Peloponnese, GreeceVilla Pati

The property for sale starts with a stunning flowered courtyard, a pergola offering a shady and quiet corner for lounging about. Facing the sea for over a hundred years, the houses rise over several stories resting on and embedded in the rock, their back protected by an imposing cliff with the impressive Upper Town fortress as a backdrop, and a plunging view of the sea over a line of ochre coloured roof tiles.

Behind traditional thick stone walls and sturdy wooden doors and windows, the property offers at once both a warm intimacy and an exceptional location in the Kastro: the cafés, bars and restaurants are close by, and the sea at your feet. The buildings owe their charm to a mixed Byzantine and Ottoman heritage, each corner having its own particular spell.

The property comprises three conjoined but distinct buildings, totalling a surface area of 381 m2, which share a central courtyard of 40 m2. Each house is independent, thereby offering the possibility for three distinct dwellings that could be used for visitors or to rent out.

The houses have been maintained with care and love and are ready for immediate occupancy. Two of the houses have been exploited as a guesthouse (Monopati Residence) over the last 13 years, but are residential in character: a perfect atmosphere of bohemian-chic.

The central courtyard leads to the Main House with 205 m2 of surface area and two entrances. A beautiful stone staircase rises to the upper floor and gives onto a spacious living area with a majestic wooden ceiling framework and polished wooden floor, an open fireplace in one corner, and an elegant bookcase. Three steps up is the kitchen, fully equipped in a modern fashion but with a few nods to a more traditional lifestyle. Tall windows bathe the entire level in sunlight. Leading out from the kitchen is a large terrace with a panoramic view that takes one’s breath away: the jewel of the House!

A wooden staircase descends to the lower level, where a small bridge crosses over the old water cistern embedded in the stone of the rock itself. To the right is a comfortable bedroom with a double bed. To the left, a corridor with thick stone walls gives onto the bathroom, renovated in 2018, and with its own original touch: we are in a cistern.

The second entrance to the Main House is located at the courtyard level and gives onto a large utility room with a wardrobe and several cupboards, a large washbasin, and work counter. This “garden room” joins two houses; on one side is the Main House and on the other is the “annexe”.

The annexe is a vast room with a wooden floor arranged so that one feels like being in a studio apartment. A stone arch divides the room, with a study / sitting area on one side and a double bed on the other. A wood separation wall, comprising a wardrobe, hides a walk-in bathroom with bathtub and window. Finally, a doorway leads onto a terrace with a spectacular view. The sun rises behind the rampart just in front of you.

An internal stairway, which can be closed off, descends to the second independent Apartment of 59 m2. The entrance to the Apartment is on a lower level in the alleyway just below where a table and chairs are placed to take advantage of the calm and starry nights. The door opens onto a small hall and a few steps up to the living area with a kitchenette and dining table. An arch separates the two bedrooms – one double bed and the other single – and the bathroom with a shower. As mentioned, this Apartment can be connected to the annexe just above and thus offer a larger living area and extra bedroom.

The Little House is a separate building of 116 m2 on two floors whose main entrance is on the upper level, just before entering the courtyard. On entry, there is a dining area, and then a large living room with traditional wooden ceiling framework and rich dark wood floor and a stone fireplace. A double-panelled door gives onto a small terrace overlooking the ruins of a Byzantine church with a view of the majestic cliff and Upper Town ramparts on one side, and a slice of the sea at the horizon on the other. Over the years, we have added a roof terrace above the dining area to better appreciate the panorama.

A few steps down the staircase leads to the fully equipped kitchen. A few more steps and you reach the lower level with two bedrooms, one of which is a vaulted room found intact during the excavation of the site and containing a double bed. The other bedroom is on two levels: a mezzanine with a large bed and a single bed a few steps down. Follow a small corridor located between the two bedrooms, past a series of spacious cupboards, and come upon a bathroom with tub.

An independent common cellar for utilities (water, electricity, heating) and storage of 20 m2 completes the property.