Ancient Farmhouse For Sale Sicily

We offer for sale a luxury property in Sicily, in the city of Syracuse. The entire property consists of several ancient buildings, including a stately villa from another era, set on a plot of over ten thousand square meters. What characterizes and makes this property unique is its location between two of the most important Latomie of the city, which are stone quarries excavated by the ancient Greeks, the founders of the city. From these latomie came the stone blocks that contributed to the construction of the most important temples in the city, including the Temple of Athena, Artemis, Zeus, and Apollo. The presence of this ancient farmhouse from the 19th century has given its name to the homonymous Latomie known as del Casale, which represent it: over the centuries, the Latomie have changed names, but they have maintained their names to identify them individually, namely La Latomia Broggi, the one further east, and La Tagliatella, further west, which in turn borders with that of Santa Venera, passing under a stone arch also carved from the rock. It is precisely the latomie that have dictated the boundaries of this property of over one hectare, which features several terraced areas at different elevations.
This beautiful farmhouse, actually a luxurious stately villa, was built on the remains of an even older Roman villa that influenced its construction: originally, this villa had barrel vaults and all the internal walls painted using fresco and dry techniques. Many of these precious paintings, created by artists of the time, are still largely visible in the vaults, and only a few on the walls, although in some places it is still possible to glimpse some details beneath the more recent paintings. The position of this property is unique; from the base of the southern cliff, which the ancient Greeks did not spare from the excavation of the latomie, a private path begins that rises to the top of the same rock cliff. Upon reaching the middle of the path, which is now also accessible by vehicle, the villa appears in view, surrounded by ornamental trees and Mediterranean scrub, as if by magic, the villa, aged by time and in a state of semi-abandonment, reveals all its charm and splendor.
In the 1970s and 80s, small modifications were made to the main body of the villa to adapt it to the needs of the owners, who changed the use of some rooms. The main body of the villa is characterized by the presence of a terraced area from which it is still possible to glimpse the sea overlooking the easternmost part of the Maddalena peninsula. At the time this villa was built, the view was priceless: from here, one could see the entire northern coast, the entire Riviera Arsenale area, the island of Ortigia, and reach the aforementioned peninsula; not by chance did the Normans build a stone watchtower here, later taken over by the Spaniards, which still stands today on the eastern side, marking one of the boundaries of this property.
The villa has several rooms, many of which feature beautiful original floors, including a representative room with a central hall and other spaces such as bedrooms, passage areas, a large bathroom, a spacious kitchen, a covered outdoor patio, several technical rooms, a storage room, and two additional rooms, one with a bathroom on the lower level. Just below, not far from the villa, there is a charming dependence with a bedroom, a living area with a cooking zone, and a small terrace from which one can enjoy the view of much of the property. Additionally, there is a warehouse with vehicle access that can be used as a garage for at least two cars. Various technical features will be detailed in a specific section.
The villa stands at the highest point of the property, emphasizing its dominant position over the entire plot of land. This villa absolutely deserves to return to its former glory, even though it still retains its charm today. This is one of the few ancient villas still present in the city of Syracuse. With an appropriate renovation project, partly conservative and largely modernizing, along with a more efficient new layout of the internal spaces, this property would regain its status as a prestigious villa of refined beauty and rarity due to its exclusive location among these truly suggestive places. Here, one can breathe the history of twenty-eight centuries: walking within the exclusive grounds, it is possible to overlook these caves from above, an invaluable view where one can only imagine that the stone was excavated by human hands nearly 2800 years ago, and with that same stone, the ancient pagan temples and the most important constructions that made the city of Syracuse one of the two most important powers in the Mediterranean alongside Alexandria were built. The next owner of this villa will have much to share with their guests, as they can observe the vertical walls of the caves, where one can clearly see the traces of rock carving done by human tools in the Greek era. It is also possible to glimpse rock caves, small tombs, Roman-Byzantine votive niches, and other curiosities—details that we refrain from writing down to leave an air of mystery about this truly unique property.
This villa has also been graphically represented by ancient travelers of the 1800s during the Grand Tour to visit the oldest cities in Italy, immortalized forever in some oil paintings and other techniques, especially since at that time this villa could be seen from many more points in the city.
This stately villa in Sicily truly deserves to return to its former glory in this sun-kissed land rich in history, art, and culture.