Believed to have been a rural monastic retreat to the nearby Abbazia Sant' Urbano, the house and its attached chapel sit in 6 acres of lovely mature grounds, including a (rather wild!) red grape vineyard. Restored in 2011-2012 by the current owner, it is now a rather unique for the region, grand rural property.
Built of local stone around 1680, the small regular brick shaped pieces apparently denoted the owner's wealth and status. The house remained under the ownership of two wealthy Jesi/Ancona families, Federici and Pichietti, for over 200 years until it fell into disrepair in the post war years and was used as the local village school. Further neglect meant it was later incarnated as a farm dwelling with cow stalls on the ground floor and basic farmer's accommodation on the first floor. An outside staircase dating from the 1950s was added for this purpose but removed by the current owner to restore the frontage to its original state.
The Chapel was built in around 1750 and dedicated to San Bernadetto. Regular village masses were performed here until the 1980s.
Accommodating 12-15 people, this historic property comprises 7 bedrooms over 2 floors: a master bedroom with en suite bathroom (claw foot bath and wet room shower) and adjoining single bedroom/dressing room on the first floor; 5 further double bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, underfloor heating, modern fitted kitchen linked to kitchen/breakfast room with open fireplace, 2 large sitting rooms with open fire, TV/DVD room, separate dining room, utility room and downstairs shower/WC room, grand central corridor, sacristy/entrance hall, cloakroom and chapel. To the exterior lies a swimming pool and terrace with wonderful views over the surrounding villages and rolling hills and vineyards. Mature trees, including olives, pear, walnut and grand oaks compliment the grass lawns, lavendar and rosemary beds and sweeping driveway around the property. There is a covered pergola on an old wheat threshing floor for outside dining complete with pizza oven/fireplace for cooking and warmth in the cooler months.
The house comfortably accommodates three families: on the first floor the master bedroom and adjoining single room share one bathroom and separate entrance; one small double bedroom is located off the central landing area; a separate archway links two further double bedrooms and shared bathroom between them with sunken bath, WC, bidet and walk-in shower. The attic (third) floor has full standing height and comprises of two large double bedrooms (one with 3 x single beds and one with double sofa bed) with bathroom in between them with WC, bidet, bath and shower attachment. Note there is some compromised head space here.
Please note we do not have central air conditioning. There are electric fans in each bedroom, one per person. The villa has thick stone walls which keep the house cool in summer and we recommend closing the shutters in the day time to keep the intense summer sun out of the bedrooms.
The ground floor accommodation comprises of library/study room with archway leading to a large sitting room with two comfortable 3 seater sofas surrounding an open fire place and French windows out to the garden and outdoor eating terrace under the shade of a beautiful oak tree opposite. The house was restored respecting the original room layouts, thus the rooms flow off the main central corridor with archways to the chapel at one end and library/sitting room at the other. The old kitchen with fireplace and breakfast table links to a modern fitted kitchen; the TV room with DVD player and Dolby Surround Sound lies between the study and formal dining room, both with French windows to an outside gravel terrace. There is a utility room with washing machine, tumble dryer and butler's sink with adjoining downstairs shower room and WC with door to the outside which serves as a useful swimming pool change area. A further downstairs cloakroom with sink and bidet lies off the sacristy/entrance hall. Here, the original baptismal/Holy water font is set into the stone wall. Outside, the chic grey liner 14m x 5m swimming pool is situated a short walk from the house across the lawn. A pizza oven and BBQ area are located nearby under an olive-green painted pergola. Plenty of trees offer shady spots for relaxation around the garden and for those of a more active nature, a field adjacent to the barn/garage area is perfect for football/badminton/table tennis/croquet etc. Tennis courts and a Padel court are located nearby in Apiro and Poggio San Vicino.
