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"A House in Sicily"

FOR SALE

Heritage home for sale in Sicily. Most beautiful view in Taormina. Unique garden. Exciting restoration project.

view from the balcony of Casa Cuseni - "The finest house in Taormina"

Casa Cuseni is a villa designed and built by the painter Robert Hawthorn Kitson in 1905. He had visited the area with his family as a young man with an artistic disposition and resolved to make his home here, far from the Victorian rigours and influence of industrial Yorkshire and his large successful family.

The house and gardens offer a harmonious mixture of art nouveau and Sicilian styles. Robert Kitson's teacher and friend, Frank Brangwyn, designed the panelling, table, sideboard and chairs and painted a mural in the dining room.

When Robert Kitson died in 1948, his niece, Daphne Phelps, went out to Sicily to sell the house. She fell in love with the house, the country, the people and decided to stay on and have paying guests.

Daphne told the story of her life in Sicily in "A House in Sicily", which was published by Virago in 1999. "A House in Sicily" has also been published in the USA, China, Turkey, Holland, Italy.

Alan Whicker said in his recent television programme revisiting his wartime journey, that Casa Cuseni was "the one place that had not changed since the war. Taormina has grown up around the house but the extraordinary charm of the house and garden remains as potent as ever."

Daphne died peacefully at Casa Cuseni on 30th November 2005 - She bequeathed Casa Cuseni to her nephews and nieces who have since opened the house and garden to tours from all over the world and appointed an architect to make plans for the restoration of the house and gardens.

Very sadly they are not now in a position to complete the project and have to offer the house for sale.

Any interest in purchasing this wonderful piece of history in an unparalleled location should be addressed to Huw Beaugié at estates@thinksicily.com or +44 (0)20 7377 8518 (with a copy to celiacatchpole@yahoo.co.uk please) ; please mention to Huw that you are following up this lead as first seen on this website at www.casacuseni.org.

The house and garden continue to be supervised by the Cundari family who live in a house in the grounds.

2009