Sora, Frosinone, Lazio, Italy

Casa San Giovanni is an elegant home in the heart of the historic centre of Fontechiari, a few steps from the main Church of San Giovanni. Much of it has been fully restored, but the top floor 'piano nobile' requires some modernisation.

The building, one of the most important historic buildings of Fontechiari, has been divided on inheritance between a number of members of the same family, who have now decided to sell, providing an excellent opportunity to put this grand old property back together. Much of it has been fully and beautifully restored, some parts in a more classic and some in a more modern style. There is also a guest or staff apartment, requiring only redecorating, and a beautiful stone 'cantina' (above ground cellar), which could be made into a striking entertainment area.

The guest/staff apartment has a large living room with a galley kitchen, a bedroom and a bathroom - all the rooms have vaulted stone ceilings (currently painted, but this could be cleaned off to reveal the old stone).

Apart from this, there are three main living areas, one a large (40 m2) living room with marble flooring throughout, a fireplace in pink French marble, and two balconies, one overlooking the old town, the other with a view out over the valley; one even larger (50 m2), in a light, airy, modern style, and another (40 m2) salon on the piano nobile, with a painted ceiling, a fine marble fireplace, and antique tiles, with French doors opening onto a balcony overlooking the valley.

Not including the guest accomodation, there are three kitchens, one in fitted wood with marble floor, one a serviceable kitchen for entertaining beside the salon with the painted ceiling, and a modern white and grey galley kitchen at one end of the largest living room.

One bedroom has antique wood beam ceilings and an inglenook fireplace. Another bedroom has a private balcony overlooking the valley, and another a balcony overlooking the old town (this one has an ensuite wc which could be expanded to create a full bathroom). What were originally two guest bedrooms and a bathroom, all with valley views, are currently a bedroom, large dressing room and bathroom. The guest suite bedroom has stone arches and an ensuite bathroom. The seventh and eighth bedrooms overlook the valley, and one has an ensuite bathroom. Four of the bathrooms are attractive and modern; the two on the top floor are very dated and poorly laid out, and would benefit from being redone.

There are very large storage rooms, as well as an elegant stone cantina, and also a garage.

There are a number of balconies, and at the back of the building a garden, which is now technically a park belonging to the city, but which is in practice used only by the family - there is a door, currently bricked up, from the stone cantina which could open directly into it.

Energy Classification: ranges from E to G, depending on the part of the building.


THE CIOCIARIA

Fontechiari is 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 the towns of the Ciocaria are 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 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.