Property Description

Two Bedrooms and a Neat Terrace: Fantastic Value Property in Sicily’s Charming Val di Noto, Surrounded by History and Traditional Culture

In one of the most atmospheric, traditionally Sicilian little villages you could ever hope to find, 35 minutes from Sicily’s south coast in the province of Catania, we find the lovely little Casa Giusi. On three storeys, with two bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms, it offers over 80m2 of indoor space and a terrace overlooking a quiet side street.

The village of San Michele di Ganzaria is a charming community of about three thousand residents, 470m above sea level and just twenty minutes to the west of the ancient market town of Caltagirone. It itself has a long and fascinating history, having first been settled by the Byzantines in the ninth century. Subsequently, like so much of our complex island, it passed through the hands of many kingdoms and empires – the village even spoke Albanian for a couple of centuries in the late middle ages.

Casa Giusi, then, is a wonderful chance to step off the tourist trail and buy yourself a home in an authentic, traditional setting. Truly a great value property in Sicily!

The Property

Facing roughly west, the property faces onto a quiet, brick-laid street just off via dei Greci, one of the village’s main roads. In common with many of the properties in the old town, it has a single exposition but the simple division of space, with a single large room per floor, means there is always natural light throughout. The three metre ceilings, light ceramic floor tiling and smooth plaster walls guarantee that it never feels in any way cramped.

It’s not a regular rectangle or square shape, but measure about six metres wide and eight deep at the longest point, on the ground floor underneath the first floor terrace.

This floor has two entrances, one set a little back off the street across a little open terrace which is part of the property. The internal space is divided into a kitchen-cum-living room, a bathroom with a shower cubicle under the stairs, and a small storage cupboard. An unusual feature is a little dresser built directly into a recess in the wall. The neat staircase with iron balustrade and wooden handrail leads up along the back wall and then on up to the first floor.

The master bedroom on the first floor measures over 20m2, and has a tiny en-suite WC. The best feature is the opening, through double French windows, onto the terrace. Framed with wrought iron railings, it is a lovely spot from which to watch the world go by at the end of the street, and big enough to hold a breakfast table if you chose. The room is heated by a radiator.

On the second floor, the highest in the building, the guest bedroom is only a little smaller, losing a tiny bit of space to a curved staircase and conceding more to a larger en-suite bathroom. Here there is not only a WC but also a mini bathtub with a shower attachment. Another pair of French windows lead you onto the balcony, which catches some direct sunshine in the afternoon.

Although no air conditioning is installed, the house is well insulated by its thick stone walls, and the altitude does make a difference, with a fresh breeze meandering through the streets of the little village. Heated comes from radiators which are fed by a fairly new boiler in full working order.  The aluminium window frames are also recent, and finished with external blackout shutters.

Surroundings

San Michele di Ganzaria has pretty much everything you could need on a day-to-day basis… restaurants, bars, a pizzeria, pharmacy, banks and a post office. It’s a little hilly but still very walkable.

20 minutes up the road is Caltagirone, a labyrinth of streets, stairways, alleys and courtyards. It has been recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, along with a series of other Baroque towns in the Val di Noto region. The remainder of these, including Ragusa, Modica and of course Noto itself can be reached within a day-trip distance.

To the south, only a little over half an hour away by car, is the coastal town of Gela, which has a range of lovely beaches. Within an hour you can be in Catania, the second city of Sicily, where you’ll find the nearest airport. There is also a smaller one at Comiso, about an hour away.

Potential

Casa Giusi is ready to be moved into straight away, and you will find things in working order. In due course you might want to refresh the electrical wiring in order to make it a little more modern, and the facade could use a freshening, but these are discretionary expenses that aren’t in need of addressing with any urgency.

The second floor bathroom is slightly dated, and perhaps you might want to put in a shower cubicle to replace the miniature tub. This could be done on a very reasonable budget, still representing a great value property in Sicily’s enticing market.

The characterful location means that there is always the option to rent Casa Giusi out as tourist accommodation if you don’t plan to move here full-time yourself. Your guests will love the tradition that radiates from every corner of the village, the beautiful hillside views all around the region and of course its complex history. It certainly doesn’t hurt that you have two double bedrooms and could easily host four guests without any need for sofa beds. If you would like any advice on getting into this market we would be please to get you some top quality insights from our sister company, Solemar Sicilia, who have been managing vacation lettings around the island for many years.