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Title: Investing in Italian real estate? Head for Umbria Category: Real estate Word Count: 551 Author: Adriana Giglioli Email: [email protected] Websites: http://www.homesandvillasabroad.com/ and http://www.homesandvillasabroad.com/umbria-property/ Keywords: Real estate, Italy real estate, property in Italy, Venice real estate, property for sale in Italy Formatted to a maximum of 65cpl =============ARTICLE START ============== Copyright (c) 2009 Adriana Giglioli http://www.homesandvillasabroad.com/ <http://www.homesandvillasabroad.com/> Investing in Italian real estate? Head for Umbria There have been many inventive descriptions of the region of Umbria inItaly. Like Cumbria in England but without the C, runs one play onwords. Like a new Tuscany but without the masses of tourists andfrightening real estate values, goes another description. In truth, it does Umbria an injustice to compare it to Tuscany or to a bleak corner of the United Kingdom for that matter. The comparisons with Tuscany hold more than a grain of truth. Like itsfamous neighbour to the west, Umbria is scattered with scenic medievalhilltowns and villages, separated by rolling olive and pine groves. However, it boasts several attractions of its own but has perhaps beenovershadowed by Tuscany for far too long. Umbria, right in heart ofItaly, forms the most beautiful three per cent of Italy's landmass,many of the cognoscenti would argue. Pay a visit here and you would behard-pressed to disagree. The publicity leaflets proudly hail Umbria as The Green Heart of Italy,in large part for its seven gigantic national parks, those of MtSubasio and Mt Cucco being the best known. To its west is LakeTrasimeno, while the River Tiber and its tributaries wind their waythrough Umbria's valleys and ravines. Being landlocked, it may lack Tuscany's famed beach resorts but it morethan makes up for that with its majestic landscape, full of castles andfortresses, of magnificent hills and spellbinding hilltowns such asPerugia, Todi, Spoleto and Assisi. Better still, these attractive towns and villages are within sufficientproximity of one another to be visited in one fell swoop, even on arelatively brief trip. Add to the mix Umbria's burgeoning real estate market and theestablishment of an international airport in Perugia in 2006 and thesoaring appeal of owning real estate here begins to make increasingsense. What's more, it is far less pricy than fashionable Tuscany. Property near Lake Trasimeno is hugely popular, especially as the lakeattracts legions of water sports enthusiasts. But even here there arevery affordable opportunities. On the northern banks, for instance in Tuoro sul Trasimeno, expectUS$140,000 for a one-bedroom apartment and US$175,000 for a new-buildtwo-bedroom apartment. On the southern shore, in Citta della Pieve which has the ambience of a Tuscan town but without the frighteningprices budget US$200,000 for a two-bedroom apartment. Elsewhere in Umbria, how about a 100sq m fixer-upper in Gubbio for justUS$100,000? Or an 80sq m apartment in Spoleto, ready to move into, forjust US$98,000? However, the real bargains are to be unearthed in the south of Umbria,with prices often 50 per cent cheaper than what you would come acrosselsewhere in the region. In Narni expect to pay around US$195,000 for atwo-bedroom house, while in nearby Amelia budget US$20,000 less for athree-bedroom home. If this is your first trip to Umbria and you want to get a good feelfor the place, use Orvieto or Assisi as a base. Must-sees includeAssisi and other art cities such as Perugia, Spoleto, Gubbio andOrvieto; Lake Trasimeno; and Italy's most amazing waterfall, theCascate delle Marmore. Here for seven days or more? Then make sure youritinerary includes the likes of Todi, Narni, Spello, Trevi, Citta diCastello and Bevagna. Adriana Giglioli writes for Homes and Villas Abroad.com <http://www.homesandvillasabroad.com/> , which offers2,500 homes for sale in Italy. Her specialist areas include Calabria property <http://www.homesandvillasabroad.com/calabria-property/> and property in Tuscany <http://www.homesandvillasabroad.com/tuscany-property/> . [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
