Lazio, Frosinone, Casalvieri, Italy

Castello Zincone, built as a fortified castle in the 11th century, was transformed into a private home in the 1500s.

A communal vaulted entrance in the heart of the historic centre of Casalvieri leads into the very important Great Room, which still retains its original medieval proportions and ends with a stone balcony commanding sweeping views of the castle grounds and the valley. The vaulted entrance is at street level, but the slope of the land in this once-fortified stronghold is such that having walked through the entrance hall and the entire length of the Great Room, that is to say from the front of the castle to the back, you find yourself on the stone balcony now high above the castle grounds.

A huge fireplace with a spit-roast gridiron occupies one entire wall of the adjacent room; a magnificent antique feature, rarely found today in properties for restoration.

There is a centuries old well on the stone balcony, the shaft of which sinks all the way down through the building deep into the ground below the cellars to find the water level. There is a small inspection door in the cellars through which one can look up at the shaft ascending to the balcony far above.

Extensive cellars and upper rooms that provide more modern accommodation complete this unusual property, which could again become a grand and unique private home and/or (with the necessary permits) an iconic restaurant perhaps specialising in spit-roasts, with an owner's apartment above the restaurant.

There could be the possibility of creating a sweeping entrance driveway through the grounds as an alternative to the street entrance in the historic centre.

Energy Classification: G


CASALVIERI AND THE CIOCIARIA

Casalvieri is one of the many 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 Casalvieri 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 Casalvieri, 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