Property Description

Stunning Sea-View Villa in Cefalù; Surrounded by Lush Gardens and Panoramic Terraces

A rare, hugely exciting opportunity in a district where property seldom appears on the market, this luxurious two-bedroom villa has a perfect vantage point over one of Sicily’s most iconic views.

The town and beach landscape of Cefalù is a sublime tapestry of colour and history. Rising out of the verdant greens of the surrounding hillsides, the distinctive Rocca outcrop is a chiselled grey counterpoint to all that surrounds it. In its shadow, the sandstone of the UNESCO-protected Arab-Norman cathedral emerges from the terracotta canopy of roofs in the old town. Beyond this, the great yellow snake of the two-kilometre strip of unspoilt sandy beach lies flush against the turquoise waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea, flecked with white breakers. Finally, far out on the horizon the hues of blue twist and merge as the water meets the endless blue of the warm Sicilian sky.

For hundreds of years, visitors have travelled from the world over to take in this tranquil panorama, second only to (the almost impossibly expensive) Taormina for drama and beauty in all of Sicily. Indeed, when the producers of HBO’s acclaimed drama The White Lotus were searching for a more practical understudy to Taormina to film the beach scenes of the 12-time Emmy nominated series, they headed straight to Cefalù. Here, from the balconies and terraces of the spacious, modern Villa Tropicana, you have a priceless opportunity to enjoy this view forever.

This kind of prime sea-view villa in Cefalù frequently remains in families for generations. What is on offer here is not just the chance to buy a holiday home, but an opportunity to one day gift your children and grandchildren one of the loveliest views Italy has to offer.

The Property

The two-storey villa stands in spacious gardens, engulfed in tropical greenery. Mangoes, passion fruit, cherries, pears, olives, mulberries, apples, lemons, persimmons, nashi, bananas, prickly pears and dragon fruit grow in the carefully cultivated grounds. A canopy of bougainvillea grows around the trestles which provide a canopy to the patio which leads to the house’s front door.

Built in 2000, its design is modern and practical, yet understated. Internal and outdoor spaces merge through a thoughtful interplay of French windows, spectacular balconies and covered terraces. Inside, around 150m2 of space is equally shared between the two floors.

Each floor is built around a large living space, with bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchens connected directly. Almost no space is wasted on corridors or passageways. On the ground floor this is a perfect welcome to the property – you step through the front door into a large lounge with twin full-length windows opening onto a long balcony and another onto a small patio. Terracotta tiles underfoot almost match those of the paved external areas.

A double ground floor bedroom offers a lovely view onto the gardens. The family kitchen is a simple but effective space with a all the storage you could need behind smart wooden cupboards and drawers, kept light by another garden-view window and a direct access to the balcony. The level is completed by a master bathroom which is large enough to comfortably offer both a shower and tub, and a utility room with ample built-in cupboards.

A semi-open wooden staircase leads upstairs, where the central space is a dining room which has its own smart, tile-clad kitchenette. At the other end of the room is an open fireplace, with a sofa serving to create a cosy lounge corner, but not intruding on the dining area.

The master bedroom opens onto another terrace, making smart use of the sloping hillside to wrap right around the back of the property. Here you will find an outdoor kitchen with wood-burning oven and sink, and a shady dining area underneath an unobtrusive wooden canopy. Back indoors, a second bathroom contains a shower, and the final space is a solarium which opens through large sliding doors in a fully glazed wall onto the veranda.

On this level the floors are an immaculate parquet, and this is picked up by the wooden decking outside. It would be impossible to resist the temptation to place, as the current owners have, an additional table out here, to relax, enjoy an early-evening aperitivo or even dine in front of the heavenly view of the town and beach below.

The property comes with a garage, with one private parking space and three more shared with a single neighbouring property. A private irrigation system keeps the foliage looking fresh all year round, and the vendor is including in the sale price some high quality equipment to keep the greenery perfectly manicured – a motorised hoe, bio-shredder and brush cutter.

Everything is in excellent condition at this top quality sea-view villa in Cefalù, including the roof, shutters and wood-framed windows. Villa Tropicana is a comfortable stay at any time of year, thanks to the methane-powered gas heating through efficient radiators, and air conditioning units throughout. The property is connected to the municipal main for electricity, but draws water from a private supply, stored when necessary in two 5,000 litre cisterns, and an additional 3,000 litre backup for fire-fighting, with a dedicated generator in perfect working order.

Surroundings

We have already waxed lyrical about the sights of Cefalù, but let’s just discuss some of the amenities on offer in this booming beach town. Lovers of good food and drink will find something for every occasion, from the affordable street-food for which the island is world-famous to some seriously refined fine dining possibilities at old town restaurants like Cortile Pepe and Qualia, each featured in the Michelin guide to the area.

If you are a fan of the performing arts you will love the town’s commitment to public performances, with concerts in the main piazza and seafront all year round. An annual buskers’ festival brings music to every cobbled street and secluded courtyard, while visiting theatre companies regularly stage promenade performances through the main thoroughfares, to the delight of children and adults alike. The gorgeous Teatro Cicero was immortalised in the legendary film Nuovo Cinema Paradiso by local director Giuseppe Tornatore.

The exhilarating scenery of the Madonie Natural Park rises up almost directly from Cefalù’s beach, rising dramatically to peaks 2,000m above sea level just a few kilometres inland. Here you can hike, ride and drive for days on end, exploring the treasure trove of timeless villages dotted around the region.

Sicily’s most important city, and Italy’s fifth-largest, is Palermo, just an hour away by car or regular train. As well as enough culture and cuisine to keep you happy for years, there is also Falcone-Borsellino International Airport, your most convenient route to all of Europe’s major destinations.

Potential

The vendors have indicated that they are prepared to include some furniture in the sale price. If you would like to suggest some pieces that you particularly like, we get the feeling that they would be very happy to oblige in the interests of a quick sale and painless moving day.

There are two planning issues of which it is important to be aware. The enclosed section of the upstairs veranda needs to have retrospective planning permission granted, or to be removed, which would double the size of the roof terrace space but obviously reduce the internal area correspondingly. On a less dramatic note, the garage structure underneath will also need to be reviewed. We would be more than happy to go into the logistics and implications of these changes with any prospective buyers.

Beyond this, there is really nothing more to do with Villa Tropicana except to continue maintaining it in the fabulous condition in which you find it.

For very obvious reasons, the property would be extremely valuable on the vacation rentals market. If you would like to enlist the help of our sister company, Solemar Sicilia, they can offer unparalleled expertise in matching serious clients to high-end holiday homes all over the north of the island.

We would of course recommend, to anyone in a position to do so, a full-time relocation to Sicily, not only for the lifestyle benefits but for the remarkable tax breaks on offer to new residents.

Our much requested Welcome To Sicily post-sale package is designed to make the process of transitioning to life on the island as smooth and painless as possible, guaranteeing you assistance with everything from translation issues to the logistics of managing utility bills, getting all the necessary paperwork in your name and even getting hold of the best value SIM card on the market.

Talk to our supportive, English-speaking team today and find out just how we can make your dream of owning a stunning sea-view villa in Cefalù a reality.