Ferentino, Frosinone, Lazio, Italy

A striking blend of modern innovation and tradition, Casa Porta Sanguinaria is a beautifully restored modern home incorporating an ancient Cistercian church. A study in contrasts, where a modern steel mezzanine appears to hover below an ancient stone vault; where discreet doors open onto grand entertaining spaces; where a comfortable family home and an impressive architectural renovation coexist.

The main entrance is an elegant but unobtrusive iron grill just beyond the old town gates, beyond which is an entirely private world, with indoor and outdoor areas, home comforts and grandeur.

Stairs curve up to the main level, where there is the intimate heart of the house: a living room with wood crossbeam ceiling, stone fireplace and valley views, a large study or library with generous antechamber, and striking green glass doors opening into a huge terracotta flagged kitchen with fireplace. The doors are designed to swivel easily, creating as needed a privacy screen or an open connection to the living area. This area also has a service bathroom.

From the living room, striking steel and glass doors make a feature decoration when closed, and open to reveal the stunning restoration of the original Cistercian church. A mezzanine level floats below the ancient stone vaults, elegantly laid with parquet, and with feature lighting highlighting the arches above. Various original niches and an antique door have been carefully restored and incorporated into the design. There is also direct external access to this area through the antique door.

A flight of broad stone steps leads down to the lower level, where there is a second large entertaining area, as well as a small suite consisting of a room and a bathroom.

Stairs lead from the main living area to the upper floor, where there are two bedrooms and a further bathroom. One bedroom, with sweeping valley views, has its own external door into a small courtyard shared with the neighbouring building, and thence to the street. The other bedroom has its own large dressing room, which gives onto the generous roof terrace, with views across the old town and over the valley.

A side door from the entrance courtyard reveals a further room and bathroom.


FERENTINO AND THE CIOCIARIA

Ferentino is an ancient, pre-Roman town 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.

Founded at least 300 years before Rome, Ferentino still retains traces of is past, from the pre-Roman Cyclopean walls, through the Roman era market, theatre and acquaduct, to the Cathedral built on the remains of a pagan temple, and the churches and monasteries of the middle ages.

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 Artina 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 Atina, 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

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.