House buy in Cetona Tuscany

Near the medieval town of Cetona, on the border between Tuscany and Umbria, a beautifully restored country villa with guesthouse and manicured park for sale. The buildings (386 sqm) have been finely restored respecting the original structure, and now provide an elegant and comfortable private home with 6 bedrooms and sophisticated living areas. The beautifully maintained land surrounding the property (2.7 ha) includes a lush park filled with flowering plants and impressive established cypress trees, a wooded area, a small olive grove and a stunning and unusually large swimming pool along with an outdoor Jacuzzi. All key amenities are available in the nearby village (3km) or, a little further on, in the center of Cetona. The property's location and its very easy access close to the A1 motorway (around 15 km away) make it easy to reach all of italy. Several of the key artistic and cultural towns of Tuscany and Umbria are merely half an hour's drive away (Chiusi, Citta della Pieve, Orvieto:) while an hour's drive sees all the major sites encompassed (Pienza, Montepulciano, Cortona, Arezzo:). The main house (290 sqm - 3,120 sqft, 4 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms), fully renovated in 2012 while keeping its rustic style intact, has three floors all with direct access from the outside but connected internally. The large open-plan ground floor living area includes a working fireplace, a dining room (with direct access to the outdoor porch) and a double living space. Beyond this, the stunning, new, large bespoke kitchen also opens out to the full length porch as well as to a big terrace for outdoor dining. The porch runs the full length of the building and provides a shady area to relax or play ping-pong. The basement (accessed by a spiral staircase from the kitchen) retains its original purpose as a wine cellar, with the addition of a full bathroom, and also serves as a laundry room. An impressively wide marble staircase leads from the living space up to the first floor sleeping area which includes four bedrooms and four bathrooms (three en-suite) and a study (which might alternatively be used as a dressing room). The original outdoor staircase opens onto the study providing a spectacular outlook and flooding the space with light. The house has been masterfully renovated and restored, maintaining the salient aspects of the original rural building but adding modern luxury features and finishes. The interiors have light-colored walls which enhance the natural light flooding through the multiple windows. Many of the rooms are double aspect, giving them even more light throughout the day. The flooring on the lower level includes classic terracotta tiles in the kitchen, and more unusual ones in the living areas. The bedroom level, on the other hand, has solid oak parquet and original wooden ceiling beams, which have been painted bright and white. The guesthouse (87 sqm - 936 sqft, 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms) is a pretty stone building directly facing the main house, laid out on a single floor, providing privacy and independence for guests. A corridor leads to the two bedrooms and two bathrooms. This building, which is testimony to its past incarnation as a barn has also been carefully renovated, with its stone and brick walls left natural along with the roof beams and tiles. The wall colors here also are neutral but warm enough to make the rooms feel cozy and bright. Both house are fitted with bespoke security grilles on every window which can be fully opened. There is also a sophisticated alarm system which can be operated remotely via an app. Outside, an old well has been cleverly converted to provide storage (9 sqm - 97 sqft). The villa is surrounded by about 2.6 hectares (6.7 acres) of land. Stretching all around the building is a lush 8,500-sqm park characterized by large lawned areas, various terraces and seating areas, and filled with typical Mediterranean plants. There are many cypress trees indigenous to the area, and several olive trees (some over a hundred years old) which provide a healthy harvest of delicious oil every year. Directly alongside the villa sits the magnificent 15 × 6 m swimming pool with its travertine and terracotta sunbathing area. Just behind this is the Jacuzzi tub, and above it lies a pretty, small orchard. The enclosed and fenced property is entered through an elegant automatic gate and a sweeping upper driveway straight to the front of the house, with parking for several cars. There is also a secondary lower level driveway with space for many more cars, handy for catering or staff. The remaining land surface to the north of the property (about 1.8 ha), is composed of a wooded area, part of which have been recently pruned and felled as required by the province.