Pieve di Teco / IM 904

Property description

Palazzo Nobile is located in the historic centre of the charming Ligurian village of Pieve di Teco. The location is quiet and sunny and can be reached directly by car; there are car parks in the immediate vicinity. Many international families have invested in their primary or secondary residence in Pieve di Teco and the surrounding villages. The village has a very good infrastructure and the coastal towns of Albenga and Imperia as well as the beaches of the Mediterranean can be reached in just 30 minutes by car. The airports of Nice (France) and Genoa are approx. 1.5 hours’ drive away.

The historic Palazzo Nobile was built in the 16th century by experienced master builders and craftsmen for a wealthy and progressive local family (not olive growers!). It has many impressive architectural features from this period, such as cross and barrel vaults and a rare atrium courtyard. The palazzo has a total area of around 410 square metres on 3 floors, offering great potential for a variety of uses. For example, it could be divided into 4 to 6 flats for Airbnb rentals, a centre for seminars and workshops, studios for artists with exhibition space or a shared flat for a group of friends and/or an extended family.

The ground floor of the palazzo was originally used for storage and as an olive mill, and indeed some traces of the donkey-driven mill can still be seen today. Imposing vaulted ceilings span the rooms and created large storage and usable areas. The entrance to the palazzo with a magnificent column and a grand staircase leads to the first floor. This was the piano nobile (noble floor), reserved for the wealthy owner’s family. On this floor there was a kitchen with a cooking fireplace, several bedrooms and an atrium courtyard, which brought light and air into many rooms on two floors and is still a very pleasant outdoor living space today. Two rooms on this floor with large windows opening onto Via de Filippi are spanned by impressive cross vaults. One room had an open fireplace for heating purposes.

Together with the entrance to the palazzo, these two rooms were the public space intended to receive and impress visitors and business partners and to show off the family’s wealth and status. On the second floor were the living quarters for the servants of the wealthy family, with bedrooms, an open fireplace for cooking in the kitchen and access to a covered roof terrace for drying and preserving food, especially chestnuts, for winter consumption. A staircase led to a second roof loggia, which was also used for storing and drying food supplies for the winter.

The palazzo has not been significantly altered in the almost 500 years since it was built and used – an exception in the historical building stock of Pieve di Teco. Over the centuries, most of the buildings in the village have been altered, remodelled and adapted to the size of families and changing uses. After a long period of vacancy, there was a considerable backlog of repair and maintenance work.

A team of architects experienced in the restoration of historic buildings in Liguria developed a renovation and restoration concept for the palazzo, divided into several construction phases. The first milestone comprised the basic refurbishment of the building, the renewal of all roofs, the removal of non-original installations and conversions and the connection to the local supply and disposal lines and was completed in spring 2023.

The second milestone was the renovation, plastering, painting and decoration of the street façade as well as the installation of Ligurian shutters, traditional slate window sills, slate plinths and a new entrance door modelled on the original. This refurbishment was carried out in collaboration with and with the approval of the local heritage protection authority.

The two construction phases laid a solid foundation for the completion of the remaining and final part of the low-risk refurbishment of the building, which was to be carried out entirely in accordance with the ideas and wishes of the new owner/user. An experienced multilingual team can be deployed to develop a customised utilisation concept for the palazzo. Experienced planners, project managers, local craftsmen and suppliers are also available to the buyer for the planning, execution and acceptance of the work in the final phase of the project.

The Palazzo Nobile is a unique property full of history, charm and character, waiting to be completed according to its new owner’s individual style and utilisation concept. Perfect for someone who loves Italy, appreciates the unique heritage of Ligurian architecture and wants to design a very special part of it and use it themselves later.

This is a unique and rare opportunity to live in a bespoke Mediterranean living and working space in a Ligurian palazzo in one of the most pleasant climates in Europe.

Ask for the detailed exposé!

Agency fee

The commission amounts to 3,66 % of the sale price inclusive VAT and is payable by the buyer.