Property Description

Attractively Priced Two-bedroom, Sea-view Property in Sicily’s Inspiring Nebrodi Park

A three-storey terraced home in a really breathtaking spot, Casa Sarina offers tremendous potential and a thrilling sea view. Its position, just five kilometres from a huge, unspoilt sandy beach makes it perfectly suited to use as a second home or vacation rental property.

Alternatively, with the right investment it could make a permanent home for couple or a remote worker looking to relocate to Sicily in search of peace, seclusion and a complete goodbye to urban hustle. Standing on the edge of a beautiful hilltop village in the foothills of the Nebrodi Natural Park, it is not so remote as to be impractical, but the view from the second floor balcony will guarantee an endless blend of inspiration and relaxation.

Although in need of redecoration and with the potential for some changes to really unlock its full potential, Casa Sarina is not a true restoration project, in the sense that it was renovated in the 1990s, and has been inhabited and well maintained until very recently. So the biggest causes for concern in a property of this age – wiring and plumbing – are both in good condition. It would make a good first purchase in Sicily for a buyer who has a budget a little higher than the asking price, but who doesn’t want to invest the time and energy required to completely overhaul an old house.

Its roughly 100m2 of internal space is spread across three floors, currently divided into five rooms plus a small bathroom. Balconies face onto the street on the first and second floor, each overlooking the little viewpoint piazza at the end of it, the wooded hills that surround the village, and the sea in the distance. You could easily configure it as a two-bedroom home with a kitchen-diner on the top floor, opening onto that balcony. But let’s consider how it is at present.

The Property

The front door leads you into a small living room with a kitchen to the rear, separated by the staircase and a glass screen. The kitchen is fully closed, but natural light passes over the staircase and through this internal window. The reception area is lit by a window facing onto the street, and with almost no noise or footfall outside it is certainly possible to leave the big double doors open while you are enjoying this space.

The kitchen is finished with a simple white tile. It is sold without fittings, but has all of the necessary connections for water and electricity, as well as a wood-burning stove in the corner whose heat is distributed throughout the upper floors by a metal flue.

On the first floor, a bedroom to the rear receives light from a small window, although this is too high to offer much of a view. The space to the front of the property is split between a bathroom, fitted with a shower, and another little living space, this time with a balcony.

The top floor is one large room, rather curiously listed in the plans as a laundry but clearly worthy of a much more regular use. Its floor plan is split by the stairwell, making the internal portion of the room rather narrow, but it leaves enough room for a dresser, shelves or a wardrobe with a sliding door. It might be possible to reposition this staircase, although you would obviously need both budget and planning permission to do so. However, the room’s front side is spacious and opens onto the sea-view balcony that is Casa Sarina’s best selling point. It is big enough to put a small table and a couple of chairs out here and breakfast, lunch or dine under the stars against that terrific, colourful backdrop. This stretches out as far as the islands of Alicudi and Filicudi, more than 50km away out at sea.

Surroundings

400m above sea level, the little village of Capri Leone is found within the district of a larger town, Rocca di Capri Leone. This slightly confusing naming arrangement aside, the two communities have immediately apparent differences. Rocca di Capri Leone is a small town, with supermarkets, restaurants and bars, as well as access to a huge length of sandy beach which runs betwen the larger towns of Torrenova and Sant’Agata di Militello, on this north-west-facing stretch of Sicily’s Tyrrhenian coast.

Just a ten minute drive up a winding hillside road, Capri Leone (where Casa Sarina stands) is really more hamlet than village, a quiet community where you can completely escape the world. You’ll find a small bar and a tobacconist, but for any other kind of shopping you’ll either need to jump in the car to the larger town, or head further inland to the village of Mirto, two kilometres further on. This latter is a very practical option, and can be walked or cycled on a clear day. Nonetheless, we would say that Casa Sarina would be a challenging place to base yourself without having a vehicle of some kind.

The surrounding Nebrodi mountains stretch a further 1400m up above sea level as they expand across what is Sicily’s natural park. Filled with cultural, culinary and scenic treasures, this overlooked region is a bit of a hidden gem, and has become one of our top spots for real estate investment this year. Take a good look through our guide to the Nebrodi Park at your leisure – we’re sure you’ll fall in love with it ever bit as much as we have. This is old-world Sicily, far from the tourist crowds of Taormina and the urban sprawl of Palermo.

It goes without saying that this natural park is a magnet for lovers of trekking, hiking, cycling and bird watching, but we’ll make a quick mention of some of the man-made delights in the area too. On the edge of Capri Leone is a phenomenal little restaurant, Antica Filanda, praised by the latest edition of the world-famous Michelin guide for its beautiful terrace, excellent value for money and intriguing wine list. Just up the road in Mirto is an enthralling museum of Sicilian costume and fashion, housed within a glamorous old villa which is in itself worth the modest price of admission to admire.

This is a part of Sicily, then, which is remote enough to be secluded and tranquil, but which is proud to celebrate the region’s vivid culture as enthusiastically as it surely deserves.

Potential

The biggest priority for the new owner of Casa Sarina is going to be the roof, which will need to be re-done as soon as possible to keep the heat in and the rain out. We would budget €3,000 for this, it certainly shouldn’t go above €5,000.

We would suggest that you move the kitchen area up to the top floor, to take advantage of the view while you prepare and eat food. It would be possible to replace the small existing door to the balcony with a nice large double French window, really connecting the internal and external spaces and making both feel much more spacious. For this a budget of about €8,000 would be needed.

That would free up the rear half of the ground floor to be a guest bedroom. A curtain behind the internal window, and an air conditioning unit to help fresh air circulate would be smart additions, and you would have a lovely house that sleeps four. In fact, a full heating and cooling system could be installed throughout the property for as little as €3,000. If you wanted to put in an en-suite bathroom at this level, you could do so for around €8,000.

The rest of the work is only cosmetic – a lick of paint, a bit of re-plastering on the second floor ceiling. These are now jobs that you could even do yourself, if you fancied it – or we estimate that a local tradesman would quote around €3,000 for the whole task.

If you are considering more dramatic renovation or restructuring work, make sure to ask us for how we can support you every step of the way with our popular project management service.

The seller has let us know that there is some little room for negotiation in the asking price, so if you would like us to make an offer on your behalf, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our friendly, multilingual team today.