Property Description

Huge, Seven-bedroom Seafront Villa in Sicily; Divided into Two Separate Apartments with Ample Gardens and Stunning Terraces

This huge, seven-bedroom villa stands directly overlooking the sea to the east of Palermo on Sicily’s north coast. Just outside the small town of Trabia, twenty kilometres from the island’s capital, you would never guess that such a major city was just up the road. Although conveniently positioned to take advantage of regional, national and international transport links, it provides an oasis of calm, surrounded by nature and boasting complete privacy and seclusion.

The sea view is heavenly, particularly at dusk when the sun sets over the waters of the gulf of Termini Imerese, behind the beautiful rocky silhouette of Monte Catalfamo on the Capo Zafferano outcrop which stands between Trabia and Palermo. Colours flood the huge Mediterranean sky, and cool sea breezes keep life perfect even through the warmest nights of the Sicilian summer.

With 1500m2 of terraced gardens and hillside to enjoy outside, and terraces perfectly constructed to take full advantage of the beautiful position, Villa Mariù is a sensational luxury escape for any size of family or a large group of friends. It would make a spectacular holiday home, or a comfortable base for a full-time relocation to Sicily. The area is popular with middle class Palermitani who spend their summers here to escape from the claustrophobic heat of the city, but several of the neighbouring properties are also occupied year-round.

The nearest beach is just a couple of hundred metres away, easily accessible on foot from the seafront villa. In Sicily the actual coastline is always public property, but you will be able to enjoy a tranquil stretch of it moments from your front door.

The centre of Trabia is just a couple of kilometres away, and the larger town of Termini Imerese is a similar distance in the other direction. It’s a magical piece of coastline, undisturbed by mass-market tourism and picturesque in all directions. Let’s look more closely at the villa itself.

The Property

Originally built in 1979, Villa Mariù is in good external condition. You can sense immediately from the well maintained driveway and clipped hedgerows that the vendors have taken great care of the property. The drive leads you up past a series of terraces which were created at the time of the construction, and have been planted with some mature, productive olive trees. The villa has been painted in a sunny pink at the top of the estate, looking down over the gardens.

Built on three floors, the ground floor is in fact a completely separate apartment. Here you will find two bedrooms, a bathroom, living room and a kitchen. With an independent entrance it even enjoys its own private terrace directly in front of the front door. The main living space into which you pass from here is a little dark, lit only by the glazing on the entrance, but each of the pair of bedrooms offers a sea view, and the narrow kitchen is still big enough to prepare meals for a small family group. The bathroom has recently been renewed and is in great condition.

Above, the main villa is divided between the first and second floors of the property. It is flanked on both levels by spacious terraces – partly open to the elements and partly shaded under curving porticoes – which allow you to take full advantage of the colourful sea view, and the layouts have also been designed with an eye on maximising light and taking in as much of the panorama as possible.

The finish and condition of this main villa is noticeable higher than the apartment below, something you can feel as soon as you step through the front door. The quality of the materials used throughout is high, and the design is more thoughtful.

On the first floor the dominant space is a huge open plan living room area, focusing to one side on a cosy lounge built around a brick-lined open fireplace, and to the other on a dining area. The floors are a warm terracotta tile, and clean white lines of the walls and ceiling serve to maximise the full scale of the sizeable room on offer.

The kitchen, to the rear of the house, has been designed with a very natural flow, a lightly printed tile in navy and white accented by touches of walnut wood and more brickwork. A double sink stands opposite a wide island for food preparation, and a glazed door gives access to the terrace at the back of the property.

On this level you will also find a bathroom with a shower, a roomy double bedroom and a convenient store cupboard. A wooden staircase leads up from the western end of the living room to a further communal area on the second floor. Currently used as an office space, this is one of the lightest and airiest rooms in the house, thanks to French windows on two sides, to the north and west. These offer sea views, and take you out onto the beautiful top terrace.

A passageway leads you to four bedrooms, two to the rear and two to the front of the property. Each of the two to the rear has an en-suite bathroom with a shower, while a larger family bathroom is situated at the end of the corridor. The final bedrooms, painted in a warm sky blue, opens directly onto the front terrace and enjoys the best sea views in the whole property. Finally, there is another small storeroom housing a boiler.

The expansive terraces outside contain a barbecue for outdoor cooking, and a shower under which you can cool off when drinking in the sunshine on hot afternoons. A secluded parking area behind the villa has space to park three cars.

The olive trees in the garden in front of the villa can produce about 80 litres of pure Sicilian extra virgin olive oil. Ornamental plants, succulents and a hedge surround a large part of the perimeter of the estate on this side. The plot is completed by a tranche of land to the rear which extends steeply uphill towards the mountain inland.

The flat is equipped with a heating and air-conditioning system, the window frames are double-glazed, while the doors are made of solid wood. The plaster and tile work is all in great condition, clean and free from moisture and cracks. It is protected by a modern burglar alarm system.

Electricity and water for this seafront villa in Sicily come from municipal supplies, while waste water flows into a septic well. There is a connection for internet, and excellent 5G mobile signal. All in all, the property is complete, well-presented and inviting

Surroundings

The area in which the villa is found offers a lovely balance of privacy and convenience. Just a couple of minutes by car from the centre of Trabia, it is a low-intensity residential area with similar villas, each set at a discrete distance from one another.

The SS113 state road runs within easy reach, connecting you to Trabia and Termini Imerese. In each of these you will find supermarkets, banks, pharmacies, restaurants, all kinds of shops, pubs, sports facilities and medical centres. Termini Imerese is known for its spa baths, with the beautiful eighteenth century hotel, the Grand Hotel delle Terme, built on the site of a Roman baths.

The nearby E90 motorway runs the length of Sicily’s north coast, from Trapani in the west to Messina in the east.  You can reach the nearest airport in around 40 minutes. The fabulous beach and Medieval old town of Cefalù is even closer, and the spectacular natural park of the Madonie mountains extends inland just a short distance away.

Potential

Villa Mariù is in good condition, with outdoor areas that are spacious and well organised. The terracing in place would make it very easy to install a sea-view swimming pool to really maximise the situation of the property. Typically this will cost in the region of €25-30,000.

Two of the bathrooms have been completely renovated, although the other two could be made slightly more modern. Otherwise there is no obvious need to update any part of the property. In the medium term it would be advisable to plan on refreshing the electrical system. The little outdoor kitchen to the back of the property might also benefit from some investment to really keep pace with the beautiful interiors, but no large-scale work is in any way urgent.

It would make sense to replace the oil-powered heat to the property’s radiators with a more modern and efficient gas heater. Because, importantly, the radiators and infrastructure are already in place, this could be achieved for a relatively small investment, relative to the purchase price, of around two thousand Euro.

At the published asking price Villa Mariù will be sold empty. However, the vendor has indicated a willingness to consider offers for some of all of the furniture shown in our video and photographs.

The ground floor apartment has been classified in the land registry as storage space, and in order to stay in line with building regulations it may be necessary to amend this designation in order to satisfy the notary who will oversee the purchase. There are also issues which will need to be resolved with some enclosed spaces which are indicated as balconies, an undeclared wooden canopy and the veranda. Expenses related to this legal work would, of course, make a very reasonable basis for negotiation when it comes to settling on the final cost of the villa.

We can of course answer all your questions on this, or any other matter relating to the beautiful seafront villa in Sicily, and would be happy to do so on the phone or via email.