Monteriggioni, Tuscany, Siena - Freehold/€2,200,000

Ref: ALB75

The Castle was built in the 11th century by the Lambardi di Saggia family to dominate the Elsa valley on the border between Siena and Florence, and also to control the Via Francigena pilgrim route to Rome. It has figured frequently in the turbulent history of the late middle ages. The castle has a strategic location on the very top of a prominent conical hill from where to the east, north and west panoramic views enable much of central Tuscany to be seen - San Gimignano is visible in the middle distance - and to the south the view is over the wooded hills known as the Montagnola Senese. It is completely surrounded by ancient evergreen oak woods rich in animal and bird life. There are some remaining parts of the castle walls to be seen (a 19th century print shows them towering above the remaining buildings) but the dry stone walls now visible in aerial photos are the supports for the terraced olive groves which are stepped down the hillside.

Three of the existing buildings have been fully restored as follows:

- a late Gothic church from about 1000 AD of 76,40 sq m and about 7,50m high. This height is sufficient to allow a second floor to be put in covering all or part of the area, but architectural purists would not recommend this.

 - a 2 storey chapel between the church and the house with living room/kitchen, 1 bedroom and bathroom, with a total area of 56 sq m.

- a 2 storey house of 195,45 sq m. The upper floor is accessed by both external and internal staircases and has a very large sitting room with fireplace, a large double bedroom and a landing area. These rooms could be further divided to make more bedrooms if needed. On the ground floor are a large kitchen, bathroom and laundry room. All these buildings enjoy under floor gas fired central heating. There are 4 other buildings to be restored as follows:

- a tower of which the foundations have already been prepared to be incorporated into the existing structures. This will provide a further 51,10 sq m gross of living space and importantly will enable the church, chapel and house to be linked up internally. An architect’s rendering is available.

- 3 other stone outbuildings of respectively 31,0 sq m, 25,45 sq m and 65,1 sq m. One of these building is close to the main house and the others are about 50m away. All three are capable of being turned into further residential accommodation. To summarise: there are about 327 sq m of restored buildings plus 173 sq m to be restored, for a total of about 500 sq m gross.

Building size: 500m²

Grounds and services

The castle is surrounded by 20 ha (about 50 acres) of privately owned land, 17 ha of it is woodland, and there are 1,5 ha of the terraced olive groves immediately surrounding the buildings, and 1,5 ha of pasture. The castle is approached by 2 kms of white road, Siena can be reached in 20 minutes by car and Colle Val d’Elsa, where there are all necessary amenities, in 10 minutes. Pisa international airport is a 1h 30m drive away.

The value of this property lies not so much in the square metres of historic buildings as in the absolutely superb location. With the necessary investment to restore the remaining buildings it will make either a uniquely prestigious home for a wealthy individual who understands and appreciates the authentic Tuscany, or a boutique hotel.