Property Description

Palazzo Laura

A prominent local developer has approached us with a special opportunity for our clients to invest in a prestige restoration project which is unfolding in a central neighbourhood of Palermo. Just 500m from the city’s main transport hub, Centrale station, and 800m from the iconic UNESCO-protected Cathedral, the hundred year-old Palazzo Laura is a classic piece of Sicilian urban architecture that will be delivered with pristine new interiors and high quality finishings.

Although the project is ongoing, only a few apartments remain on the market, at prices which are highly competitive for the neighbourhood. With the famous Ballaró market on your doorstep and all of the city’s monuments and attractions within easy walking distance, you will benefit greatly in price per square metre from the position being just two blocks outside the gateway to the old town.

We’ll introduce you to the available apartments in detail.

The Property – Palazzo Laura

The ceilings of this stately building average four metres in height, maximising the feeling of space. With tall windows opening onto beautiful streetfront balconies and miniature terraces, there will be no shortage of natural light or city views on offer. Double-glazing with thermal breaks will be fitted as standard. State of the art two-way heating splits will provide both heating and air conditioning without the need for radiators or a gas connection.

Floors will be in wood, bathrooms will have walk-in showers, white ceramic fittings and marble tiles on the walls and ceilings will be delivered with smooth plaster.

The building’s communal spaces, highlighted by an impressive entrance hall, will be recreated and maintained to the simple yet beautiful standards of the original construction.

Appartamento B2

On the second floor, this compact apartment consists of an entrance hall and a large living space, with kitchenette, dining area and double bed. Pointed arch windows overlook the central courtyard, and a little covered terrace of 8m2 will offer some outdoor space. The indoor area will be 39m2.

Appartamento D2

This rectangular apartment overlooks via Patricolo from the second floor, with a small balcony extending out over the street below, on the eastern side of the building. It has a pair of bathrooms, one smaller one directly off the small entrance hall, and another one at the far end of the flat. In between are a cosy double bedroom and a well-sized kitchen-living room, with French windows onto the balcony. Indoors, it measures 47m2.

Appartamento E2

The most spacious apartment remaining on the second floor, this flat is comprised of a bedroom, living room with kitchenette, bathroom and WC. The bedroom is the largest space, and has a kind of double exposition thanks to the irregular line of the building, making it a well-lit hexagon of around 15m2. A little passageway leads to the bathroom with shower, and then the kitchen-living room, where two large windows face west and overlook the central courtyard. At the end of this is a covered terrace of 9m2.

Appartamento A3

For our money the pick of the remaining offer, the eventual purchasers of this top (third) floor flat will enjoy direct access to the full 94m2 of roof terrace, with views of the typical Sicilian neighbourhood and direct sunlight right throughout the day.

A long corridor runs along the eastern side of the apartment, with windows onto the terrace. Off this are the hexagonal kitchen, the 17m2 bedroom and twin bathrooms, one with a shower. The indoor space totals 56m2. This apartment has no direct neighbours on any side, only an apartment underneath it, making it the quietest spot in the building.

Surroundings

Just a two block walk from Palazzo Laura you reach the remains of the historic Porta Sant’Agata, the southernmost of the four original entrances to the old town of Palermo. This takes you into a five square kilometre district in which you will find history that stretches back over centuries.

The fabled open-air market of the Ballarò is right in front of you, stretching across a winding warren of streets that burst with energy from dawn to the small hours of the morning. Whether you need to stock up on groceries, find some local handicrafts or fill yourself to bursting on the city’s legendary street food, you will be spoilt for choice here.

Just 700m away is the Cathedral, a vast monument to Palermo’s intricate cultural history that is protected by UNESCO as a world heritage site, in recognition of the fusion of Arabic and Norman architecture on display, both on and within it’s towering walls.

Within easy reach of the apartments in central Palermo you will also find the drama of the Norman Palace and the Sicilian parliament, the beauty of the Quattro Canti junction and the pedestrianised thoroughfare of via Maqueda, the trendy shops and bars of the trendy La Kalsa district, and the monumental Teatro Massimo, Palermo’s superb opera house, which has hosted performances by the likes of Placido Domingo and the great Russian soprano Maria Kataeva. Cinephiles will certainly recognise it, too, as a pivotal location in the film The Godfather, Part III.

Getting around both in and out of Palermo is made easy by the location’s position outside the city’s restricted traffic area, but close to its Centrale station and to via Ernesto Basile, which runs like a spoke out to the motorway that passes through the suburbs. You can reach Falcone-Borsellino airport in just a little over half an hour by car. Local and regional busses and trains depart throughout the day from Centrale, which is no more than a ten minute walk.

This neighbourhood is also known for its proximity to the main campus of the University of Palermo, about fifteen minutes to the west, and to the Policlinico hospital, just five minutes away.

For a comprehensive introduction to Italy’s fifth-largest city and all it has to offer, take a look through our full guide to Palermo.

Potential

The proximity of the development to the city centre, but also specifically to the hospital and the university, makes this a great opportunity to invest in Sicily’s largest city. The hospital attracts large numbers of workers on fixed term contracts, especially as junior doctors, and they need to find accommodation that’s comfortable and above all close to their place of work.

The student market is a great case study in Sicilian living patterns. With close family networks, many of the people who come to study here will move home (or to join their families by the sea) in the summer months. This creates an opportunity to generate rental income throughout the winter while keeping a property that you could use yourself in the summer.

Or perhaps you may prefer to list it for short term rentals. In this case we are positioned to help in a way that is unique among Sicilian real estate agencies. Our sister company, Solemar Sicilia, has long specialised in exactly this kind of leasing, and their apartments in central Palermo are always in high demand. A stylish modern property like this could attract a nice income, and they have the perfect infrastructure in place to manage all of the logistics, from marketing to check-ins and cleaning.

Contact our friendly multilingual team for details on this or any other aspect of the development today.

Appartamento B2 – VirtualTour

Appartamento D2 – VirtualTour

Appartamento E2 – VirtualTour

Appartamento A3 – VirtualTour