Property for sale in Tuscany: historic villa requiring restoration, near Lucca

Requiring restoration, this spacious and historic villa near Lucca dates back to 1500. This property for sale in Tuscany has enormous potential.

The large house (approximately 1500 square metres) is historically important. It has a large loggia, formal walled and gated garden, plus lawns and vineyard located just outside Lucca. The villa overlooks the west side of Lucca, with the city walls and towers visible in the distance. The villa is about 600 metres from the Lucca-Viareggio highway, but traffic noise is not audible in the house itself.

There is a front entrance onto the mature formal garden from the street - via a wrought iron gate in the high stone garden wall. The garden stretches across the entire length of the villa and has another entrance on the side that leads to the back lane and gardens. On the ground floor there are large cantina doors that open from the front garden onto a series of five cantina rooms, currently used as wine cellar and storage. Also on the ground floor, there is both an external entrance from the back garden and an internal staircase leading to the piano nobile. The other ground level rooms comprise a large taverna, decorated in classic bistro style, complete with a bar and a bathroom. Finally there is a four-room suite, ideal for service rooms. Accessed from the back gardens are a further two rooms at basement level.

The main entrance to the villa’s piano nobile floor is atop a grand staircase and opens onto the main drawing room, with seven-metre ceilings and chandeliers. The day rooms are located to the right; a large dining room is in the first room, also with chandelier. A library/connecting hall at the end of the living room on the right leads to the service room/informal dining area and the kitchen. The kitchen also has a second door leading to a side terrace. To the rear of the drawing room are French windows, set in the back wall and leading to the back garden and arboretum. The bedrooms are located on the left side of the drawing room and are accessed by a central hallway that also leads to the loggia.

There are four bedrooms and two bathrooms. A staircase off the main salon leads to the second floor. Two thirds of the second floor is mansard or attic rooms that are currently unused, while the last third has been converted into an apartment consisting of a living room, kitchen, dining room, three bedrooms and a bathroom. There is a private entrance to the apartment accessed from the upper gardens. There are two buildings in the upper garden, currently used as storage, but convertible to garages. There is further storage in a small building in the back garden which also houses an outdoor bread/pizza oven.

The main rooms of the villa and its cantinas retain all of their original features, with the possible exception of the kitchen and the apartment which were updated in the fifties. The villa is in need of a fair amount of repair and technical modernisation. The loggia and mansard areas require structural attention as well. The price of the villa reflects the amount of development a full renovation would require. The total size of each floor is around 500 square metres, and there are three full floors to the

The upper gardens are approximately 1800 square metres, are fenced and have a second gated entrance. There is also a vineyard of some 1000 square metres. The back gardens are about 800 square metres and the front, formal garden 400 square metres. Either the back or upper gardens would be suitable for a pool area.

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