Monte San Giovanni Campano, Frosinone, Lazio, Italy

Casa Simonetta is a spacious home set in extensive gardens, in quiet but central location.

The setting, while not isolated, seems quiet and rural, although a cafe/bar is just at the end of the street, and shops and restaurants are only a short walk away. Casa Simonetta is only a few minutes drive to a variety of bustling and active towns.

The grounds of the house are divided into several zones: at the front, there is a large and unusual stone garden - whole sections and patterns laid out in small rocks, with a few 'fallen branch' sculptures (forms created with minimal intervention from the natural shape of the wood).

Then, directly in front of the house, there is a dining terrace, with access directly from the kitchen.

To the rear, there are further patio areas, with guest parking, and an area outside the workshop for outdoor work.

Then there is a large fenced garden area, then an unfenced garden area, followed by a vineyard, and finally, across a small brook, an open field.

On the ground floor, the eat-in kitchen opens directly onto the dining terrace. On the other side of the entrance hall, a sitting room with fireplace opens through a square arch into the formal dining room. At the back of the house, there is one ground floor bedroom and bathroom.

Stone stairs lead up to the other bedrooms and bathroom, all with pleasant views over the gardens, and the front two bedrooms sharing a balcony.

The lower floor (ground level at the back, owing to the slope of the land), is mostly 'cantina', storage and garage, although there is also a pizza oven. This area opens onto a rear patio area, beyond which is a large separate workroom/toolshed, beyond which is the various garden areas, vineyard etc.

Very convenient for MSGC and Fontana Liri, both of which have restaurants, shops, services etc, as well as many interesting local festivals. There is a small supermarket a minute or two's walk from the house.

Energy classification: G


MSGC AND THE CIOCIARIA

Monte San Giovanni Campano is one of the major medieval 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. M.S.G. Campano seems to exist in a context where time has stopped in the medieval era. Here one can stroll in the historic alleys, among beautiful squares where there are renowned restaurants, while being only a few steps from the town centre with its shops and services; public transport is within walking distance; but at every corner one enjoys the silence, the views of the wonderful Castle and the breathtaking vistas over the valley.

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 Monte San Giovanni Campano 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 Monte San Giovanni Campano, Boville Ernica, Arpino, Veroli 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 CINELLI IMMOBILIARE

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 the Cinelli Immobiliare Agency, Case & Casali Real Estate Agency and the MSL Elite Group in Rome.

The Cinelli Immobiliare Agency aims at identifying unique buildings with outstanding locations in the beautiful Ciociaria region, including apartments, historic houses, villas, palazzos and farmhouses, some already renovated, others to be restored. The Cinelli Immobiliare Agency provides reliable and full service renovations focussed on the appropriate use of original materials, such as stone, wood and wrought iron, drawing on over 40 years' experience in the restoration sector of their partner company Cinelli Claudio Restorations and their technical office, headed by Ing. Valentina Cinelli.