Sicily, Palermo, Gratteri, Italy

Ref. Casa Maddalena - Gratteri - A three bedroom property with two kitchens, two bathrooms, a huge double living room and small covered terrace, Casa Maddalena is a deceptively roomy family home in the hilltop village of Gratteri.

A short drive from the fortified Mediaeval town of Castelbuono, the magnificent beach of Cefalù and the peaks of the Madonie Natural Park, this is a wonderful location in which the authentic, unspoilt Sicily is on full display.


A versatile and roomy living space
Previously a pair of individual homes sharing a party wall, Casa Maddalena has an unusual layout with twin entrances on parallel streets. The sloping hillside on which Gratteri has grown up means that one of these is a full storey higher than the other, and so the lowest floor is in fact part basement, with windows only on the lower, northern side of the property. At this level you will find a kitchen-diner, a bedroom and an internal bathroom.

Upstairs on the true ground floor is the main entrance of the house, which leads you into the other kitchen. This connects to the second bathroom and to the long living room which has been created by combining a pair of similarly sized spaces through a broad connecting arch. From here a window offers a good view of the Tyrrhenian sea, seven kilometres to the north.


Views of town, country and sea
On the top floor are a pair of bedrooms, each reached by their own discrete staircase. The larger connects to a terrace which has been covered by a fixed awning. There is an abundance of space, the potential for a certain degree of flexibility in the configuration of the home, and some lovely views of the surrounding town and countryside.

In the thick of village life
All of the amenities needed for day-to-day life can be reached within a few minutes' walk from your front door, including grocery shops, a butcher's, bakery and fishmonger. Fruit and vegetables are sold door-to-door, and a medical centre, dentist's and pharmacy are all within easy reach.