A Restored Italian Seaside Apartment

Name: Maria Teresa
Location: Siracusa, Ortigia, Italy
The basics: Less than a year, owned — 80 meters (860 square feet)

Maria Teresa’s apartment is a perfect sea side get away. With low key furnishings that blend old and new and keep the space feeling light, the whole apartment has a breezy feel to it that just invites you to relax.

Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there: Suite 18 is a very special place, always filled with light and sea breeze; it is my peaceful nest in the colorful and vibrating little universe of the island of Ortygia, Syracuse’s old town. This was the first building I visited when I decided to buy an apartment here and even though it was dark and crumbling, I immediately felt that that place was magic! After a long restoration process, I am really proud of the results.

Located on the first floor of a beautiful building from the 1890s, Suite 18 measures about 80 square meters (860 square feet) on two levels. The front door takes you into an open-plan space, with a well-equipped kitchen and a dining area; right next to it, you enter the beautiful living area with a vaulted ceiling and a balcony with an enchanting view of the sea and the harbor. The large, comfortable sofa, two armchairs and flat-screen TV make this room perfect for relaxing at the end of a busy day; next to the balcony an extendable round table is perfectly placed for the morning coffee, sunset aperitifs and romantic dinners. I put a small table and two chairs on the balcony to enjoy the sun and the fresh sea breeze and to watch the fishing boats setting out in the morning and arriving back in port at sunset. A stylish bathroom with shower completes the living area. On the mezzanine floor, the master bedroom has en-suite bathroom with shower and a closet.

What is your favorite room and why? I absolutely love my living room with its high ceiling and its delightful, small balcony overlooking the natural harbor of Syracuse’s Great Port. From there I can enjoy one of the most beautiful sunsets in the world (it was Cicero who said that Syracuse’s sunset was one of the seven wonders of the world).

If you could magically change something about your home, what would it be? I would put a large skylight in my bedroom ceiling. It would be lovely to sleep under the stars, especially during our magical Sicilian summer nights.

What’s the last thing you bought (or found!) for your home? My grandfather’s typewriter. It is a black and gold Stoewer and I spent a whole day cleaning and polishing it. Now it is on show at Suite18, on my grandfather’s old desk.

Which fictional character would be most at home in your place? Ann (Audrey Hepburn) the princess of “Roman Holiday” together with Joe( Gregory Peck), for a romantic vacation in Siracusa.

Any advice for creating a home you love? Follow your heart and put everything you love in it.

Thanks, Maria Teresa !

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