of waste water.

Surroundings

The road from sea level to Mistretta, the nearest town, is a fabulous picturesque route which winds up into the hills with sea views and sweeping curves. Along the way it intersects with a well-maintained dual track road which brings you straight to Casa Anna. With about 4,000 people, Mistretta has all of the shops, supermarkets and bars you’ll need, and is about a twenty minute drive from your front door. At 900m above sea level, it also boasts some fabulous views.

30 minutes downhill, Santo Stefano di Camastra is a similar sized community at at sea level. Sant’Agata di Militello and Cefalù the nearest bigger towns where you’ll find hospitals, cinemas and theatres, each just an hour’s drive away. The closest proper city is Enna, 90 minutes to the south-west.

These hills are home to the Fiumara d’Arte outdoor sculpture park, a fascinating collection of art installations that make great afternoon trips and photo opportunities.

The airports of Palermo and Catania are each just two hours away, giving you excellent options for European travel and even the option of direct flights to the USA in the summer.

Potential

You will need to finish the outer walls, which are currently in a rough state, but this could be as simple as a coat of whitewash. The windows will need to be updated, which should cost between four and six thousand Euro, and the electrical wiring will need to be brought in line with modern regulations, which will probably cost a similar sum.

Looking at more optional work, you might want to think about replacing the flooring, either with a more modern tile or a floating floor in parquet or other wood. The bathroom is in working order but could also be updated for a relatively modest sum.

The beautiful stone structure is going to be a longer term project but in the hands of a skilled and creative architect could become a fabulous guest house or simply a refreshed storeroom with the option of having a rustic kitchen in which to prepare unforgettable meals with friends.

If you would like any support as you plan or undertake renovation work, you may want to consider our Project Management service, which guarantees you local knowledge in your corner from start to finish of your new home’s transformation. Take a look at our testimonials to find out more about how we can help you.

We love the value on offer with property in the Nebrodi Park, and Casa Anna is no exception. Contact us to find out more today!