Versione Italiana

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Land for sale - Cortona

Self sustainable, ecological hunting lodge

Reference: HWI-65** Direct Sale! **

More than just a location. A style of living.

Tuscany has long been considered one of the most beautiful regions in Italy and Cortona one of its most coveted retreats largely because its surrounding hills have remained unspoiled for centuries.

This particular plot of land which is situated at Dancialena, 700 metres above sea level (the town of Cortona stands at approx 600 metres) looks out over the wide expanse of the Val d’Esse, one of Cortona’s most sought after and lovely valleys. It also lies within Cortona’s environmentally protected zone which was the driving force behind the unique project which accompanies the purchase of this land and for which all permissions have been granted.

On the 4.5 hectares available for purchase, a small hunting lodge once stood. On the basis of more than a year’s exhaustive research into low energy consumption, renewable energy resources, the monitoring of the local climate and the immediate micro-climate, a project was presented to Cortona’s town council requesting permission to rebuild the small lodge as a self-sustainable home providing its own energy supply and built entirely with ecological materials. Permission was granted.

The project consists in the installation of strategic photovoltaic panels to create a renewable electricity supply, solar panels for hot water, natural wood fibres and stone walls for insulation, a ventilated roof and special opaque glass panels designed to capture the sun’s heat in the winter, but deflect it in the summer. It has even been foreseen that a nearby electricity pylon be removed in order to minimise the effects of any electromagnetic pollution.

Studies have shown that buildings built to the specifications set out by this project require 80% to 90% less energy than those of standard buildings currently under construction.

In fact, the project foresees what is known as a ‘passive’ environment as opposed to just a ‘low consumption’ environment, in that the Lodge’s energy consumption would be so low and its heat loss so minimal that its winter heating requirements, estimated as being less than 15kWh/(m² a), make the necessity of a wood stove almost redundant.

The lodge, for which all collated technical data is immediately available, will be built on two floors with a total surface area amounting to 180 mtsq gross (115 mtsq nett). The basement, which leads out under a covered pergola allows for a bedroom, a bathroom, a store room and ‘boiler’ room and the possibility of building an interconnected underground garage. The first floor, also leading out under a covered pergola and described in the plans as a ‘mono-locale’ would allow for a bedroom/living room, open plan kitchen/dining area with wooden cross beams and a covered south facing sun room which can be utilised during both winter and summer.

All fixtures and fittings would be in natural materials: Traditional Tuscan ‘cotto’ tiles for the floors, ceramic tiles in the bathroom and kitchen and all doors, windows and shutters in chestnut wood.

The area immediately around the house has been designed to include a summer kitchen, paved in local stone, with cooking facilities and a barbeque, a dining area for eating ‘al fresco’, a swimming pool, a parking area, various patios and terraces and a variety of flower beds.

The cost of building the lodge as defined by the project and which includes a new access road, the swimming pool, a well, all technical fees and council taxes should not exceed a maximum of €400.000 (purchase price excluded), but a detailed, itemised quote could be requested before any commitments are made.

The property is situated just 2 kms from the small village of Montanare where there is an excellent restaurant/hotel, a small grocer’s shop, a petrol station and a post office, just 4 kms from the larger village of Pergo with a restaurant/Relais, a supermarket, a hardware store, a bar/newsagent, a pizzeria and 10 kms from the hilltop town of Cortona which is widely known for its wealth of historic and cultural artifacts, its excellent restaurants and its diverse shops.

In Camucia, also at a distance of 10 kms there is the Rome-Florence-Milan mainline train station and at 15kms access to all major motorways. The nearest airports are Perugia 40 minutes, Florence 1hr 30 mins, Pisa 2hrs, Rome 2hrs 30 mins.