Country Home - Restored for sale in Arpino - Casa della Torre

Casa della Torre derives its name from its outstanding feature – the incorporation of a medieval watch tower into the structure. A charming and unusual home dating in part from the Middle Ages, set in beautiful but low maintenance gardens, it was extended and fully restored by the present owners, one of whom was an architect. Following fitting-out of the master bathroom, the home will comprise 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a powder room. A charming entry hallway leads through an archway to a study and then through to the rustic Tuscan-style kitchen and family dining room, a beautiful large and inviting room with a working fireplace and sweeping views of the valley. There is a powder room, various cellars, storage and working areas and also an integral garage with access from within the home. From the entrance hall, a staircase with a beautiful wrought iron railing leads up to the main living areas. On this upper floor, benefitting from even better views than the lower floor, there are two bedrooms (one with a small balcony), a large, attractively tiled bathroom, a kitchen with small walk-in scullery, a dining room and the centerpiece of the home, a large circular living room (with fireplace) created by the tower. The circular aspect of this room is emphasized by a beautiful spoke-shaped wooden beam decorative feature set in the ceiling. From the sitting room, gracious wooden stairs curve up to the highest level of the tower, which could make a stunning and private master bedroom retreat. From the small entrance room at the top of the stairs, you can enter any of the three parts of the master suite. There is a very large bedroom, with a panoramic view of the valley across to the hill-top town and the mountains beyond from its semicircle of windows. There is another room (not currently fitted out), which could easily become a fine master bathroom. And there is a private roof terrace, looking out over the garden. Because of the slope of the land, the upper floor dining room opens out at ground level onto a spacious covered terrace, ideal for summer dining, with a built-in open grill with extractor fan. There is also an uncovered terrace with magnificent views across to the medieval hill-top town of Arpino, with space to build a pizza oven should you desire one, an open garden area of grass and trees (where a small swimming pool could be placed), a landscaped area with flowerbeds, an old well and a fishpond. Stairs lead down past a strawberry bed to the lower level, where there is a large garden shed and the driveway (attractively planted with hydrangeas, lavender and many other flowering bushes). The garden benefits from many mature trees, and while appearing sweeping and large because of its excellent landscaping, is actually a very manageable size. The home has excellent access, being near the main road from Arpino down into the valley, but set just off it on a small country road, tranquil and secluded, while still being only a few minutes drive (or around 15 minutes walk) from Arpino. Many of the fittings and furnishings can be included in the purchase. Energy classification: G

ARPINO AND THE CIOCIARIA

Arpino is one of the major medieval hilltop towns in the area of Italy called the Ciociaria, the name given to the fertile land that lies south of Rome but north of Naples, situated inland in the hills in the heart of Italy. The Ciociaria region is within easy reach of both Rome and Naples and their respective airports. A day's shopping in Rome is a common pastime, while an even shorter drive brings you to the charming beaches south of Rome. Alternatively, drive east, and the mountains of the Abruzzo National Park await with horse trekking in the magnificent beech forests, and sparkling mountain lakes and rivers where you can swim in the heat of the summer. And at the other extreme of temperature, although Arpino itself is temperate, less than an hour's drive brings you to the winter ski slopes. Often overlooked, both by tourists and by those foreigners in search of an Italian home, in favour of the more publicized regions of Tuscany and Umbria, the Ciociaria remains largely an unspoilt gem with beautiful scenery and medieval hilltop towns. A home or second home in the Ciociaria, in the hilltop towns of Arpino, Veroli, Alatri or in the rolling countryside that surrounds them, will afford you a setting where over two thousand years of history combine with an idyllic rural Italian lifestyle, where you can still discover the ‘real’ Italy and take time out from the busy crowds of the larger tourist cities, while being less than ninety minutes journey from central Rome or either of Rome’s two airports.

VIA ROMANA Srls and CASE & CASALI REAL ESTATE AGENCY 

Via Romana Srls is an Italian-incorporated company owned by a British/Australian Chartered Accountant and her photographer daughter, and offers a package of services to facilitate all aspects of the purchase and restoration of Italian property by overseas clients. The Via Romana team works in collaboration with various fully-licensed Italian real estate agencies including Case & Casali Real Estate Agency represented by Sig. Ciro Tomei. Sig. Tomei has been enrolled in the register of real estate agents at the Chamber of Commerce in Frosinone, Lazio since 2007 and has much experience in the international marketing of Italian real estate.