2 bedrooms top-to-bottom house, 160 m²

Arpino, Frosinone (province)

Casa Lorenzo Morelli

Situated on a quiet residential street only a minute or two's walk from the main piazza, Casa Lorenzo Morelli is a spacious house with an unusual 'hidden' courtyard garden. Although habitable as is, there is a great deal of potential to make this something special, particularly given the large ground level cellar rooms with their own additional street entrances, and easy possibility of adding a second bathroom upstairs and also one on the ground floor.

A few old stone steps lead up to the entrance hall, from which doors lead to both the kitchen and the living room. The generous living room looks over a charming 'vicolo' and, between the houses, across the valley. There is an enchanting little juliet balcony created from a single marble slab set into the house wall. 

The kitchen looks out over the courtyard garden with its old stone walls. The actual kitchen units, which were quite dated, have been removed, and it now awaits redecorating and the installation of the kitchen of your choice.

There are two large and quiet bedrooms. Currently there is only one bathroom, but there is further unused space next to it (with another window) where it would be very easy to create a second bathroom.

On the lower level, there are extensive ground level cantinas, with two doors opening onto the street, which might be adaptable into shops or a little bar or restaurant, or even further living accommodation.

There is also the shady courtyard garden, which is surround by centuries old stone walls, and would be particularly charming for al fresco dining - the stone walls keep it cool during the summer heat, but also make it easy to warm during winter. Niches in the stone walls would be ideal for candles or other elegant outdoor lighting.

Shops, bars, restaurants, cafés and services are within a few minutes walk.  There is nearby free public parking.  The town of Arpino has excellent road access to the superstrada and then the autostrada leading to Rome, which is only 90 minutes drive.

Energy classification:  G

ARPINO AND THE CIOCIARIA 

Arpino 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 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, his agency is one of the largest and most highly-regarded real estate agents in the area and he has much experience in the international marketing of Italian real estate.