Property Description

Characterful Three-bedroom Holiday Home near Palermo with Sea-View Roof Terrace and Beautiful Green Garden

A detached single-storey villa whose full-plan roof terrace offers partial sea views, Villa Emanuela is a renovated property in great condition. With no need to invest any money beyond the cost of furnishing and moving in, this is a hassle-free way to buy a characterful Sicilian holiday home near Palermo less than a kilometre from the beach.

Surrounded by a 1000m2 garden planted extensively with Mediterranean greenery and criss-crossed by a network of footpaths and bowers, as well as a driveway which offers secure off-street parking, this is a leafy rural getaway that’s perfect for lovers of gardening. The vendors’ passion for nature is also evident in the fact that they have installed a large number of solar panels on the roof, meaning that Villa Emanuela is completely powered by green energy.

Each of the many terraces, both at ground level and upstairs, offer lovely views of the surrounding countryside and seemingly endless sunshine. With an outdoor kitchen and a beautiful south-facing sun room you can stay in touch with the outdoors at any time of day and in any season of the year.

The Property

A flagstone driveway cuts through the green gardens, to a raised terrace that stands outside the front of the house. Stepping through the glazed front door you enter a little entrance hall with a reading nook that catches plenty of sunshine in the afternoon. On your right, a wide archway opens into the large into living area, while ahead of you a corridor runs down towards the bedrooms.

The open-plan living room is almost 25m2, with windows and a glazed door on the south side, and French windows to the west, facing back up the driveway. At one end is the modern kitchen, which offers plenty of storage, a modern oven and a small breakfast bar. There is plenty of space in the large room for a dining table in the centre, before a lounge area takes advantage of the large windows at the other end. The space is air-conditioned and there are also radiators.

Down that passageway, you will find three bedrooms, each of which also has air conditioning and radiators. The first is a small guest double, then a larger double looks out onto the outdoor kitchen – this is currently used as a home office. The master bedroom is very spacious, with a window out into the sun room. This is a portico which has been fully glazed, expanding the living area by a generous 15m2, facing south with glass on three sides. Even in winter the Sicilian sunshine will make this a very comfortable place to spend your afternoons with friends, family or just a good book. Adjustable awnings mean that you can keep the direct sunshine out in the heat of the summer.

There are a pair of bathrooms. The slightly smaller of the two is modern, finished in blue, with a jacuzzi bathtub. There are colourful accents in antique local-style Sicilian tiles. The second bathroom is fully tiled in white and has a shower cubicle.

An external staircase leads you up to the huge roof terrace, spanning the full size of the villa, with one end given over to solar panels which generate electricity and heat the water. A metal structure can house a canvas canopy if you want to enjoy the fresh air in the summer. A portion of the sea is visible in the distance, with the towers of the UNESCO-protected cathedral in the delightful beach town of Cefalù visible on the horizon.

The outdoor kitchen is found in a little courtyard, protected from the elements by a sturdy hardwood canopy. You will find a double sink, four gas hobs, a barbecue grill and a wood-burning pizza oven, plus cupboards and plenty of work space.

Terraces wrap all around the property, as well as covered pathways and bowers which are grown over with vines in season. The south-facing patio is a particular highlight. You’ll find cacti, terracotta paving, olive and lemon trees – all charactertistically Sicilian, and very well looked after. A garden shed is more than big enough for everything you need to maintain the property and all of your outdoor furniture.

The tiled floors are brand new and therefore in perfect condition. The windows are new and efficient. Power is from a combination of the photovoltaic generators on the roof and a municipal electrical connection,. And there is also one for methane gas. Water is stored in a pair of cisterns – one communal and one private.

Surroundings

Villa Emanuela stands in fairly open countryside, at the end of a quiet lane which is nonetheless only a five minute drive from the main road, connecting Palermo with Messina. The nearest beach, a deep stretch of shingle and sand, is only fifteen minutes away by foot, or a two minute car journey. Along this part of the coastline you will find a couple of bars and restaurants, although the area is noticeably more active in the summer months.

San Nicola l’Arena, just a kilometre further up the coast to the west, is a different proposition, the small fishing village built around a popular marina where it would be very convenient to moor a boat, if you sail. It’s not a metropolis, but you’ll find small supermarkets and friendly cafes. Alternatively, a seven minute drive will bring you to the centre of Trabia, a small town of ten thousand, where there is far more in the way of choice and also facilities for health and leisure.

Sicily’s remarkable capital city, Palermo, is only half an hour up the road, and offers an absolute wealth of experiences for lovers of music, art, food and sport. You could even reach it by train from San Nicola, if you wanted to leave the car there or make the 2km trip on foot or by bike. Along your way you’ll pass the dramatic peninsula of Capo Zafferano, where you’ll find a wide range of smaller coves and beaches, as well as some of the most sought-after seafront neighbourhoods in which to buy a holiday home near Palermo.

Potential

There is no work to do on Villa Emanuela, which has been lovingly restored and maintained by the vendors.

The holiday home near Palermo is perfectly suited to be used in the summer, but is also very cosy in winter thanks to the radiators and energy-efficient south-facing windows. You could certainly make it a year-round home, and it would be well worth investigating how much you could save on your tax bill by transferring your residency to the island.

However, if you wanted to let it as a holiday home in periods when life keeps you elsewhere, you would certainly find a market for a quiet property, close to the city and the beach, which can sleep up to six. Talk to us about how our sister company, Solemar Sicilia, can help you find trustworthy guests and manage the logistics of this.