Ceccano, Frosinone, Lazio, Italy

Palazzo Bonanome: on the highest point in the centre of the most ancient part of the hilltop town of Ceccano, the beautiful Palazzo Bonanome - attached to the medieval Castello dei Conti - has a panoramic vista over the sweep of the valley far below, and in the other direction has lovely picturesque views towards the charming historic piazza.

This home with its amazing frescoed ceilings from the 1800s, antique tiled floors and many other original features is immediately habitable but would benefit from modernisation to reach its full potential.

The property divides into two wings delineated by the central sitting room - a large main living room with an antique marble fireplace and a trompe l'oeil wood domed ceiling which overlooks the palazzo gardens and the valley below. Then, a smaller, more intimate sitting room has a stunning oval ceiling fresco. Next there is an elegant study with a particularly intricate ceiling fresco. And finally an unrestored room with a charming ceiling fresco, overlooks the piazza. Many decades ago, the honey from a beehive in the immensely thick external stone walls of the palazzo could be reached from this room through a little wall opening - but now there is no beehive and no honey, only the legacy of the story. There are street entrances into the Palazzo Bonanome opening into both this unrestored room and into the main sitting room.

On the other side of the main sitting room, there are a line of rooms, also overlooking the valley, currently used as a dining room and a series of bedrooms. Two large interior room (with matching blue painted ceilings) are currently used for storage and as bathrooms.

Stone steps lead up to the kitchen which opens onto a large terrace with magnificent sweeping views over the town and the valley. The ancient stone walls forming the rear of the terrace rise upwards as part of the Castello dei Conti which is owned by the State.

At the far end of the terrace there is a separate, presently unused room with a fireplace and the start of a tunnel (now blocked off) which used to lead into the Castello.

Palazzo Bonanome has medieval origins and was originally a dependency of the adjoining Castle of the Counts of Ceccano. In 1523 the Palazzo became the seat of the Governor of Ceccano. The Palazzo was most likely acquired by the Bonanome family, originally from the Milan area, in the early 1800s and has remained in their ownership until the present day. The part of the Palazzo being offered for sale is all on one level and is accessed from one of the main piazzas of Ceccano's historic centre.

Parking for the residents of the zone is available in the piazza and neighbouring streets. Ceccano has many charming little restaurants, cafés and bars, together with shops and all necessary services for day-to-day living. And, very importantly, Ceccano has excellent access to the main Rome/Naples autostrada, and the centre of Rome and Rome's airports are only 90 minutes away.

This property could become an amazingly beautiful private home or it could be configured to provide prestigious luxury rental accommodation either on a room-by-room basis or as an entire apartment.

Energy classification: G

VIA ROMANA Srls and the CINELLI IMMOBILIARE 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 the Cinelli Immobiliare Agency. 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 of these properties are already renovated while others are to be restored. The Cinelli Immobiliare Agency also 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.