Arpino, Frosinone, Lazio, Italy

Casa Roberta is an attractive 50 sq.mt. one bedroom or studio apartment on the top (second) floor of a lovely old stone palazzo dating from the 1600s in the heart of one of the most historic areas of Arpino, a medieval hilltop town. The palazzo is divided into four apartments, including this exceptionally convenient top floor pied-à-terre. All four apartments have equal rights to use the beautiful communal gardens laid out at the rear of the property with gated entrance. The gardens measure 650 sq.mt., are terraced over several levels and have sweeping views over the valley to the hills beyond. Access and enjoyment of such large gardens is a benefit not often enjoyed by small pied-à-terre apartments and accordingly is a particularly valuable feature for Casa Roberta.

The apartment consists of two large and two small rooms. The first room is currently laid out as a kitchen and dining room. The second room, large and with windows both overlooking the garden and also benefitting from the view of the valley beyond, would be ideal as a bed sitting room. There is a bathroom, and another very small room, perhaps a walk-in wardrobe, with antique floor tiles.

The other three apartments in the palazzo are all used by their owners as either a principal or secondary home, and the palazzo is in good condition. Maintenance work has recently been completed on the roof and guttering. All utilities are connected to the palazzo and so can be connected by the purchaser to Casa Roberta as part of the required modernisation. There are no fixed annual condominium charges. When the modernisation and redecoration have been completed, this will be a charming, light and spacious pied-à-terre for one person or a couple.

In the heart of the medieval streets, the palazzo and hence Casa Roberta, are quiet and secluded. But a few minutes walk brings you to the main piazza of Arpino, with its shops, restaurants, cafés and services. And only ninety minutes drive takes you to central Rome, Naples and their respective main international airports. Rome's second international airport is only an hour away.

Energy classification: G


ARPINO AND THE CIOCIARIA

From the front door of the property, a couple of minutes' walk brings you to the Piazza di Civita, the main square of the Civita Falconara district of Arpino, with the Palazzo Quadrini and a beautiful church, St Maria di Civita, dating from the 1300s and built on the ruins of a pagan temple. From there a further short walk downhill takes you past the large Palazzo Battiloro, the finely worked stone façade of the Palazzo Incagnoli, the decorative wrought iron balconies of the Palazzo d'Emila Morricone and the Palazzo Pesce, the late Baroque Palazzo Conti and thence to the Fontana dell'Aquila. Immediately beyond that is the Auditorium, the main shopping streets of Arpino and Arpino's own principal piazza.

Arpino, the birthplace of the Roman orator Cicero, is one of the major 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 Arpino 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 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 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.