La Piazza, an Italian restaurant located in the heart of York city centre, has come to market through Christie & Co with a leasehold asking price of £150k.

Christie & Co stated that this is an incredible opportunity to own a piece of Yorkshire history dating all the way back to the 16th century.

The restaurant is owned by York Conservation Trust due to its age and history, which includes an intriguing tale of Yorkshire’s saddest ghost.

Marmaduke Buckle lived in the property between 1697 and 1715. Marmaduke was disabled, and after being accused of witchcraft, carved his name into the wall and the beam, and then hung himself from it. The carvings are still visible to this day and provide a unique selling point to this property.

Current owner Emilio Comito and his family have been running the successful Italian restaurant for over 25 years, they are now looking to sell in order to enjoy their retirement.

Simon Burbridge, Business Agent for Christie & Co comments, “La Piazza presents a very exciting opportunity for new owners to either continue serving excellent genuine Italian food or take this fantastic city centre building and create something new and exciting along Goodramgate.

“This sort of building, coupled with its history and success is sure to attract huge amounts of interest. We have seen a surge in the numbers of leasehold hospitality businesses being bought and sold in recent times and this should be no different.”