Property Description

Beautiful Four-bedroom Villa Outside Cefalù on Sicily’s North Coast, 300m from the Beach with Sea-view Balconies and Green Garden

Built at the end of the 1980s and still modern in impression and condition, Casa d’Anna is a large four-bedroom villa outside Cefalù, with a spacious garden and off-street parking for three or four cars.

Located in a quiet residential neighbourhood just 300m from the sandy beach of Campofelice di Roccella on Sicily’s north coast, it is well connected by motorway and railway. You can reach Sicily’s capital city, Palermo, in 40 minutes and the iconic beach of Cefalù is only 10km to the east. The beautiful turquoise waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea can even be seen from the upstairs balconies.

The premium villa is currently occupied, and a buyer would certainly be able to move in immediately, without any further investment or work required. If you want to retire to a quiet neighbourhood and know that you can host the whole family for beautiful summers at the beach, this is a fabulous spot in which to take advantage of Sicily’s tax breaks on pension income. Alternatively, it is perfectly suitable for a younger family or a couple who love nature, sunshine and entertaining. If you work remotely it would be very suitable and the fourth bedroom would make a lovely home office.

The Property

Casa d’Anna offers 228m2 of indoor space, divided almost exactly in half between its two floors. It boasts a beautiful exterior, a mix of rusticated sandy plaster and border work in handsome local stone. Balconies and an irregular sloping roof give a little extra character. The eastern elevation is particularly nice, characterised by garden-view French windows that open onto terrace and balconies along both the ground and first floors.

The front entrance brings you straight into a living room which is huge (around 50m2) and sunny. There is a double access to the garden along the longest wall. On the short end of the L-shape, the polished black marble staircase is open, on view as soon as you walk in through a pair of three-centred arches that make a classy first impression. There’s more than enough space in the body of the room for an elegant dining table as well as an area for more informal entertaining. The floor is in ceramic tile, and the ceiling at just under three metres helps with the acoustics.

Glazed double doors whose wooden frames echo the style of the windows lead into the 17m2 lounge at the north end of the house. This is a cosier space that would be perfect for deep sofas, a good TV setup and perhaps a warming rug.

The kitchen is also spacious, similar in size to the lounge with the benefit of a covered veranda which expands the room beautifully to entice you to eat al fresco. Additionally, a utility room and a walk-in larder really maximise the storage options for food, cooking utensils and other provisions.

The downstairs is completed by a glamorous bathroom with a box shower at the far end, and a superb washroom with extra large mirror and gleaming tiles. The materials and design work are good quality throughout the home, and this is a particularly strong example.

Upstairs, four double bedrooms all have access to balconies. The largest trio all share a single a long one which runs along the eastern side of the property, offering views of the street, the leafy neighbourhood and the mountains on the horizon. The fourth, a slightly smaller room on the far side of the central corridor, has its own balcony which can also be accessed from the landing. This overlooks the garden and gives you a glimpse of the sea to the north.

Another bathroom offers a tub with a shower attachment and decoration in the same style as the one downstairs.

The garden is approximately 500m2 in size, and planted with a grass lawn and some lovely trees of varying shapes and sizes. Pathways in terracotta tile lead you around the outside of the building and there is a little outhouse on the western side. There is secure off-street parking for three or four vehicles.

Water is from the public mains, but there is also a well on the property. In similar fashion, waste water runs into the municipal sewer but an Imhoff tank with all the correct documentation is present as a secondary option. All of the property’s paperwork sailed through our inspection with no red flags.

Surroundings

The old town of Campofelice di Roccella stands on the other side of the SS113 state road from the beach district in which Casa d’Anna is found. Dating back to the seventeenth century, the picturesque little hilltop town is home to a few thousand people and you will be able to find all of the shops, services, bars and restaurants you need on a daily basis here, less than ten minutes by car.

The residential district along the coast is more modern, and land use is much less intensive. Most of the villas and residential complexes here have gardens, some with private pools, and there is a far more sedate pace to life along the beautiful seafront.

One nod to the region’s history is the castle of Roccella, which actually stands right at the end of Casa d’Anna’s road, keeping watch over the Gulf of Termini Imerese. It’s a great setting for someone who wants to enjoy a green environment without any feeling of isolation. It’s kept cool and airy thanks to the coast’s sea breezes.

As well as Palermo and Cefalù, the enchanting hills and villages of the Madonie Park are right on your doorstep.

The nearest airport, Palermo’s Falcone-Borsellino, can be reached in an hour.

Potential

No major investment is needed, just some furnishing and a little DIY. You’ll probably want to repaint, and there are one or two very small cracks caused by the salt in the air, but nothing to worry about. The back of the laundry room has a few water marks, but these too can be quickly addressed.

The property has neither central heating not air conditioning. There is the predisposition to install a boiler, but in all honestly the Sicilian winters are so short that it doesn’t seem like a priority. There’s plenty of natural air conditioning, too, from the coastal breeze, and the vendors have lived here very comfortably without it. If you did want to add some units you will be able to install very good quality two-way heat pumps for around a thousand euro apiece.

Beyond that, the only thing to do with this four-bedroom villa outside Cefalù is move in and make yourself at home! If you want to get a head start with your Italian, we’re very proud to say that our sister company Solemar Academy has become one of Italy’s best-regarded language schools, and that’s located just a fifteen minute drive away in Cefalù.