Residenza Nobiliare Con Giardino Esotico

Christie’s International Real Estate is pleased to offer for sale a historic residence that belonged to a noble Sicilian family.

Located just two kilometers from the center of Giarre, between Catania and Taormina, the property consists of a complex of buildings surrounded by lush land of approximately one and a half hectares with vineyard and various fruit trees.

The villa, overlooking the Ionian Sea and protected by the imposing volcano, tells anecdotes of the life of the noble and influential family of shipowners who lived there from the early nineteenth century.

The main house, which occupies an area of approximately five hundred square metres, is spread over numerous rooms including lounges and bedrooms, distributed between the first and second levels.

Renovated about ten years ago, it is elegant and informal, characterized by peculiar elements of the ancient Sicilian noble homes: soft pastel colours, decorated cementine floors, vaulted ceilings embellished with colorful frescoes and ornamental rosettes. Among the various frescoes, the coat of arms of the noble family stands out.

The seven rooms on the upper floor, welcoming and spacious, proceed one after the other along the corridor, surrounded by the enchanting terrace facing the garden and the sea.

Influences of the past in the living area on the lower floor, with the traditional built-in kitchen original from the time, together with the oven and fireplace; even the wooden freight elevator, used to transport dishes and refreshments to the upper floor, instills the atmosphere of the past.

The annex with two rooms of approximately 73 m2 is part of the same building. and the garage with double entrance of approximately 54 m2.

In addition to the urban water network, a natural water well is located in the large patio attached to the kitchen, to water the garden. Furthermore, the structure is equipped with an Arab irrigation system called saia, or ”moving water”; on a summer evening it is exciting to dine on the porch while hearing the water flowing like that of a stream.

The protagonist of this ancient residence, a flagship for every season, is the garden, a romantic and persuasive place, which displays numerous exotic plants introduced by an ancestor of the noble family on his numerous journeys to the Caribbean, Don Gaetano Fiamingo: when he he became consul of all the Russias, his wife an English noblewoman, donated some cuttings to the Tsarina, on the occasion of Tsar Nicholas the First’s visit to Palermo. Among these plants, some specimens of Pomelie, which were imported by him for the first time in Sicily in 1810, adorn the garden together with different types of palms such as the Phoenix reclinata, the Phoenix dactifera and the Washintonia; refined species of camellias such as Japonica and Marie Antoinette illuminate and cheer up the fairy-tale place with their large and lively flowering.

Various buildings to be renovated, such as millstones, warehouses and stables, enrich the structure, making it also suitable for hospitality use as an exclusive luxury resort.

It is two kilometers from the beach, twenty from Taormina and thirty from Catania’s ”Fontanarossa” airport.