MONASTERO SANTO STEFANO

La Chiesa di Santo Stefano is situated in the beautiful open countryside of Le Marche, between the Adriatic seaand the Sibillini mountains. Surrounded by 360°panaromic views, the property nestles into the hillside where it has been a focal point for the surrounding landscape for hundreds of years.
Formerly a small monastery with its own exquisite chapel, the villa was bought by the current owners in 2000 as a Other, and it has been lovingly restored over a number of years. Great emphasis was placed on retaining the original features of beams, antique terracotta floor tiles, open fires and stone walls, whilst adding the modern day comforts that we have all come to expect, such as en suite bathrooms, fully equipped kitchens, wireless internet connection and satellite television.

The grounds have matured well over the past ten years, and now include a 5 hole golf course and a 15 metre
irregular shaped swimming pool, surrounded by sub tropical planting. At the front of the house there is a formal garden with fountain, and a small lake provides the perfect hazard for the golf course.

At the rear of the property there is a very large paved terrace, which is currently used regularly for weddings but is ideal for al fresco dining, and situated just above the pool is another large terrace shaded by albizia trees and adjoined by a small wooded area to the rear. In the grounds there is also a separate apartment, with its own well equipped kitchen and shower room. Storage rooms at the back provide a laundry and linen store, and a pizza oven is built into the wall to the rear. The apartment has its own terrace, and offers excellent accommodation for a housekeeper or nanny.

The wonderful Adriatic beaches of Sirolo, Numana and Portonovo are just an hour from the villa, and the

Sibillini mountains are approximately the same distance. There are a number of ski resorts open during the

winter months in this area, within an hours drive.

Le Marche is a beautiful region of Italy  sometimes referred to as Italy in one region, simply because it has

everything from the stunning scenery of the Adriatic coast, the mountains and the wooded hillsides to

wonderful medieval hill towns with well preserved architecture. Whether art history, the natural world or

delicious food and wine are your main interests, Le Marche will not disappoint. A separate document has been

created with some of the more interesting places to visit, and this can be downloaded from our website.

The property is within easy reach of Ancona airport (45 minutes) with regular flights direct to London, Brussels

and Madrid and several daily via the connection hub of Munich airport. There are also direct flights to Rome

and Milan. Rome and Bologna airports are around 3 hours away, but there are further connections available via

Rimini  with regular flights to Moscow, St Petersburg, Berlin and Amsterdam to name but a few destinations,

and Pescara  with additional flights from Barcelona and Oslo. Both these airports are under two hours drive

from the property.

ACCOMMODATION OVERVIEW

Santo Stefano was renovated with a view to offering a permanent home to the current owners, but also to

optionally provide a unique holiday and event venue. For this reason, the main house was equipped with three

separate kitchens to maximise the flexibility. One of these kitchens has now been converted into a library, but

the wiring and plumbing for a kitchen still exists should new owners want to revert to this layout.

All sections of the house are interconnecting on the ground floor, which offers all the facilities of a wonderful

family home. It would be a simple task, however, to divide the sections of the house into three completely self

contained houses.

The ground floor of the property consists of the following :

" An entrance hall

" Two large living rooms with open fireplace

" Two well equipped kitchens, one with a winter fireplace.

" One utility room

" One large shower room

" One WC with a wet room shower

" A small library

" A dining room with open fireplace

At present, the Chiesa (chapel) is entered externally, but it would be possible to put an interconnecting

doorway either in the library or in one of the kitchens.

The first floor of the house is currently accessed via three separate staircases, but for family use the upstairs

could be opened up, removing one or more of the staircases. Alternatively, the upper floor of the Oratorio wing

of the house (behind the Chiesa) could be left as a guest wing with its own staircase.

The upstairs layout is as follows:

" Oratorio two double bedrooms, both with en suite facilities. The larger room has a whirlpool bath

with shower over. The smaller has a walk in shower.

" Granaio (central section)  three double bedrooms all with en suite facilities. The largest room also has

a bath.

" La Stalla  one double bedroom with en suite shower room, one single room (no en suite), and one

suite, with a small sitting room and a spiral staircase leading to a mezzanine bedroom. The en suite

bathroom has a bath with shower over.

In the grounds is a small apartment. The current owners used this as their living quarters whilst the property

was being rented until they acquired an additional property.

The apartment has the following facilities:

" A well equipped kitchen, with large oven, hob, fridge and dishwasher

" A bedroom area  which previously was divided from the rest of the apartment by a wardrobe wall

" A shower room

" A sitting and dining area

" A private terrace and garden at the rear of the property

" There is a small laundry and a linen store at the rear of the apartment.

" A bread / pizza oven is built into the external wall of this building.

La Chiesa di Santo Stefano sits in 5 acres of land, which has been landscaped to provide beautiful areas for

relaxation and enjoyment. The current owners have developed a 5 hole golf course in the grounds, which is

served by an automatic irrigation system. The 15 metres swimming pool is surrounded by tropical planting, and

its position within the grounds provides a sheltered spot in full sun until the early evening.

The 80 metre drive is lined with olive and cypress trees, and there are several additional olive trees in the

grounds, together with a small orchard of apricots, plums, cherries, apples and pears.

At the front of the property is the lovely small Chiesa (chapel), accessed from the formal gardens. The Chiesa is

currently used for weddings or as a small gymnasium.

SANTO STEFANO AS A BUSINESS

The current owners bought Santo Stefano as a private home, but soon realised its business potential. With this

in mind, they began offering the property for holiday rentals. Initially the plan was to offer separate

Apartment, but due to the importance and beauty of the property it became clear that it would have greater

appeal for those seeking exclusivity. Since then, the property has only ever been rented to one group of family

or friends at any one time.

Whilst the rental began as a hobby, La Chiesa di Santo Stefano soon became a highly sought after holiday

destination, and increasingly it became a desirable venue for romantic weddings. Within a very short period of

time, the owners discovered that their hobby was becoming a full time business.

As they had moved to Italy for the purposes of early retirement, it was with regret that the decision was made

to sell the property and really retire. However, for a keen entrepreneur there is considerable scope for

development  either as a rental property, a wedding venue or a boutique hotel. We believe there is also an

excellent opportunity to develop the corporate side of the business.

PRICE

La Chiesa di Santo Stefano is on the market for ¬2,995,000. It is owned by a UK limited company, so a sale of

the shares would largely (and legitimately) avoid purchase tax on the property.

We would be happy to discuss the terms for buying both the furniture and fittings of the property, and / or the

existing business, including the website.