Property Description

Newly Renovated Prestige Apartments for Sale in Palermo’s Historic Old Town

In the colourful and thriving heart of Palermo, right behind the city’s main pedestrianised thoroughfare, the new Torre Maqueda Apartments for sale in Palermo are set to offer comfort, style and an unbeatable position in the midst of one of Europe’s most exciting cities.

All along the bustling via Maqueda, from the fabulous symphony hall of the Teatro Politeama and the fashionable boutiques to the north to the city’s impressive Centrale station in the south, the sights and smells of restaurants, bars and colourful shop windows are a delight for the senses. On Sunday evenings in summer it feels as though the whole city meets here, for the ritual stroll known as the passeggiata. If you want to buy a home in one of Sicily’s great cultural melting pots, this is a perfect opportunity.

The Torre Maqueda development will rise right out of the centre of this, just 200m from the Teatro Massimo opera house, said to be the most acoustically perfect in Europe, and 300m from the famous Quattro Canti junction where the four districts of the city’s old town come together.

This is a growing and rapidly modernising Palermo at its very best: social, spontaneous, artistic. And in Torre Maqueda you have a rare chance to buy a one-or two-bedroom apartment without any of the challenges of renovating old real estate. The 21 brand new homes will be sold in perfect, pristine condition, totally renovated and complete with all furniture and fittings.

While the smaller flats might be a little small for a year-round home, they are perfect investment purchases. You can buy them, draw significant rental income and of course stay here yourselves any time you want to visit the centre of Palermo.

With planning permission granted in the summer of 2024, work on the project has already begun, and delivery is scheduled for October 2025. Let’s look at the package it has to offer…

The Property

The seven-storey building offers some strikingly different views. Unfortunately the lower floors don’t offer much of a view at all. This is not necessarily a barrier to using them for vacation rental, but it is something to bear in mind. The middle floors begin to creep over the surrounding rooftops. The top floors, however, are taller than the surrounding architecture and offer a really incredible panoramic view of Palermo’s old town and the surrounding mountains.

Ranging from 45 to 100m2, the individual apartments are split between seven storeys. Their configurations and layouts will vary, although early purchasers will have the option to customise many of the details.

All will have full-length, double-glazed windows and blackout curtains. Light natural wood and mature paint tones will accent the smooth plaster walls, while a mix of easy-clean tiles and parquet floors will be used underfoot. The bathrooms will be spacious, with large, accessible flat-tray showers and porcelain hygiene suites.

The furniture will be supplied by the Palermo outlet of the high-end homeware manufacturer Longho. A particular strength will be an innovative and varied lighting design, using spots, uplighting and bar lights to lightly direct attention and ensure a smooth, uniform coverage.

The kitchens will be open, leading into the living rooms, which will be furnished with large televisions and comfortable sofa beds, expanding the sleeping capacity of the homes.

If you buy soon you will be able to have an increased say in the finishings and furniture purchased for your new property. You should note that the tiling and partitioning is set to be completed by April 2025, the installations by June of the same year and the finishes by September. Obviously, beyond this point it will be impossible to have an input.

The flats will be made in energy class A. They will be served by independent heating systems, energy-efficient windows and a modern water boiler.

Outside, a private courtyard will be furnished for the exclusive use of residents. And sticking with the theme of outdoor spaces, the top floor apartment boasts a real prize – a spacious garden roof terrace, offering superb views of central Palermo and the surrounding mountains.

Surroundings

The location of Torre Maqueda could not be any more central or convenient. The development takes its name from the famous via Maqueda, just metres from its front door. You’ll find all manner of shops, some fabulous restaurants, mouthwatering street food, popular bars, great music, art, pageantry and family life here – in short, all the best things that Sicily has to offer.

In the past, this building was a factory producing clothing and fabrics. The area was, in fact, a bit of a hub for the trade, and along Via Sant’Agostino there are still a few small shops selling quality fabric at a good price to local tailors and seamstresses.

The sights and smells of the Capo street market begin to gather steam, literally and metaphorically, just a couple of streets behind the apartment. Neither of the other members of the famous trio of sprawling, souk-like shopping districts – the Vucciria and the Ballarò – are far away either.

The UNESCO-protected architecture of the city’s unique Arab-Norman cathedral is just 700m away, reachable in ten minutes. The stunning brand new marina, complete with dancing fountains and some great dining options, needs just a fifteen minute walk. So too do the exclusive shops of via Libertà, including Dolce & Gabbana, Prada and Gucci.

The beautiful turn of the century Palermo Centrale railway station is a similar distance, with trains leaving regularly for Messina, Catania and Cefalù but also the major cities of the Italian mainland – Naples, Rome and Milan. You can also cross the Tyrrhenian Sea by boat from the city’s port. The Falcone-Borsellino international airport is an easy 40 minute journey by bus, rail or car.

For location, these will certainly be some of the best apartments for sale in Palermo.

Potential

Needless to say, with a total, no-expense-spared restoration underway in Torre Maqueda even as you read this, there will be no investment needed to upgrade your new apartment. Remember that it will even be sold furnished.

If you would like a little more room than the plans offer, or perhaps the convenience of an additional bathroom, it would be possible to combine a pair of apartments to create a much larger and more fluid living space. If this option is of interest, please don’t delay in reaching out to our friendly team of agents to give yourself the best possible chance of getting your requests to the developers in time.

Palermo is a growing tourist market, and also becoming a hotspot for digital nomads. If you would be interested in buying one or more of these units as a pure investment, our sister company Solemar Sicilia is a thriving agency with decades of experience helping high class travellers find luxury apartments in Sicily. They believe that these properties will yield between €20,000 and €30,000 per year.

Not only can they take care of all the practical tasks of rental property management (organising check-ins and check-outs, hiring cleaners, taking responsibility for maintenance and bureaucratic tasks), they will also apply for a holiday home licence for each purchaser who requests this service – at no cost to you.

If you are in a position to transfer your financial residence to Sicily on the back of your real estate purchase, you will find yourself in an extremely advantageous tax position. Please don’t hesitate to ask for more details on the financial opportunities or any other detail of these exciting new apartments for sale in Palermo’s historic old town.