Detached villa for sale in Cortona, Sodo

Villa Venuti – Historic 18th-century residence with a park and over 12 hectares just outside Cortona   On the slopes of the Cortona hill, in the Catrosse area, Villa Venuti is one of the most significant historic homes in the Valdichiana: an 18th-century complex with frescoed halls, a chapel, rural outbuildings, a historic garden, and over 12 hectares of land, just minutes from the center of the Etruscan city. THE POSITION Villa Venuti enjoys one of the most privileged and, at the same time, most sought-after positions on the entire Cortona hillside, with a wide, unobstructed view that opens onto two horizons. On one side, beyond the expanses of olive groves, woods, and rows of cypress trees climbing the slope, the city of Cortona looms large: the skyline of the historic village runs along the entire ridge, with its ancient walls, stone houses, bell towers, and grand churches crowning the hill. On the other, the gaze descends over the estate's olive grove and opens up unobstructed to the entire Valdichiana, a plain dotted with farmhouses, villages, and rows of cypress trees that extends to the hills and the blue peaks on the horizon. It's a view that changes with every hour of the day and, at sunset, is illuminated by the warm colors of the Tuscan countryside. THE STORY The Venutis are one of the most illustrious families of Cortona. In the eighteenth century, the brothers Marcello (discoverer of Herculaneum), Filippo and Ridolfino Venuti were among the protagonists of the foundation of the Etruscan Academy. The villa was transformed between 1726 and 1730 based on a project by Alessandro Galilei, architect to Cosimo III de' Medici, who also designed the garden with pools, holm oak groves and box and cypress hedges. The extension project by Karl Marcus Tuscher (1740) included the connecting body, the garden walls with volutes and the monumental pillars of the gate. As early as 1732, the villa was described as "equipped with all the delights of fountains, gardens, wildflowers and avenues". THE INTERIORS The heart of the residence is the hall frescoed by Vincenzo Torrigiani in 1746–47, with views of Venice, Bologna, and Rome within painted architectural perspectives, and the date 1747 still legible on the walls. This is followed by living rooms and halls with painted friezes, ceilings decorated with panels and medallions, doors painted with scrolls and scrolls, faux marble frames, stucco overdoors, and terracotta floors. The villa is completed by the ground-floor entrance opening onto the garden, the grand staircase, the bedrooms, and numerous views of the Cortona hills and the Valdichiana. THE COMPENDIUM The complex includes 13 buildings for a total cadastral area of approximately 1,838 m2: •residential: the villa (historic building, main apartment, three-level residence with lemon house) and an independent apartment; •storage rooms and annexes: three blocks of storage rooms, warehouse with courtyard, rural annexes and carriage house; •the chapel of San Giuseppe; •two buildings to be recovered: the mill and the water storage room. THE PARK AND THE LANDS The villa is surrounded by a historic garden, bordered by a boundary wall, featuring an arched gateway, pillars with stone vases, stone pines, cedars, and cypresses. Over 12 hectares of olive groves, vineyards, arable land, and woodland extend around it, crisscrossed by dirt roads and rows of cypress trees. THE PROSPECTS Given its size, history, and location, Villa Venuti lends itself to a variety of projects: luxury hospitality and a resort spread across the villa and its outbuildings, a family residence with an outbuilding and its own agricultural production, or a representative office, study center, or cultural center. Specific uses to be verified with the relevant authorities. Private negotiation. Private viewings are arranged by appointment, following an initial interview and a confidential presentation of the investment profile.