Property Description

Sea-view Land to Build your Dream Tuscan-style Villa in Sicily

About one and a half kilometres east of the town of Lascari, on Sicily’s green and hilly north coast, Plot Alessandro is a large, 4.5 hectare plot with beautiful views of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Just four kilometres from the coast, on a hillside that faces due west, it is a serene and secluded spot surrounded by all the colours of Mediterranean nature. It’s a magical piece of sea-view land to build your perfect villa.

The fertile soil underfoot supports a wide array of plant life, and chief amongst this is a grove of around fifty newly planted young olive trees. If you have ever tasted freshly pressed olive oil you will know just how much crisper and richer it is than what you can buy in the supermarket, and these trees could produce over three hundred litres of this. Enough for all the family to use, plus plenty to sell, if you like the sound of running a miniature agricultural business!

You will also find an abundance of fig, lemon, orange, persimmon, pomegranate and apricot trees. At ground level there are patches of wild grasses and cacti.

Just twenty minutes from the stunning beach and Norman old town of Cefalù, and an hour from Sicily’s intoxicating capital city, Palermo, the position of this lovely plot is perfect. You’re just far away enough from the crowds to feel total relaxation, but all of the amenities and attractions you could dream of are within a conveniently short journey.

The Property

Around 45,000m2 in total, Plot Alessandro has an elliptical shape, 410m long by about 150m wide, but tapering at each end. Its north edge runs along a single track road in pretty fair condition considering how little traffic passes along it. From this road the estate is mostly screened from view by small trees and bushes that grow alongside it.

The land is designated as Class E, agricultural land, which actually allows for a surprising amount of building. The ‘1% rule’ is a rough estimate that suggests if you’re putting up a single-storey home you can use about 1% of the estate – and that translates to a vast 450m2 – enough for a huge luxury villa, or a taller building with room for more than one family.

Much of the stone from this old cottage could be reused in the new home, and if sensitively incorporated into the design could make a lovely feature that connects the comfortable modern property to the estate’s historic past.

The hill slopes smoothly down from the hills of the Madonie Park towards the Gulf of Termini Imerese, from 350m above sea level at its highest point to 280m at the foot of the plot. The gradient is a relatively smooth 1:6 gradient, although there is a flat terrace where the old house was built.

The land includes a private water source, a pool which is filled from a natural spring. The value of this can’t be underestimated in what can often be a dry climate. Surface water run-off is managed by a drainage channel built by the current owner. He also put up a little under a hundred metres of stone wall around the entrance to the property.

Power cables running alongside the road mean that it will be no problem at all to connect your new home to the municipal electrical supply, although you will be very pleased to note that there are no pylons or heavy power infrastructure on your land. The only skyline is created by the natural hillside and the tall trees that grow here.

The owner will also consider offers around €50,000 for a smaller portion of the land, the area with the wall and drainage channel at the west of the estate. However, you should note that this does not include the water supply.

Surroundings

The immediate surroundings are green countryside, with a mix of pastures and trees. A few houses are dotted across the hills, but you need to head 1.5 km west before your come to the village of Lascari. Here you’ll find small shops and bars, and a pharmacy and other day-to-day amenities. It’s about 100M downhill, so a very pleasant walk or cycle, but you probably won’t want to be carrying heavy shopping back by hand.

The nearest sandy beach is just 10 minutes away by car. At sea level you’ll find the holiday-home districts of Piane Vecchie and Piana Calzata, and the main road to Palermo and Cefalù. This area is much more populated, and there are a number of supermarkets and larger stores to buy furniture or white goods. A fantastic water park just fifteen minutes away is sure to be a huge hit with any younger visitors or family members!

The estate is actually on the edge of the municipalities of Lascari and Gratteri, and despite the latter being further away, Plot Alessandro is under the auspices of Gratteri council. This quaint little hilltop village has always been one of our favourite spots for uninterrupted, traditional Sicilian life.

Potential

It’s plain to see that a large, comfortable modern villa built over the existing ruin would immediately become a fabulous seafront escape, with uninterrupted views, sunshine throughout the day and beautiful colours lighting up the sky as the day draws to a close over the Mediterranean waters in the middle distance. Put up a panoramic terrace on the roof, or maybe even install a swimming pool with a comfortable deck on which to sunbathe, and we’re talking about something truly special.

Obviously the budget required for any kind of building work on this scale is going to vary enormously depending on your taste and needs, but if you would like to understand the nature of taking on a project like this in Sicily we recommend you start with our comprehensive guides to building a home from scratch and renovating old properties on the island.

You will need to consider enclosing the three sides of the property which are not currently fenced, and in the simplest form this will cost about €30/m.

The access road is unpaved, and you might want to consider putting down tarmac or a more durable road surface to protect your vehicles in the long run, although this will obviously increase costs. A very working estimate would be about €200/m although we would need to put you in touch with a specialist for a more exact figure.

We would love to help you use this plot of sea-view land to build your perfect Sicilian villa, and if you are interested, we have extensive experience at every level from sharing our list of trusted local professionals to a complete project management of the entire build. Talk to our friendly multilingual team today to find out more.