Living in a small Italian town

When thinking about owning a property in Italy is nearly impossible not to picture the typical farm house in the country side, most likely in the Tuscan style, surrounded only by lovely hills and an ocean of green grass. This image reflects what the majority of non-Italians look for when they consider buying a home in Italy. However, there's also a fast-growing number of buyers who prefer to own a home within a village. This choice is at first taken for one main reason, which goes according to with each one's personality: there are people who crave for the peace and loneliness of an isolated home and people who just don't!

 

In fact, buyers very fond of the Italian culture and people usually prefer to live in villages or small towns, as they offer much greater chance to stay in contact with locals, thus learn the language more quickly and get a better idea of this culture and its life style. This also gives the possibility to have nice and warm neighbours, which is always good to feel more welcome and more part of a community.

 

There are other more down-to-earth reasons why people choose a property in a village. First of all a village home is generally cheaper than a farmhouse placed in the surrounding country side, shops and amenities are obviously nearer, most of the time at a walking distance, as well as are services and transports. If you consider buying within a medieval town, you are likely to find village houses or apartments to have pretty much the same features as farmhouses, all features that make farmhouses so appealing such as thick stone walls - which retain warm in winter and keep cool in summer – terracotta tiled floors, exposed wooden beams, fireplaces and even a garden if you are lucky (or simply have a higher budget).

 

As there is no good without evil, there are also no pros without cons, and in fact there are some. Even though in smaller municipalities is generally easier to get planning permission to modify your home, it is more likely to get them for properties outside towns rather than for homes set within villages, as towns must abide to stricter planning rules. Often also parking or get access with the car close enough to your home in a town can be tricky, particularly in the beautiful small villages characterised by narrow streets built many centuries ago, when the main transport means were donkeys and horses and cars where far away from even being thought of. In historic towns, especially in tourist areas during summer time, it is likely that you could be kept awaken at nights by music and sounds of town fairs and events where can be enjoyed representations, food, drinks (usually local wine), etc., although I'm not sure this should go within the cons...

 

With the whole of Italy dotted with thousands of wonderful towns and villages, there are plenty of varieties to choose from: you can find villages on high mountains, on hill tops, by the shores of beautiful lakes, on cliffs right above the sea, by the coast and so on and so forth. If it is a restoration project what you are looking for then you'll be well served as there is a huge amount of homes awaiting restoration, even whole abandoned villages that need to be completely reconstructed, with purchase prices ridiculously low, although you must be aware that all the costs lay in the restoration. A good example of it is the restoration project of the Sicilian abandoned town of Salemi, where homes are for sale for just 1 Euro, although must be restored in accordance with some rules such as keep the original features and hire only local renovation companies; or the town of Calitri, in the province of Avellino, Campania, a town that was abandoned after the earthquake of 1980 and that has now nearly come back completely to life.

 

If, instead, all you desire is a beautifully restored home without all the hassle of renovation, you can be happily satisfied. Apart from the myriads of completely restored town houses and apartments, there's the fantastic trend nowadays to renovate medieval watchtowers, castles, mills and even churches, as a whole or split into smaller portions or apartments, giving the chance not only to live a beautiful and charming home, but also to preserve a piece of history and culture of that place.

 

From the furthest north to the furthest south of Italy, you can find stunning towns, each one with its own history, culture, food and traditions. Just pick the one you prefer and if that's what you are looking for you'll be the happiest person in the world.

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