Full Description

VICOLO ETRUSCO 1.

 What you are looking at is an almost unique opportunity to buy a totally restored and fully furnished, to the highest standards, apartment in the historic centre of Todi (situated in the centre of Umbria, Italy).the apartment is 150 meters from the main Piazza.

Todi is an ancient hill top town dating back over 3000 years through, the Etruscan's, Roman and medieval times, Todi has an amazing wealth of history, the medieval centre is still perfectly preserved, Todi is an alive Italian town, with all the coffee bars ,restaurants and shops, of your dreams which are open all year round. Within 40min’s drive lies, Perugia, Assisi, Orvieto, Spolleto and Terni and 80min’s to Rome by train or car Please look at a map of Italy as to where we are (no questions about beaches or sea its 2 hours away), there are 2 golf courses within 40 min’s drive and the excellent local “commune” swimming pool is just 10 min’s away, Todi property owners are also eligible for a parking permit to park in the historic centre. Todi also has an excellent park with kids play ground, basketball court and picnic area by the Napoleonic Tower.

 Todi was reported to be the healthiest place in the world to live by an American university in the 1990's, I'm not sure on what criteria but the air, food, wine, weather and the people are the finest quality we have come across, and we have lived here 2 years fulltime. We are an English couple that started a new life in Italy, it’s been a tough road, learning the language, organising the restoration of our home, finding work (we are not millionaires, we need to earn a living) But the reward of life here is worth it, we now have friends that are as family are to most of you, we eat some of the finest food in the world daily, we spend virtually nothing to drink amazing wine, and daily look at some of the most beautiful views.

 I hear you asking why are you selling? Well, we would not be but for the fact that we need a work shop, I restore antique furniture, and we have found another place that needs complete restoration. This next project will take at least a year, so we are offering an opportunity to buy a fully restored and furnished apartment, along with all the help we can give with Italian paperwork, it can be daunting, but we have done it all and now know the ropes. Our home consists of the following, around 95sq meters (1000sq ft) its classed as an apartment, but the roof belongs to us and the ground floor is 50% ours (the other is the cellar to our lovely neighbours) so virtually a house, no one making any noise above or below, we are situated on a beautiful "Vicolo" (ancient allyway) with only 2 other homes and we are very private for a town centre home

 A walk round. As you enter the main door you are looking at the marble staircase (only 15 steps) and the door to the "cellar" which is now our laundry and store room, but there is plenty of space to put another bathroom in here and all the services are there (we ran out of funds the only reason we didn’t do it).

At the first floor the hallway leads to the large (24sq mts), light and high, lounge and dinning area, where the original beams remain, and the ancient arches in the walls, with 3 windows, 2 looking out at the Apennine Mountains and the old roof tops of Todi. Also off the hallway, is the kitchen, fully fitted with a new "Scavolini" range of units and granite work tops, with a great fold out ironing board hidden in a draw. All "Smeg" built in appliances, dishwasher, 5 ring gas hob and oven, with a large Hoover fridge/ freezer (with in door water dispenser, fresh filtered water at 4c always, wonderful) Across the hallway is the bathroom with bath, over bath shower, hand shower, toilet, bidet, wash basin, and large heated mirror (no steaming up) Further on is the main bedroom with wood beamed ceiling and window looking onto the neighbouring stunning court yard.

From the hallway a curved wooden staircase leads to a small galleried landing on the second floor and the second double bedroom with wooden floor and sloping ceilings. There is another room on the second floor, which we are currently trying to get permission for a small roof garden, as you can imagine in an ancient historic town like ours the local authorities are not to keen on changing the outside of these medieval buildings but it is not impossible just needs a little patience. If you are not bothered about a roof garden we installed all the necessary to put a bathroom in this room although the ceiling height is only 2 mts max, so no stand up shower. Or you could make another bedroom for the Kids. All the furniture is antique, some dating back to the 1700’s, apart from the beds and feather filled divans, and it all comes with the apartment but not all our personal effects, if we get near a deal we will define exactly what is included The whole apartment is tiled in hand made terracotta tiles and has subtle hand cut marble inserts in the doorway and defining the dinning area, all the doors are hand made in the 16th centaury style, all the electrical installations are new (even down to the speaker wiring for the surround sound system built in), all the water and heating systems are new, also installed is a water softener system, the roofs are newly restored and very well insulated, the windows are new double glazed, secure lock wood framed units, there is also the latest washer and drier in the laundry. I cannot stress how much time and thought went into this restoration, as this was to be our home for ever, we did not cut corners on anything, our builder thought we where mad with the money we spent on the fittings and the specification we demanded!!

Ok if you have read this far then you must be interested so contact me, I guarantee you will not find another in Todi restored to this standard, in fact there are only about 8 others for sale 6 in need of restoration starting at £120,000 for wrecks, the other 2 are £350,000, and £800,000. Also in Italy buying through an estate agent will cost you up to 10% in fees buying direct 0%, there are other costs which you should be aware of the “Notio” solicitor and land taxes will cost around 5% but this applies to all . Some useful information links. www.bellaumbria.net   www.todionline.it   www.umbria.org   www.comune.todi.pg.it  A note to readers, if this is not what you are looking for but you are interested in this area we may be able to help find you your dream, and certainly save you a lot of money…. Contact us