Villa Adele – Salemi

• 14 Rooms

• 6 Bathroom

• 500 m²

• Ground floor

Villa Adele – Immaculate Sicilian Country House with Pool, Private Parkland and Guest House in the Hills of Salemi, Western Sicily

Overview

Villa Adele is an oasis of timeless elegance tucked among the gentle hills of Salemi, where the green of the vineyards meets the blue of the Sicilian sky. Think Tuscany or Provence without the tourist crowds or the unsustainable prices. This is a corner of the island where the peace and quiet is broken only by the rustle of century-old pines and the song of the birds who make the parkland their home.

A Sicilian country house with pool, five bedrooms, five bathrooms and a self-contained guest house, this worthy addition to our prestige collection of luxury homes unfolds over 8,400 m² of immaculately tended private land.

You will find it centrally located in the fascinating historical province of Trapani, by a quirk of geography almost exactly 25 kilometres from the north, west and south coasts of Sicily. Just a couple of kilometres away, the medieval hill town of Salemi has been named one of the Borghi più belli d’Italia, an association of Italy's most beautiful small towns and villages. This is authentic, unhurried Sicily – a landscape of ancient traditions, superb local food and a pace of life that puts a premium on family experiences and doing things the right way. Yet the motorway is within easy reach, the cities of Trapani, Marsala are under an hour away and there are two international airports within that convenient radius.

Whether you are looking to make Villa Adele your permanent home, want to take advantage of its size to run a little guest-house, or are interested in a top-of-the market second home, this is a property which we don't hesitate to recommend.

The Property

From your very first arrival at Villa Adele, the grand old home has a touch of the theatrical. Once you leave the E90 motorway, a winding, well-kept road brings you through Salemi and then winds up into an exclusive district of period villas. An imposing wrought-iron gate, framed by old tufa limestone walls, opens to reveal a private drive immersed in lush vegetation and shaded by tall trees. This eventually leads to a vast courtyard of 300 m² paved in handmade antique cotto tiles. Next to this is the main house: a commanding two-storey villa of 400 m², built in solid local stone and maintained to an exceptional standard.

At ground level, a grand entrance hall with quality parquet flooring sets the tone for this beautiful, modestly grand home. There is a feeling of the country club or minor stately home, luxury that would be unthinkable at these prices anywhere else in Europen.

The beating heart of the home, like so many in Sicily, is the 50 m² masonry kitchen – an environment that evokes the island's culinary traditions while offering every modern convenience. Hand-painted tiles decorate the cooking area, where a built-in wood-burning oven and grill will be a dream for the amateur chef.

Off this kitchen are the dining room and formal drawing room, finished in sensational local woodwork. The walls, lined with handcrafted panels and some rich patterned fabrics, frame a large open fireplace which, even unlit, is a magnet for the eye. We can't imagine how good it would look in full roar on a winter afternoon. This is the perfect setting for impressing guests over unforgettable evenings.

Two bedrooms are found on the ground floor, each with its own private bathroom to assure guests complete privacy. These, like the rest of the house, are finished in the highest quality materials

The staircase makes a sensational statement on its own, curving up to the first floor with warm carpet over parquet flooring and gorgeous wrought ironwork. The upper floor is characterised by exposed timber-beam ceilings that lend warmth and character. Off the landing, three further bedrooms each have en-suite bathrooms in marble or elegant ceramics. Two of these bedrooms open directly onto private terraces, the kind of spot where you start the day with a coffee, gazing out across the tapestry of Trapanese hills, and wondering why anyone would ever live anywhere else.

Outside, a courtyard connects the main villa to the guest house, which is completely self-contained and built across a generous floor plan of 100 m². This offers two bedrooms, an open-plan kitchen and another lovely fireplace.

A fabulous long portico offers shade to an area of over 250 m², with exposed beams and terracotta roof tiles. It also houses a third kitchen, allowing you to cook in the open air. This is unbeatable for the summer banquets or long lazy aperitivos.

At hand is the 10 × 6 m swimming pool, two metres deep and enclosed by an elegant little wall. The surrounding solarium area offers a hydromassage tub and day-beds, from which the cares of the world will be left light years away.

The private park is a botanical treasure tended with enormous care. A dense, cool pine grove alternates with olive and almond trees whose blossoms announce the spring every March. Artisanal terracotta pathways wend between flowerbeds, perfumed Mediterranean greenery and stone walls. From the wide terraces and shaded patios, the eye roams freely across the idyllic countryside, and the region's spectacular sunsets are on full display as the day draws to a close.

Despite its evident historical charm, superb maintenance work means that Villa Adele makes no compromises with modernity and comfort. Every room in both the main house and the guest house is fully air-conditioned. Heating is provided by an LPG system with radiators, supplemented by dedicated electric boilers for constant hot water.

A particularly valuable asset in this region is water autonomy: alongside mains water and sewerage connections, the property has two underground storage tanks with a combined capacity of 30,000 litres and a functioning private well – an invaluable resource that ensures the management of the vast park and pool in complete serenity.

Surroundings

Villa Adele occupies a privileged position in the Contrada Fontanabianca, an area of beautiful villas just west of Salemi. This Arab-medieval hill town is around 450m above sea level in the Belice Valley, around 10,000 inhabitants living around the Norman-Swabian castle from which it grew. Visitors love its polished stone streets, artisan traditions and the spectacular Feast of San Giuseppe each March, when the town fills with elaborately sculpted ceremonial bread. Again, there's no need to sacrifice convenience for tradition, and supermarkets, pharmacies and restaurants are all within a couple of kilometres.

The motorway is roughly ten minutes away by car, putting the historic port cities of Trapani and Marsala within half an hour, and the nearest airport (Trapani Birgi) the same time away. Sicily’s bustling capital city, Palermo, and its larger airport are reachable in about an hour.

The villa serves as a natural base for exploring the treasures of western Sicily. Within 45 minutes to an hour you can reach the white sands of San Vito Lo Capo, the ancient salt flats of Trapani, the fishing port and ceramic capital of Mazara del Vallo, or the vast archaeological park at Selinunte. The remarkably preserved temple and theatre at Segesta are roughly half an hour away, and the dramatic Scala dei Turchi near Agrigento about an hour.

Potential

Villa Adele is presented in excellent condition and ready for immediate occupation. The combination of five en-suite bedrooms in the main house and a two-bedroom guest house already provides a layout that lends itself naturally to hosting, and the outdoor spaces – pool, portico and park – are finished to a standard that requires nothing further.

For a buyer who likes the idea of running a luxury B&B, the property’s size, aesthetic charm and layout would certainly suit this kind of small business. The guest house could operate independently or as an extension of the main villa, and the combination of pool, private grounds and premium interiors places it firmly in the luxury bracket.

Above all, blend of discreet luxury, technical sophistication and beautiful views make this Sicilian country house with pool a natural fit for the growing international clientele who seek Sicilian authenticity without compromising on comfort or style. Western Sicily’s reputation as a destination for discerning travellers, drawn by its food, wine culture and relatively uncrowded beaches, continues to grow.

If you choose to establish your tax residence in Sicily, there are financial incentives designed to encourage high-worth individuals to relocate, which can make a purchase at this level even more attractive. Our extremely popular Welcome to Sicily relocation concierge service can take care of all the logistics of your move on your behalf, invaluable if you're not a fluent Italian speaker.