Property Description

Sea-view house in Sicily, with Three Large Bedrooms and Roof Terrace

In the charming hillside community of Collesano, amidst the picturesque scenery of the Madonie National Park, Casa Domenico is a recently refurbished palazzo building with a superb view. This is never better than from the sea-view roof terrace, protected from the elements with a covering and opening directly off the kitchen of this three bedroom family home.

Extensively renovated within the past year, with only a very little work still to be done, this is a great opportunity for someone who wants to dip their toe into the idea of restoring a property in Sicily, but without the complete foundations-up demands of a ‘€1 house in Sicily’ rebuild.

At an attractive price and with a beautiful location, Casa Domenico is a spacious, bright and pristine example of the kind of sea view house in Sicily that people dream of one day buying.

The Property

The 135 mq of internal space is divided between three storeys; the first, second and third of the building. On the ground floor lives the son of the current owner, and although the two homes are completely independent the continuity this would offer would guarantee you a friendly neighbour and the goodwill of the vendor.

Its thorough renovation has been carried out in the past eighteen months. Indeed, if you look at the property on Google Street View you will still see it in the condition it was before Domenico started his work. The contrast is startling!

The first floor contains a large living room with full-length windows onto a little street-view balcony, and a double bedroom with the same. There is also a store room and a bathroom with a shower. Upstairs you will find another pair of bedrooms – one a master with a walk-in closet, a study and another utility room. At this level the balconies in the bedroom peak over the tops of the nearby houses, offering increasingly beautiful views.

On the top floor is a kitchen, not yet fitted but with all the necessary connections, and a huge expanse of covered terrace. This would be a fantastic place for outdoor dining, with a spectacular panorama taking in a nearby mountainside and a tapestry of terracotta rooftops, green hills and blue sky. It is currently somewhat impeded by a grille which is designed to keep pigeons away, but removing this would create a wonderful open view. It’s worth noting that the paperwork for this terrace is in perfect order – which is sadly not something always to be taken for granted in this part of the world.

The floors are in a mixture of wood, marble and ceramics, and the finishings are neatly plaster. The whole house is insulated, and while some cosmetic water damage is in evidence on the top floor the recently redone roof guarantees that this problem has been eliminated at the source. A little interior decoration work would completely remove any trace of the old era. You’d be left with a sea-view house in Sicily that enjoys all the benefits of a restoration project, but almost none of the hassle.

Surroundings

Casa Domenico stands on a quiet street at the edge of the little town of Collesano. Nothing in this peaceful and traditional Sicilian community is more than fifteen minutes away by foot. You will find grocery stores, greengrocers, butchers and bars. There is also a pharmacy, a surgery and a school at hand.

Much of the four thousand-odd residents have been roots here that stretch back several generations. In the peaceful piazzas and quiet streets of the oldest parts of town, time seems to have escaped almost entirely unnoticed. The gentle resonance of the church bells and the cry of the man who sells fresh fruit and vegetables from his little cart break through the noise of crickets and the warm summer air.

To the south and east rise the tallest peaks of the Madonie, snow-capped in winter and a haven for lovers of the great outdoors. Its country trails and medieval villages offer a new treat to explore every day of the year. One lovely example is Gratteri, where many of our clients have bought property in recent years.

Down towards sea level you pass through the town of Lascari before reaching the main E90 motorway that follows Sicily’s north coast from Palermo to Messina. The former is home to nearly a fifth of the island’s population, a leisurely-unfolding, culturally-diverse metropolis that is famed for its street food, markets and architecture. The latter is the route to the main peninsula of Italy, where you can cross the straits to the toe of the country’s famous boot in just over half an hour by ferry.

The famous fishing town turned tourist attraction, Cefalù, is within a half hour drive, as is Castelbuono, the medieval market town where you can find the Fiasconaro bakery, reputedly the makers of Italy’s finest panettone.

Indeed, every corner of this enchanting island is within an easy day trip’s reach, from the ancient temples of Agrigento to the salt flats of Marsala and the volcanic majesty of Mount Etna in the east.

Potential

An obvious priority will be to install a kitchen. We think that the top floor would make a perfect location for this, with plumbing already in place and the chance to dine out in the fresh air for many long months of the year. If you prefer it could be placed on a lower level.

We estimate the cost of finishing the final room to be around €5,000, but money stretches a long way in rural Sicily if you have a few local contacts (we do, and we’d love to share them with you!) – for this budget you can get yourself a really well-installed kitchen-diner.

At the moment there is no boiler not present, although the requisite connections are in place. The property also has working radiators – making it suitable as a year-round home if you plan on relocating to Sicily. The tax advantages of this decision alone make it very much worth considering.

In order to maximise the energy efficiency of Casa Domenico we would advise replacing its windows, although this is not an immediate need. Remember that ecologically-responsible renovation work can be achieved at a fraction of the normal cost thanks to the generous public subsidies available from the Italian ‘bonus’ system – although you will need to move quickly to take advantage of the biggest savings. Please feel free to contact us for more advice on how you can save while putting the finishing touches to the top quality renovation work that’s already been done on this lovely sea-view house in Sicily’s greenest natural park.