Hi everyone,
The final chapters to my big 5 yr plan are starting to approach. I'd said I wanted a place in Turkey, the South of France and in Italy. With the three I hope I can make a decent enough living to slow down a bit.
Well, the Turkey and France places have, with much sweat and toil, been finished and I'm summoning up those last reserves of energy and effort to get one more in Italy. No more after that!!!
I've started getting an idea of the location. The Turkey and France place have taught me that this part is essential to get right. It has also taught me that what you set out to do is rarely what you end up buying!!
In any case, my preliminaries are telling me to look in a 50km kilometre radius of Rome Ciampino Airport. With access like that from all over Europe, I figure business could be quite good. I also feel that there might still be a gem or two waiting out there to be bought and done up: a bit too far out for Roman urbanites to buy and an area which most foreign buyers overlook.
The plan is to drive around this winter and see if there is anything that tickles my fancy. It will also have to comply with the "hide-away" theme of my two other properties.
The Italian house will also be different to the other two in another way. Having roamed the planet now for nearly 15 years and having just recently got married, it is clearly time to settle down somewhere. Therefore, where I buy is also going to become home. My provisional idea at the moment is to buy a country house and then rent another one in a big town or city nearby (need to think about shops, schools, etc now!). At the moment, I'm thinking of Rieti, Terni or even Frosinone(yes, I know!)
My questions to my fellow holiday home renters out there are:
- Are there any gem areas which you could recommend? I'm open at the moment to anywhere in the South or Centre of Italy (I'm originally from Pompei).
- What do you think of my Ciampino idea?
- Does anyone know anything about the towns of Rieti, Terni or Frosinone?
Mille grazie,
Gx
The Italian House Hunt soon to begin!
Can't really help you since I'm in Campania....but good luck! I think your idea of gertting close to Rome is a good one....we usually fly into rome and than have a 3 1/2 hour drive south (!) so I will certainly look for somewhere closer to a MAJOR airport next time around 
Very impressive that you're on your thrid place!
Very impressive that you're on your thrid place!
Hi Gino I have been pondering about publishing this because I don't want to be responsible for a flood of people invading the area, but it will happen anyway as people get to know what it is like. We are in the Tuscia, Etruscan country, northern Lazio. The geography is varied and fantastic, history is everywhere, food is glorious and the wine even better. People are friendly and still enjoy traditional routines (it can be infuriating if you want something done!) Lazio can be a bit chaotic and I suggest you need to move as much as possible near to the Umbrian border. We are in Bagnoregio (Civita di Bagnoregio where they filmed some scene from the "English Patient" and recently featured in the Sunday Times Travel supplement) dates back to the Etruscans and is unique. Lake Bolsena it's a little unknown jewels and the English are just starting to colonize the area There are plenty of German and Dutch tourists during the summer and agriturismi are opening up more and more.The area is well positioned to explore southern Tuscany, Umbria and northern Lazio (Tarquinia, Tuscania, Vulci and the Mediterranean elegant Porto Ercole or isola del Giglio You have the choice of 3 airports Ciampino, Fiumicino for the US and Perugia and the cost of casali is lower then in Umbria, but it will not stay like this for long!. I am happy to answer any more questions you may have
Giulia
http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/rental ... lsena/6062
http://www.laporcilaia.co.uk
Giulia
http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/rental ... lsena/6062
http://www.laporcilaia.co.uk
Gino
I'm very much with Giulia, however you may not be aware that Rome is going to make Viterbo it's 3rd airport, suposedly for it's charter traffic, which is just south of Lago Bolsena, thus I would suggest looking in the area to the north of the lago, around Orvieto, Terni or Todi. Orvieto has the huge advantage of being a major railway stop, as you may know, thus very useful to tourists.
Good luck and let us know how you get on with your search.
Chianti
I'm very much with Giulia, however you may not be aware that Rome is going to make Viterbo it's 3rd airport, suposedly for it's charter traffic, which is just south of Lago Bolsena, thus I would suggest looking in the area to the north of the lago, around Orvieto, Terni or Todi. Orvieto has the huge advantage of being a major railway stop, as you may know, thus very useful to tourists.
Good luck and let us know how you get on with your search.
Chianti
subject
If you still undecided, I would recommend Piedmont. Snow in the winter, sunny in the spring and summer. around two hours drive to south of France and the lakes. An hours drive to Liguria. Still very Italian except few English/American. Germans for many wine lovers or in wine trade. Also home to the " slow food" movement.