Masseria, Baglio and Farmhouse Restoration in Sicily
Restoration of masserie, bagli, casali and rural estates across Sicily, as private homes or for hospitality. We handle stone buildings, dry stone walls, outbuildings, independent water and energy systems, and landscape permits.
About This Service
Terra Nostra Costruzioni restores masserie, bagli, casali and whole rural estates in Sicily, turning them into private homes, family retreats or hospitality businesses. We are based in Palermo and work anywhere on the island, from the bagli of western Sicily to the masserie and casali of the interior, the south-east, the slopes of Etna and the Madonie. Our clients are Italian and foreign buyers who want a property that works and feels comfortable, yet still looks as if it belongs to its land.
A rural estate is a group of buildings, not a single house. A baglio is built around an enclosed courtyard, with living quarters, stores, stables and often a press for wine or oil. A masseria spreads out across the land with barns, animal sheds, threshing floors and water tanks. Some buildings deserve to be restored exactly as they are, others need new roofs or floors, and a few may only be worth their stone. Restoring an estate means deciding what each building will become, which ones to repair first, and how to bring water, power and road access to places that often have no public network at all.
We take that on as a single project. We can help you find the right estate and check its legal and structural state before you buy. We then survey every building, plan the uses with your architect and interior designer, and prepare the permits, including the landscape authorisation where the land is protected. Our teams handle stone masonry, roofs, dry stone walls, impianti and interiors, and we design the independent systems: water collection, storage and treatment, solar power and wastewater, so that the property runs on its own. Interiors keep the character of the stone, the vaults and the old floors while bringing in kitchens, bathrooms and lighting made for modern life.
If you live abroad, we manage everything in English or Italian, with one contact on WhatsApp and email and regular photo and video updates from site. With more than 200 projects completed in Sicily, we are used to the scale of these jobs and we prefer them: estates where the main house, the outbuildings and the land have to be planned together. We also take care of the outdoor spaces, from courtyards to terraces and pergolas, because on a Sicilian estate much of life happens outside.
The result we aim for is simple. Thick stone walls that stay cool in summer, roofs that keep the rain out, systems that run quietly, and a property you can live in, let or open to guests without fighting it every season.
What makes a masseria, baglio or casale different from a house
Sicilian rural buildings were made with what the land provided: local stone laid in lime or earth mortar, roofs of timber and coppi tiles, floors of beaten earth, cotto or stone. Walls are thick but often built as two faces with rubble in between, and generations of additions mean one wing may be sound while the next has never had proper foundations. In western Sicily the baglio closes around a courtyard behind a large gate, a layout that was defensive and practical at once. Elsewhere, masserie and casali sit open on the land, with storerooms, palmenti for pressing grapes, stables and threshing floors around the main house.
The land is part of the property. Dry stone walls, the muretti a secco recognised by UNESCO as intangible heritage in 2018, hold terraces, line tracks and divide fields, and they are rebuilt by hand with the stone already on site. Old cisterns, wells and irrigation channels can often be brought back into use, and olive groves, citrus, vineyards or pasture may stay productive. A restoration that deals with the house alone and ignores walls, water and land usually ends up costing more later, when those problems reach the buildings.
Permits and landscape constraints for restoring a rural estate in Sicily
Works on existing rural buildings are filed with the Comune under the building titles of DPR 380/2001, applied in Sicily through L.R. 16/2016: CILA, SCIA or Permesso di Costruire, depending on the works and on any change of use. Turning barns and stores into homes or guest rooms is a change of use, so the zoning of the land and the legal status of each building must be checked first. Old rural buildings sometimes need their records updated at the Catasto, and additions made over the years must be verified before a design can rely on them. Structural works follow NTC 2018 and are filed with the provincial Genio Civile.
Landscape is the other major layer. Much of the Sicilian countryside falls under the provincial landscape plans, and wherever a landscape constraint applies, such as the coastal strip within 300 metres of the shore (D.Lgs. 42/2004, art. 142), works that change the outside of a building need an autorizzazione paesaggistica. Land inside the Parco dell'Etna, nature reserves or other protected areas has its own zoning. If you are thinking of an agriturismo, remember that it has to be run by a farming business connected to the land. We check all of this during the survey, ideally before the purchase.
How we restore a masseria or baglio end to end
We start by understanding the whole estate. If you are still choosing, we help you search for the right property and look at access, water, structure and paperwork before you sign. Once it is yours, we survey every building, map the services that exist and those that are missing, and agree with you and your architect what each building will be: main house, guest suites, staff quarters, a winery, an events space. Interior designers join early, because the way rooms are used decides where water, power and heating have to arrive.
Works then move building by building under one project manager. Our masons consolidate stone walls, rebuild roofs and vaults and restore the muretti a secco. Our teams install impianti designed for a property that may sit outside every network: rainwater collection, water storage and treatment, photovoltaic power with batteries, heat pumps, and a wastewater system authorised for the site. Interiors, kitchens, bathrooms and outdoor spaces follow, and we hand over a property that is ready to use. Owners abroad receive regular photo and video updates and speak to one bilingual contact throughout.
What to plan for: access, seasons, phasing and hospitality use
Access shapes the programme. Unpaved tracks, narrow bridges and steep slopes limit the size of trucks, and heavy winter rain can make some country roads hard to use for days. Summer heat inland makes heavy outdoor work slower and harder on materials, so we concentrate structural and roofing work outside the hottest weeks and move inside when the heat peaks. If the land is farmed, the works should also respect the olive and grape harvests, when tracks and yards are busy.
Most estates are restored in phases. A common sequence is to make the main house habitable first, so you can stay on the property, and then convert the outbuildings one at a time. For hospitality, the number of rooms, kitchens, parking and the type of business, whether agriturismo, country house or hotel, define the permits, the fire and safety requirements and the size of the systems. That choice belongs at the start of the design, not after the works. We plan each phase so it leaves the property usable and the next one easy to begin.
What's Included
Why Choose Terra Nostra
Our Process
A clear, structured approach ensures your project runs smoothly from start to finish.
Estate Brief
We discuss the property, or the ones you are considering, and what you want it to become: home, retreat or hospitality.
Due Diligence and Survey
Legal status, zoning, access, water and structure checked, then every building surveyed and its condition recorded.
Masterplan and Design
With your architect and interior designer we assign a use to each building and plan the systems and the phases.
Permits
Building titles, change of use, landscape authorisation and Genio Civile filings prepared and followed through.
Works by Phase
Stone, roofs, dry stone walls, independent systems and interiors carried out building by building, with regular updates.
Handover
Systems tested, a walkthrough together, and a property ready to live in, let or open to guests.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about our masseria, baglio and farmhouse restoration in sicily services
Can a masseria or baglio be turned into a boutique hotel or agriturismo?
Often yes, depending on the zoning of the land, the legal status of the buildings and the permits for change of use. An agriturismo must be run by a farming business linked to the land, while a country house or hotel follows the rules for accommodation businesses. We check which model fits before the design starts.
What if the property has no mains water, electricity or sewer?
That is common in rural Sicily and it can be solved. We design independent systems: rainwater collection and storage with treatment, photovoltaic power with batteries, heat pumps, and a wastewater system authorised for the site. Sizing them correctly depends on how many people will use the property and when.
Do I need landscape permission to restore a farmhouse?
Only where a landscape constraint applies, but in Sicily that is frequent: the coastal strip within 300 metres of the shore, protected areas and many zones of the provincial landscape plans. Where it applies, works that change the outside need an autorizzazione paesaggistica. We check this before design, ideally before purchase.
Do you rebuild dry stone walls?
Yes. We rebuild muretti a secco by hand with the stone already on site, keeping the original line and technique. They hold terraces, drain the land and are part of the character of the estate, so we treat them as part of the restoration, not an extra.
Can I live on the estate while the works continue?
Yes, if the project is phased. We usually make the main house habitable first and then work on the outbuildings, keeping the site fenced off and access routes separate so daily life and the works do not cross.
Can you help me find a masseria or baglio to buy?
Yes. We can help with the search and, above all, check a property before you commit: access, water, structure, zoning and the legal status of each building. Knowing these points first is what keeps a rural restoration on track.
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