A house with a view

In the ancient village of Staffolo we find this 110 square-metre apartment with terrace in excellent condition, and even if it needs a bit of TLC this could even be considered fun since no structural work is required.

Staffolo has become a really cool place to be of late, inhabited not only by locals but increasingly by people from outside Italy, such as Dutch, Germans and English. People like it because it is not far from the sea – which can be reached in less than 30 minutes – and thanks to its altitude of 400m above sea level it’s also cooler in summer; it’s not far from Jesi where there’s a new hospital, and from the main transport links, including for the airport. In addition there are good restaurants and pizzerias and many welcoming wine cellars where you can buy good Verdicchio DOC wine. There is also: a pharmacy, a bank, post office, hardware store, grocery and a doctors’ practice.

The APARTMENT is about 110 square metres and has a living room, dining room, two bedrooms, a study, a kitchen and a bathroom.

The 40 square-metre terrace gives views extending from the sea to the Sibillini mountains that embrace the entire province of Ancona and part of Macerata. From Jesi, to Monte Conero, from Cingoli to Monte San Vicino.

Included in the price is a 60-square-metre garage complete with bathroom, which can be used as a games room or perhaps as a second apartment.

A few details about the village: about 2000 inhabitants, its history dates back to the Romans, then passes to the Lombards, the Byzantines and the Duchy of Spoleto, it is then under the control of the Malatesta of Rimini and was a place where St. Francis of Assisi passed through and the reason for the establishment of a Franciscan convent, a hospital, Santa Maria degli Infermi, and later the Monte di Pietà.

The Church of Sant’Egidio is beautiful, in the Romanesque style, and contains a beautiful altarpiece by the Maestro di Staffolo (from around 1450), and the Church of San Francesco d’Assisi is where works by Filippo Bellini, Maffeo Verona, and Maspani are preserved. Of interest is the Museum of The Art of Wine. (Staphilus comes from ancient Greek: Στάφυλος, Stáphulos, a character from Greek mythology. He was one of the Argonauts and is linked to the theme of wine because he made Learco drunk as he could not have children.)