The Property (1000 m2)
This fifteenth century castello is situated between Capalbio and Orbetello on a small hill about a mile from the sea. The property is approached up a private drive surrounded by a number of very mature olive trees and leads to a car park in front of the castle surrounded by mature pine trees.

The castle entrance is up a large external stone staircase which leads into an entrance hall which in turn leads in a large drawing room (115 m2) with an arched wooden-beamed ceiling, large stone fireplace and handmade terracotta floors. The large arches in this generous room give a very Spanish feel.

From this drawing room is a vaulted corridor off which are the master bedroom and the second bedroom. Both bedrooms have fireplaces, en suite bathrooms while the master bedroom also has a dressing room.

To the right of the entrance hall is a small sitting room with a fireplace and with a single bedroom and bathroom behind.

A wide stone spiral staircase leads to the second floor where there is an additional double bedroom with a fireplace, a double bedroom with a turret overlooking the entrance to the castle, a bathroom, two further bedrooms and a shower room.

The staircase leads back down to the ground floor where there is a long wide corridor that traverses the full length of the castello, from the Roman cistern, at one end, to doors onto the garden in the direction of the swimming pool at the other. Off this central corridor is the large dining room (124 m2) which has an original brick vaulted ceiling and a large wood burning forno.

Also off the corridor off are the kitchen and a series of storerooms, a bathroom and a laundry. The kitchen has an external entrance to the garden while next to the cistern is an additional bedroom and downstairs cloakroom.

The Farmhouse (220 m2 + 160 m2)
Built in the 18th century, this building is now two apartments of about 110 m2 each. There are seven bedrooms in the house and it also contains a number of store rooms and garages for the management of the estate. (160 m2).

The Land and Garden
The land consists of approximately 11 hectares (28.8 acres) and a well-maintained garden of about 1 hectare surrounds the house in a series of lawns and shrubs. There are a series of 5 storerooms concealed by a long aromatic jasmine hedge that run alongside the property. These include a walled south-facing lemon grove inhabited by tortoises.

There is a swimming pool (13m by 8.5m) and the ruins of a former Roman Villa, considered to be one of the most important archaeological sites in central Italy. Elsewhere on the property is a space that could be used as a helicopter pad.

There are 1500 mature and productive olive trees of which several hundred are over 500 years old. There is a productive kitchen garden as well as pens for small farm animals by the farmhouse.

The Roman Villa
The Roman villa was built soon after the area was settled by Romans, in the colonies of Heba and Cosa, in the third century BC. By the first century these farms were consolidated into larger agricultural estates worked by slaves and owned by increasingly affluent landowners who built many villas to enjoy the warm and healthy climate.

The villa at Settefinestre is one of these and has been completely excavated. The living quarters of the landowners (pars urbana) and the agricultural parts of the property have been revealed. The living area was elaborately decorated with painted walls, stuccoes and colourful floor mosaics.

The farm buildings contained the granary, stables and slave quarters and also contained the equipment for the production of wine and olive oil, which were exported to all the main countries in the western Mediterranean. These types of estates were later replaced with maritime villas by the mid 2nd century AD. Following Gothic invasions, the fall of the Roman Empire and the increasingly swampy inland, the area declined and by the early fifth century was largely deserted.

The site of the former villa is a national monument and several books have been written about the ruins.

The History of the Property
Settefinestre was built as a fortified manor house in the fifteenth century by Spanish overlords in a distinctly Spanish style and on top of the stone cistern for the Roman Villa. Part of the cistern is still visible in the ground floor of the property. It was purchased in the 1970s by a Roman family who have restored it into the exceptional property it currently is.

The property is listed with the Belle Arti.

Local Area
The property is close to the sea and the popular Argentario island which is a popular holiday destination with a number of marinas, two close to Porto Ercole, others to the north around Porto San Stefano and also on the lagoons. From these marinas it is easy to get to the many islands of the coast and also to Sardinia and Corsica. About 20 minutes drive takes one to Porto Ercole with its many restaurants and small shops. The Argentario has been a popular place for Romans to visit and many celebrities have houses on it and in the area generally.

Grosseto, with a wide range of shops and restaurants in the old town is the nearest large town while Orbetello, on the tombolo linking the Argentario with the mainland, is the most local town. Rome is about one hour to the south the famous SS1 Aurelia being one of the oldest roads in Italy. About 45 minutes drive takes one to Tarquinia, which was once the site of the main city of the Estrucans. A number of good supermarkets are just off the Aurelia either to the south or north.

Services
Gas C/H with a private gas tank. Electricity, Telephone.

No work required.

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