Anguilla’s Tuscan Treasures

Cliff side Mediterranean Style on Anguilla

Good morning,

An interesting design style that is embodied in a number of expatriate owned homes on Anguilla pays homage to Tuscan architecture, whereby the beauty of the style lies in combining “modern and classic elements that conjure up Old World Europe”.  Interestingly this motif was introduced to Anguilla by good friends and former business associates of mine, Jim & Robin Donegan, when they built their home on Captains Ridge Road in Island Harbour in early 2000’s. The main reason the design style works as well in the Caribbean as it does in the Mediterranean is (I believe) because of the similarity of climate and lifestyle–elegant but relaxed / comforting without being heavy / and with particular reference to the Caribbean, strong and resilient with regard to hurricane conditions…and with particular reference to Anguilla, the fact that Tuscan design features an “abundance of masonry” the style fits into Anguilla’s traditional reliance on and expertise in masonry work. While Anguillian construction workers were once referred to as “all-rounders” meaning they could handle any aspect of building a home (from laying blocks and pouring concrete to fitting pipes and pulling wires) masonry work was the bedrock upon which Anguilla homes post Hurricane Donna in 1960 were built (as referenced in one of my previous newsletters)

While a number of Tuscan inspired homes have used travertine / marble / granite from overseas, a number have opted for locally cut and sealed tiles using Anguilla’s native hard stone–a very attractive white veined stone used primarily for kitchen counters / flooring / wall detailing…while Anguillian “junks” (rocks approximately the size of an American football) were used in the 1800’s and 1900’s for building the numerous stone walls on island that separated grazing land from farm land or for crushing into aggregate for concrete, using large scale blocks of Anguilla rock from which tile could be cut began mid-2000.

Some fine examples of the Tuscan themed design under discussion that are currently being offered for sale are Hughes Hacienda at https://prorealtyanguilla.com/property/hughes-hacienda/ ; Villa Amarilla at https://prorealtyanguilla.com/property/villa-amarilla/ ; Doxies Dream at https://prorealtyanguilla.com/property/doxies-dream/ ; Anguilla Ambrosia at https://prorealtyanguilla.com/property/ambroziaks-ambrosia/  ; Alcyon Villa at https://prorealtyanguilla.com/property/alcyon-villa/ (all of which are lovely water front villas).

If you might be interested in learning more about any of the homes referenced above or in discussing Anguilla real estate and architecture further, I’d be delighted to hear from you.

Regards,

Scott L. Hauser, Director

PS: A lovely home of West India design previously referenced in of my newsletters as now posted on my Blog at https://prorealtyanguilla.com/blog/ and titled “Anguilla Architecture and Archetypes” has recently had its list price substantially reduced–not accuse of a diminution of property value per se, but due to the  personal issues…as such pls see:

shauser@profgroup.com

ProRealty (Anguilla) Ltd

www.prorealtyanguilla.com

Office Phone: 264.498.0123

https://airbnb.com/h/sweet-sea-side-suite-anguilla

https://airbnb.com/h/romantic-waterfront-penthouse