Alvito, Frosinone, Lazio, Italy

Casale Valle Donica is a lovely old stone farmhouse dating from the 1800s, beautifully renovated some forty years ago as a family home. Set in fully fenced and gated grounds of around 2,000 sq.mt., it is located in the countryside just below the charming medieval hilltop town of Alvito, around 90 minutes drive from Rome. This position creates all the benefits of a rural setting with sweeping views while simultaneously enjoying very easy access to the town centre of Alvito with shops, restaurants, cafés and services.

The farmhouse is typical of its period, with vaulted ceilings on the ground floor and a beautiful internal staircase in ancient stone. The original stone lintels were carefully preserved in the renovation of the property and although they are currently plastered, the plaster could readily be removed to expose the original stone.

Casale Valle Donica has a classic layout over two levels with the "living area" on the ground floor with a typical taverna-style kitchen running the entire length of the building, a large living room, a spacious central hallway with an open log fireplace situated in a cozy nook with seating and the beautiful ancient stone staircase leading to the upper floor. A covered porticoed patio provides an ideal setting for al fresco lunches and dinners

The upper floor has two large double bedrooms, a single bedroom, a bathroom, balconies with wrought-iron railings and a large terrace from which the panorama of the Val di Comino (the Valley of the Comino River) can be admired in all its beauty.

The upper level has a spiral staircase to the attic, which has two large rooms and an additional terrace; the attic floor is currently unfinished but creates an opportunity for further expansion of the property if desired (subject to the normal building permissions).

Casale Valle Donica benefits from excellent road access. Within the completely fenced grounds, there is a separate garage, a store room, a tool shed and a wood store. This spacious outdoor area would be very suitable for the construction of a swimming pool with attached changing rooms-showers-bathroom (subject to the normal planning consents) which would further enhance the value of the property.

The property is immediately habitable with mains electricity and sewage. The interior lights are all functional although the wiring from the original restoration is naturally not in accordance with the latest building codes. The current owners use the property as a vacation home and therefore use the open log fireplace and the traditional wood stove for heating.

Casale Valle Donica is very attractive, with its vaulted ceilings and arched portals and window embrasures, which could all be further enhanced as features by exposing some of the old stone. The rooms are enchanting, warm and typically rustic. The furnishings could be included in the sale. The property represents excellent value - an opportunity to acquire a soundly-built, restored, old stone farmhouse set in its own fenced grounds at an extremely reasonable price.

Energy classification: G


ALVITO AND THE CIOCIARIA
Alvito is one of the enchanting 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. 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 Alvito 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 Alvito, 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 only 90 to 120 minutes 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