Property for Investment in Italy

If you are looking to invest or build up your property portfolio, why not consider Italy, a much loved country with frequent daily flights from the UK, and a property market which provides a vast choice of property.

As a holiday destination and place to live Italy is a recurrent favourite with the British. Whether going to Italy to ski, enjoy the lakes, take in some culture, laze on the beaches, walk in the hills or just enjoy the Italians relaxed way of life, Italy is the place for you. And let us not forget the wonderful food and delicious wines. Strategically, Italy's location dominates the central Mediterranean was well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe.

During the past several years, many people have expressed a desire to acquire real estate in Italy, whether for vacations or future retirement. Sometimes they make this decision after realizing they visit Italy regularly, sometimes they want to move there because they have relatives or friends nearby, sometimes they are looking for an investment property. Italy is a dream destination for property purchase, boasting three of the world's most beautiful cities just three hours from the UK. The diversity of Italy is appealing to all, and it is in an undeniably good location for both business and convenience.

With more than 39.8 million tourists a year Italy is the fourth most visited country in the world, perhaps because from antiquity to modern times, Italy has played a central role in world culture. Italians have contributed some of the world's most admired sculpture, architecture, painting, literature, and music.

AREAS

UMBRIA
Located in central Italy and well known as the 'Green Heart of Italy'. Just the thought of Umbria brings to mind a picture of peace and tranquillity, with its blend of medieval cities, lush rolling hills, mountains and valleys. This landlocked region is only 8,456 square kilometres in size but boasts an extremely varied landscape. There is an excellent road network enabling easy travel to Rome, the North and the Adriatic. There are wonderful museums in Perugia, Todi, Foligno and Montefalco, modern art galleries in Città di Castello, as well as the specialised wine and ceramic museums respectively in Torgiano and Deruta. Umbria offers great lakes, rivers and streams, such as Lake Trasimeno, Lake Piediluco, Lake Corbara and the river Tiber, the longest river that goes through the region from north to south.

The union of the rivers Nera and Velino, near the city of Terni forms the breathtaking Marmore Falls. Underground there are many caves and springs that are of enormous interest. Umbria is famous for its delicious yet simple cuisine. The principal products from the region include sausages, cheese, dairy products, legumes and truffles. The region's climate favours the cultivation of grape vines allowing for the production of world famous wines from Orvieto, Torgiano, and Montefalco. The region also offers many events during the year, including 'Umbria Jazz', the 'Two World Festival', the 'Sacred Music Festival, the 'Nations Festival'.

TUSCANY
Think of vineyards: rows of baby green vines, cypress trees, snaking sandy roads leading to rust-coloured farmhouses and moss coated castles, think Tuscany , a charmed land blessed by nature, a region rich in history and art. Tuscany will enchant you from the tiniest hamlet to Florence the Magnificent, a peerless city with masterpieces at every step, stroll along the elegant streets and through majestic squares. Siena is the heart of this land, with its famous Piazza del Campo set within a ring of palaces in a triumph of medieval architecture, Pisa with its famous Leaning Tower, Lucca with its still intact medieval village structure,and the grand Romanesque cathedral, don't leave town until you've had a chance to walk the ancient ramparts and enjoy a visit to the Puccini museum to honour the towns favorite son.

The Chianti hills is where the Manetti brothers bought their 22,000-acre estate and now the Fontodi Vigne is a prestigious wine known all the world over, Fontododi is derived from an ancient phrase fonte de oro, which means a place rich with water. All over this land, a calendar of timeless celebrations and traditions awakes your senses. A host of colourful outdoor food markets, spectacular natural parks, a mystery church, an ancient Etruscan mineral spa, and a thousand narrow farm roads waiting patiently for you to make the wrong turn and find your very own secret treasure, basking in the Tuscan sun, we dare you not to fantasize about living here.

MARCHES
Come to the Marches, try to understand its soul and its grasp of nature, its people who are polite and never meddlesome, a journey through Marche becomes a region of continuous surprise, with a reward of a deep memory that will last in your heart forever. Covering a area of just under 10,000 square kilometres, with four provinces, 1,000 monuments, 106 castles, and much more, Marche is a complex region, where history, culture and landscape have combined to create a unique place that is certainly worth a visit.

The Marche is right in the middle of the Italian peninsula, with the regions of Emilia-Romagana to the north and Abruzzo to the south, and from a narrow coastal plain the land rises sharply to the peaks of the Appennines which forms a natural boundary with Umbria and Tuscany to the west. Monte Vettore ( 2476 mts) is the highest mountain in the region, the rocky walls and crags have eerie names such as Devils Beard ( Pizzo del Diavolo) and Hells Gorge ( Gola dell'Infernaccio ) these are every bit as dramatic as the landscape of the Dolomites. The Frasassi Caves in the heart of the area are the longest and are amongst the most interesting in Italy with a 240 m high chamber which is large enough to hold Milan cathedral.

LAZIO
There is much more to Lazio than just Rome ! Apart from the area of Rome the east of the territory is mostly plain and hills, with mountains. Latium ( Lazio in Italian) is a region of central Italy bordered by Tuscany , Umbria , Abruzzo, and the Tyrrhenian Sea. Latium is extremely important for history, art, architecture, religion and 'football'.

Taking a break from the madness of the city, do as the Romans do: discover the wonderful Castelli Romani where you can absorb 2000 years of history. Just south of there, on the way to Naples , is the world-class spa town of Fiuggi , surrounded by a host of picturesque hill towns like the one featured in the movie For Rosanne. Head east to Rieti, where you can visit the tiny monasteries St Francis built, birthplace of the nativity scene and the Christmas tree. No matter whether you go north or south along the Latium coast, you will find wonderful sandy beaches and rocky coves for all tastes.

Location
Italy occupies a Peninsula running southeast into the Mediterranean from the mainland of Europe. Its land borders in the North are with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. To the East, Italy faces former Yugoslavia across the Adriatic Sea. To the west is the Tyrrhenian Sea. In the North, Italy shares the Alps with France, Austria and Switzerland. A major mountain chain, the Apennines, runs down the centre of the country.

Italy has many islands: the largest of them is Sicily. Sardinia, Elba and Capri are some of the other popular islands.

Main Cities
Italy also includes two separate principalities: Vatican City in Rome and San Marino.
Rome is the capital city and among other important cities are Florence, Genoa, Milan, Naples, Turin and Venice.

Population
The population of Italy was estimated at 57.6 million in 2005 of which 98% are Roman Catholics. There are small numbers of German, French and Slovene Italians in the north. In the south there are some Albanian and Greek Italians.

Language
The overwhelming majority of people speak Italian, although German is spoken around Bolzano, in the north near the Austrian border. Other minority languages include French, Albanian, Slovenian, Catalan, Sardinian, Croatian, and Greek.

Weather
The climate of Italy is highly diversified. The Italian weather is quite hot in summer, mainly in the south of the peninsula, with high nocturnal temperatures, whereas in the north of Italy there are usually thunderstorms. Winters are very cold and humid in the north and the mountainous zone. In spring and autumn, the Sirocco, a warm wind that comes from Africa, raises the temperature of the peninsula.

Religion
The dominant religion of Italy is Roman Catholicism, the faith of about 98 percent of the people. The Vatican City in Rome is the centre of the Roman Catholic Church. The Pope, originally the Bishop of Rome, is the head of the Church.

Government
Italy has been a democratic republic since June 2, 1946, when the monarchy was abolished by popular referendum.

Economy
Italy has a diversified industrial economy with roughly the same total and per capita output as France and the UK. This capitalistic economy remains divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and a less developed, welfare-dependent agricultural south, with 20% unemployment. The economy is considered the seventh largest in the world.

Local Time
GMT + 1 (GMT + 2 from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in September)

Currency
The unit of currency is the Euro (€)

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