Since restoring our first property well over 10 years ago, and having helped many clients create their own dream homes along the way, my husband and I decided that it would be rather fun and a good investment to have another go at restoring a dilapidated property for ourselves. It wasn’t quite the right time for us to be undertaking a big restoration project, but we felt it was definitely something that we wanted to get working on. We decided Lake Como was the right location for us and bega...

Arguably one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations, and since it features so frequently in film and literature Rome has, perhaps unfairly, been called a cliché. In any case, the locale needs little introduction, even to those who’ve never visited the ancient city. But it didn’t reach the top of the tourist charts without good reason, and it’s understandable that people are drawn to the historical fortress city like bees to honey.

Aside from being a true tourist magn...

Villa Nautica is located on the shores of Lake Como near the town of Calico. This 1950s architect-designed villa sits in 3.5ha of beautiful gardens – this allows the property to enjoy complete tranquillity and privacy. The property is for sale in immaculate condition, but there is scope for improvement in the older part of the villa.

The villa is elegantly furnished with cool colours and fabrics. The colour theme across the house is generally white, which gives it a calm and inviting...

Vicarello di Volterra offers a unique European getaway in one of Italy’s most enduringly popular regions

In the countryside near Volterra, one of Italy’s historical towns, the restoration of the medieval hamlet of Vicarello is due to be ready for Summer 2011. This is a wonderful opportunity for those in search of a rare, exclusive atmosphere.

10 reasons to invest in Vicarello historical residences
1. Unique, prestigious homes
There are ...

It’s probably fair to say that most of us would find the idea of abandoning all our creature comforts and social support networks, friends and family, to move to an entirely foreign country with the sole intention of learning its language, an intimidating, if not wholly frightening experience. Some might even call it foolhardy, yet back in 1997 this was the exact course of action Melinda Gallo, a twenty-nine year-old computer consultant, decided to take.

For those first few weeks...

“Would you like to come in for a cup of tea?”

I don’t usually drink tea but on this occasion I readily accepted the offer and practically bounded up the steps to the front door. Georgina was equally enthusiastic. After a week of struggling away with our pidgin Italian it was a relief to find someone who spoke English and this lady didn’t just speak English, she was English.

We were once again in the Garfagnana, an enchanting province of northern Tuscany not unlike the En...

Tuscany is not all sunshine, fine wines and ice cream. It has some pretty fierce winters, especially in the mountainous Garfagnana region where Georgina and I are in the process of buying a home. But one of the reasons that Georgina is excited about our move is that she is keen to take up skiing again after a break of several years. The house we’ve set our hearts on is just 40 minutes by car from Abetone – a ski resort high in The Apennines – where, I am reliably informed, the snow is e...

Whether buyers are looking for a rental investment, a place for the summer, or are moving lock, stock and barrel to Italy, there are few companies better placed to serve individuals’ needs and concerns than Fervidus White.

Bi-lingual husband and wife team Steve and Karen White work principally around Lake Como, through Umbria and Tuscany, and all along the Amalfi Coast, and have built up a strong reputation with people interested in moving into the area for their dedicated pers...

Outsiders are quick in finding the right box for the Italian economy and property market. Two decades of anaemic economic growth, the absence of meaningful structural reforms and notorious dysfunctional politics do not help Italy’s reputation as an investment destination. Additionally, the global recession has earned Italy a membership in the infamous ‘Club Med’, alongside the struggling economies of Greece, Portugal and Spain. Financial markets are nervous towards this group of souther...

How, I asked myself, is it possible to be imprecise about the ownership of a house? And so began a voyage into the murky labyrinth that is Italian inheritance law and a side trip into the arena of familial bickering.

A few weeks ago, after several months of searching, Georgina and I found our dream home in Italy. It is a grand old house in a picturesque hilltop village in the Garfagnana region of northern Tuscany. It needs a bathroom, it needs a kitchen, it needs to be painted and furn...

Surely this must count among the finest opening gambits ever uttered during house price deliberations. Later, in Roy’s office, I joked that the entire community would hate us if we bargained too hard and left them without enough money to pay for repairs to the church roof. As it turned out the canonica, or rectory, in the hilltop hamlet of Bargecchia, was for sale with only the tiniest of gardens so it didn’t suit us. But if outside space is not one of your priorities and you’re looking...

Clinging to the steep flanks of a hillside in Umbria, a region commonly referred to by its countrymen as ‘the green heart of Italy’, is the historic town of Spoleto. A site of habitation since 1500 BC, the town is linked by a majestic 13th century aqueduct, to the steep, verdant slopes of Monteluca in the Apennine Mountains, where St. Francis it is believed to have had the first of the visions that changed his life.

Eight hundred years later another man has arrived in Spoleto and m...

For those looking for genuine high style marina living, then unique Marina di Varazze has to be close to the top of the short-list. Marina Di Varazze is no ordinary waterways environment; the carefully judged jetties echo gentle, curving lines of the marina and all surrounding buildings and apartments are clad in the highest quality iroko wood and natural stone. It’s a soothing, tranquil environment in the early morning and evening, but during the day it bustles with vibrancy says Mr Em...

It all started with some idle chat about Italy. Why were so many Northern Europeans attempting – and attempting was often the word – to buy property in certain parts of Italy? Why did so many, after a while, have to give up the dream? And what were the rewards for those who succeeded? Daniele Bonvicini and his father, also an entrepreneur, had asked a question that took them some time to find an answer to. They started to do some research. Many parts of Italy, they discovered, off...

Those doom-laden words rang in my ears as I climbed into my rented car and set off to view a property in the hilltop village of Prignano Cilento. The warning had come two weeks earlier from my friend, Gianpiero, when I told him I was contemplating a permanent move there. Given that Gianpiero is a highly intelligent, well-travelled, street-smart Italian if I hadn’t already paid for the flights I might have had second thoughts. But it was too late to back out so a fortnight later Georgina...