Sicily is the heart of the Mediterranean. Coveted over the centuries by the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans and Bourbons, each coloniser left a fabulous legacy, from Greek temples in the south to Norman castles in the north.
Then Sicily fell out of fashion. Bedevilled by the mafia and poverty, Sicilians deserted it in search of work, and the largest island in the Mediterranean became a forgotten place. However, after decades in the doldrums, it is gearing up for a renaissance that could make it the next big thing for second-homebuyers.
Syracuse was Sicily’s great Grecian city, founded by the Corinthians in 734BC on the island’s southeast coast. The locals left Ortigia — Syracuse’s old town, set on a promontory accessed by bridge — 20 years ago for new apartments, but it is now protected as a world heritage site and hailed as Sicily’s Capri.
Rupert and Julia Hodson moved to Sicily from London to run Ortigia Apartments, an agency for foreigners buying in Syracuse. “Ortigia is fantastic value for money,” says Rupert. “For £70,000 you can get a large period apartment with vaulted ceilings, sea views and balconies, near fashionable shops and a great fish market. Everything is within walking distance, as Ortigia covers one square mile.”
Sam Wallingford and his wife, Eileen, from Oxfordshire, have just bought a two-bedroom flat in Ortigia. “We’d always nurtured a fantasy of buying a second home, but we hadn’t found a place that felt really authentic,” says Sam, a manager for the Royal Mail. “We took a holiday in Ortigia and were inspired.
“Ortigia’s baroque architecture is on show everywhere. Our house has beautifully carved ironwork and balconies. There are warrens of little closes and squares and surprising corners. What we like is that the streets are full of children. It’s also a great base for exploring, with lovely beaches 30 minutes away.”
The Wallingfords have bought an early-19th-century apartment with two bedrooms, a large dining/living room, three balconies, a kitchen, a bathroom and a roof terrace. Like many properties in Ortigia it needs work, and they have made provision for a new bathroom and kitchen. The vaulted ceilings need repairing, but they can apply for a local-authority grant to restore the property. Inevitably this gets held up in southern-Italian bureaucracy, so most people apply, spend their own money on the restoration and then get a refund five years down the line.
This doesn’t worry the Wallingfords: “We don’t regard this as an investment property. We may let it out now and again, but it’s also a resource for our extended family,” says Sam. “Ortigia is full of life; we want to be part of it.”
Though property values in Ortigia have risen by about 50% in the past year, you can still pay knock-down prices 10 minutes away in Borgata, an attractive 19th-century part of Syracuse. Here you still get your sea view — but at half the price of Ortigia. If you want something near a beach you can go for a villetta. These small villas — mostly built in the past 40 years — run along the shoreline, and you can pick one up for about £70,000. At the moment they are mostly bought by Italians. Newcomers should be aware that some don’t have planning permission, and that anything built after 1967 within 250m of the sea may be deemed illegal and pulled down.
Palermo, on Sicily’s northern coast, is the island’s capital. Most of its busy boulevards sprang up during the 18th century in baroque and neo-classical style, but the earlier Arab influence still permeates some areas, where the streets are more kasbah than European city.
The hands of time have roughened Palermo. It was bombed during the second world war, and subsequently the historic centre was abandoned. Five years ago, however, Palermitan artists and intellectuals started to move into the old town, buying up apartments and refurbishing them.
“Palermo is being rediscovered,” says Marco Giammona of Realinvest, an agency dedicated to helping British homebuyers find property in Italy. “The historic centre is one of the largest in Europe — as big as Lisbon — and recognised by the EU as a national treasure. About half the houses in the centre are inhabited, but there are more than 5,000 abandoned properties waiting to be restored.
“You can pay as little as £15,000 for a one-bedroom apartment in need of work, but you will have to spend another £60,000 to refurbish it. These houses have been falling apart for more than 50 years, so you need to repair everything. Fortunately we have craftsmen who know how to restore a frescoed ceiling.”
Refurbishment projects tend to take about 18 months. As in Syracuse, there are government grants for about 30% of the cost of the work — as long as you follow the guidelines and are prepared to wait. If you want something ready to move into, for about £150,000 you can get a two- to three-bedroom 17th-century apartment with lots of period features.
Half an hour to the east of Palermo is Cefalù, a treasure trove of Arab, Norman and medieval architecture that attracts lots of foreign buyers. Prices are roughly the same as in Palermo, and those in search of a tidy, well-organised place for a second home will find it to their taste.
The Aeolian archipelago of seven volcanic islands lies off the northeast coast of Sicily and would suit those in search of something remote. Stromboli is a smaller version of Etna: small eruptions puff into the sky four times an hour providing a fantastic son et lumière. Vulcano and Lipari are the most populous, and houses along the seashore here cost more than £60,000.
Pantelleria, floating between Sicily and Africa, is a wild island covered with rocks and cliffs interspersed with vineyards and thermal waters. It is home to some splendid dammuso (farmhouses), which are a favourite with Italian plutocrats and film stars. For £500,000, you can buy a restored dammuso with a swimming pool, sea views and a good slice of land.
It’s the sense of space and isolation that appeals. Sicily is twice the size of Wales with fewer than 5m inhabitants — half of whom live in Palermo and Catania. This is a new market, so doesn’t have the safety-in-numbers feel of buying in Chiantishire or Umbria, but you will pay a third of the price for a better climate.
Last month, the Italian government gave the go-ahead for plans to build a two-mile bridge — the longest in the world — linking the island with the mainland across the Straits of Messina. The company in charge of the £2.9 billion project says it will take six years to complete.
Ortigia Apartments, 00 390 931 715 061; Realinvest, 020 7376 7919, www.realinvest.co.uk
What's on the market
A two-room flat on the 18th-century Via Nizza in Ortigia, in need of restoration. For sale with A&H Immobiliare, 00 390 9316 1155, and Ortigia Apartments 00 390 9317 15061 for £33,000
A restored three-bedroom apartment near Palermo cathedral with satellite television, parquet flooring and underfloor heating. For sale with Realinvest, 020 7376 7919, info@realinvest.co.uk, at £150,000
A late 16th-century baglio, or farmhouse with outbuildings, set in “extensive” grounds near Agrigento, in need of total renovation. For sale through Realinvest, 020 7376 7919, info@realinvest.co.uk, for £990,000
