Property Description

Fully Furnished Mountain Villa in the Madonie National Park

This detached, two-bedroom villa stands at the heart of a 5000 m² plot, just to the north of the delightful medieval village of Polizzi Generosa on the southern edge of the Madonie Natural Park. Lying in a valley, is is surrounded on all sides by picturesque green hillsides and afforded superb peace and privacy by characteristic Mediterranean trees and the rolling topography of the region.

Built on two storeys, it is flanked by a huge expanse of terrace which catches direct sunshine throughout the long summer days. There is also off-street parking and an orchard planted with fruit trees and other vegetation.

Beautifully finished and maintained, Villino Claudio is listed for sale including all fittings and furniture, so completely ‘turnkey’. The day you exchange contracts could well be the first day you move into the property or start your first holiday in your brand new Sicilian villa.

The Property

The footprint of Villino Claudio measures approximately 43 m², and once the staircase has been taken into account you have a total habitable area of 79m².

The front door leads you directly into the fully furnished mountain villa’s main living space; a kitchen-lounge room, a long, white-plastered space divided by a small island. At one end is the fully fitted kitchen, complete with double sink, fridge freezer, dining table and majolica backsplash. At the other is a cosy living area with a sofa and writing desk. The room is charmingly finished with exposed wooden beams in the ceiling and a tasteful parquet underfoot. French windows lead directly out onto the terrace.

On this level you will also find a spacious L-shaped bathroom with a shower cubicle, finished with a racing green tile. Finally a small storeroom is underneath one of the staircases.

We say ‘one of’, because an unusual feature of Villino Claudio is that there are two ways to reach the first floor – a spiral staircase indoors and a covered one outside (it is this which rises over the storeroom. The spiral staircase is rather steep and would not be suitable for anyone with mobility issues.

On this upper level you will find a pair of bedrooms; a small single under the sloping eaves of the roof, and a larger master bedroom with a couple of windows overlooking the valley. There is also an almost identical bathroom directly above its ground floor counterpart, only this time containing a tub and finished in sky blue.

The house is bright and airy, with plenty of natural light coming from the windows, each of which is double-glazed with a wooden frame and a sturdy blackout shutter on the outside. The house receives electricity and a water pipe from the municipal supply in Polizzi Generosa, so you never need to worry about the utility situation. The property does, however, also have a private water supply.

With Villino Claudio standing 800m above sea level, it can get chilly in the winter, and as such the house has radiators in all of the rooms. Heat for these and hot water for the property are powered by a boiler which feeds from a liquid gas tank housed in an underground storeroom in the garden, which also benefits from an automatic irrigation system. There is a thermal cladding to make sure the heat generated stays where you need it most.

The property is fully enclosed by a perimeter fence and has a new entrance gate, which could easily be converted to an automatic opener. The bright, friendly looking villa is almost exactly at the centre of its plot, which has many well-tended fruit trees and evergreens. In the gardens you will find roses and other flowers, as well as trees bearing figs, lotus fruits, chestnuts, plums, apricots and nuts. A fountain makes a charming focal point and attracts many species of local bird to drink.

Surroundings

Polizzi Generosa is reached along 16km of winding but well-maintained state road from the A19 motoway which connects Palermo and Catania, Sicily’s two great cities. To cover the final kilometre you need to take a narrow but paved road to the front door of Villino Claudio.

The small hilltop town has around three thousand residents, and an unmistakably Sicilian atmosphere. The ruined castle at the top of the town offers a wonderful panoramic view, and there are, of course, numerous churches of all shapes and sizes to explore. There is a quiet simplicity to life here, and Villino Claudio isn’t the perfect home for a party animal, but there is plenty of space and some very interesting real estate to be found, if you’re looking to invest further in the area.

There are also some unexpectedly outward-looking elements to the community. The outstanding menu at the top local restaurant Terrazzo Costantino has been rewarded with a Michelin star, and the legendary fashionista Domenico Dolce (world famous for his iconic partnership with Stefano Gabbana) is the town’s most famous former inhabitant. You can also, of course, dine out in less expensive surroundings at some of the town’s other bars and restaurants. We recommend the pizzeria ‘Ufunnacu’. You will also find grocery shops, a doctor’s surgery, a pharmacy and banking facilities.

The Madonie are the biggest and most biodiverse nature reserve in Sicily. Visible in all directions, the rolling, olive grove lined lower slopes work their way up seamlessly to the highest peaks of the mountain range, which reach two thousand metres above sea level. You can even ski and snowboard here in the winter months.

The beach of Campofelice is just half an hour’s drive away from your fully furnished mountain villa, and within an hour you can be on the golden sands or exploring the magnificent Norman streets of Cefalú, Sicily’s most beautiful fishing town. The same drive will have you in the midst of the thrilling cultural melting pot that the island’s capital, Palermo.

Potential

Villino Claudio has no air conditioning, so you might want to consider this, although honestly our opinion Is that at 800m above sea level you won’t find that a necessary investment here.

On the other hand, the radiators and thermal cladding mean that it is largely winter-proof. However, it might be worth installing a wood or pellet-burning stove in the living room. These can be subsidised by generous tax credits under the Italian ‘bonus’ system, although you will need to move quickly to guarantee that you are able to take advantage of this.

As one half of the pitched roof faces due south, and this region of Sicily is sunny over 280 days a year, it would be a wise investment in the long run to install a photovoltaic system connected to a generator. Not only would this reduce the carbon footprint of the property, your energy bills would  be guaranteed to tumble.

We feel that the asking price seems very fair, especially with the property being sold with all contents. However, you never know, there may even be some room for negotiation. This would be particularly true for a cash buyer not connected to any kind of purchase chain.

Remember that you can save big on your tax obligations by relocating your residency to Sicily, and that anyone who owns a property on the island is eligible to do exactly this. Talk to our friendly international team today and find out all about how you could cash in on the tax breaks and subsidises available to new residents.

This fully furnished mountain villa could be the retirement home of your dreams, a cosy getaway or a smart investment in the nature tourism market.