Historic Tuscan Property, Borghetto-melara, Italy

Period apartment for sale in Tuscany

This end of terrace south-facing Tuscan apartment which is part of a complex of 15 apartments, and is a listed historic building (late 1700s to early 1800s) in Italy referred to as ‘Belle Arti’, equipped with its own garden, basement store-room and 1 garage, plus 2 parking spaces. It has a lovely view of the Villa Malaspina, the medieval village of Castelnuovo Magra (La Spezia province) and the sea which is 4 miles away. The complex with 2 electric entrance gates has parking areas, a swimming-pool with lawn, and lovely views all around, plus partial sea-view.  The public areas and swimming-pool are tended by staff that regularly come to do maintenance etc. The complex is part of an old, charming hamlet, which was pertaining to the Villa Malaspina, Caniparola, Fosdinovo (province of Massa Carrara, in northern Tuscany).

The area is called ‘Caniparola’ and is part of the medieval village of  Fosdinovo which is higher up, and in the Massa province. The area is wonderfully attractive due to its proximity to the sea – with the beaches of northern Tuscany and southern Liguria, and the mountains nearby  – the marble mountains of Carrara and the Apuan Alps, medieval villages galore, interesting towns such as Sarzana, La Spezia, Carrara, the Bay of Poets, Cinqueterre villages,  and a little further afield Lucca, Pisa and even Florence.

The area from May to October hosts an incredible amount of food-fairs, wine-fairs, concerts (la Versiliana, Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago, Lucca Jazz Festival to name but a few), regattas, medieval festival, the Festival of the Mind (Sarzana), pop concerts, open-air theatre, antique fairs, gastronomical events etc. The sea and the mountains, both very close by, provide many other types of activities, such as boating, sailing, diving, trekking, skiing in the winter etc.

The closest airport would be Pisa (served by many charter flights from the UK, as well as British Airways, or even direct flights from the USA) which is a mere 45 minutes’ drive away, otherwise Genova is 1 hour away and Florence is 1 and a half hours away, plus there is also the airport of Parma which is one hour’s drive away too. The closest railway station is in Sarzana, situated 2.5 miles away, with direct train routes to Pisa, Florence, Genova, Rome and many other places.

The apartment is in the typical Tuscan style, with stone arches, brick vaulted high ceiling, recently restored after having been part of an out-house of the Villa Malaspina (1700s), which is opposite. It is 90m square and has 2 double bedrooms, 1 bathroom (with separate bathtub and shower), kitchen and lounge. The flooring is with terracotta tiles throughout and the kitchen has Vietri hand-painted tiles and also in the bathroom the tiling is from Vietri. The store-room pertaining to the apartment is 11m square, the garage is 18m square and the garden around 250m. Each window has a lovely view, and the area is quiet, yet close to everything. In 10 minutes’ drive you can be at the beach(Marinella), in 5 minutes’ drive in Sarzana, yet in 2 minutes’ walking distance, you have a grocer’s, an olive-oil mill, the doctor’s surgery and an excellent restaurant, just outside the entrance gate to the complex.

The apartment will also be sold partly furnished due to the existence of specially made fittings (wardrobe in one of the bedrooms, cupboards in the bathroom, kitchen, lounge etc.). It has independent central heating, and gas. Air-conditioning is not required due to the fact that it has very thick stone walls, dating back to the end of the 1700’s., so the ceiling fans are perfectly adequate if the summer days are particularly warm. The windows are double-glazed. The garden has a lovely terracotta patio area for dining outdoors, part of the fence is covered with jasmine, and there is a herb-patch with lawn also. It is the apartment which is closest to the pool, one just has to go down a few steps to reach the swimming-pool which is wonderful in the summer.

It is ideal as a holiday home or even a permanent residence, with its attractive location.  For those who wish to purchase it as an investment and rent it out in the summer, the average weekly rent for such an apartment is around 1,300 euro and can accommodate four people comfortably.  We are very happy to manage the property after we sell it should the purchaser be interested.

Should you wish to look up some photos of the area (all within a few minutes’ drive or even a short walk’) , you can search the net for ‘Caniparola’,  ‘Fosdinovo’, ‘Massa Province’,  ‘Villa Malaspina, Caniparola’, ‘Lunigiana’, ‘Cinqueterre’, ‘Bay of Poets’ and ‘Sarzana’, ‘La Spezia’ and ‘Apuan Alps’.

Price: 430,000 euro