CURRENT PROJECTS

Our company is able to provide a full service in assisting our buyers in all aspects of the buying process including a liaison service with contractors and technicians (surveyors, engineers) for any repair, restyling or restoration work, following them in every stage of the restoration process until the handling over of the keys.

Here below you can see some of our current projets:

Donald and Denise - Washington DC Today, Euganean Hills in our Future

Donald and Denise - Washington DC Today, Euganean Hills in our Future. It is now August 2008. Exactly two years ago we discovered Properties In Italy on the internet. Today we own a vineyard in the Euganean Hills with an old stone farmhouse undergoing restoration. All this was made possible because of the passion and professionalism of the Properties in Italy team - Andrea, Max and Giancarlo. This is our story. It can be yours, too. In August 2006, I had just turned 44 and had retired from the US Air Force the year prior. I was ready for a new direction in my life. Denise had at least five years to go before she could retire, but we had decided that we would stop just talking about moving to Italy and start the serious process of property hunting. Why Italy? Simply put, we had visited Italy on numerous occasions, and we always felt at home there with the people, the culture, the history, the scenery, the food and wine. We were always asking ourselves why we were leaving when it was time to return to the US. In case we only get one chance at life, we were going to make our goal of a "life more grounded" come true, and do so in Italy. Of course our family and friends listened to our plans and nodded with approval, but they figured it was just talk. Even in the military community, moving to foreign lands was done under the control of Uncle Sam, and overseas military bases are self-sustaining mini-Americas, complete with fast food, American TV and U.S. electrical power. In my case, because of my specialty in the Air Force, I was never assigned overseas. Denise and I had a lot to learn. We began our journey pro forma for the modern human - read some books, and a lot of internet time. We discovered that, as a foreigner and non-EU citizen, purchasing property in Italy can be complicated. Not nearly impossible like in some places in Europe, but not easy either. Our preference was not to purchase a modern apartment but something older and more rural with land, which is not what your routine Italian realtor seemed to advertise or specialize. There are lots of on-line property services plying their wares, making grand promises, but very few were appealing. Many are too slick and impersonal, focused only on the rich clients ready to plunk down a million dollars on a villa. Alas, we are not one of those clients. Having narrowed our search to the Veneto, we began searching for properties in some of the green valleys that we had previously visited. From somewhere I had read of the Euganean Hills, and it seemed just like what we were looking for. A quiet and verdant oasis not too far from the action in the Veneto art cities of Venice, Verona, Padua and Vicenza. We found the Property in Italy website through a simple web search. We started an email conversation with Andrea. In October 2006 we were visiting the area to see some of their property for sale. We didn't find our property on that first visit, but we did make some friends. We made immediate positive connections with Max and Andrea. Young and determined to build their new business, yet passionate about the Hills and its preservation. No hard sell tactics. They went out of their way - literally - to show us properties all around the Hills. Homes ready to move into and buildings needing restoration. They explained to us how the property process works and how they can work with us to make it happen. We had dinner with them and their friends. They introduced us to an American couple who were one of their first customers. We quickly became good friends. The Americans are assigned to an Army Post in Vicenza, had purchased local property and were in the process of restoring a home. They gave us a glowing recommendation about the commitment and honesty of Andrea and Max. We fell in love with the Hills. It all clicked for us. We would be back again. Indeed, we returned in May 2007, and found the property that we wanted. In a hamlet called Faedo, it is a vineyard with an old stone farmhouse needing total restoration. It already had permissions for the expansion and restoration of the building, which is a significant advantage. A big project considering that we needed to be in the US during the action, but we were confident in the team. On this visit we met Beth and Nigel Walsh, who were using the Properties In Italy team to restore an old watch tower in the Hills, and they reinforced our confidence. Most of the construction and restoration of the Tower was accomplished while they are in the UK, and they assured us that they never felt uneasy about the quality of the work performed. In fact, they admitted that when they did get the chance to visit, they found that the quality was always better than they had dreamed. Giancarlo, the project engineer, had kept them well informed of the work, sent frequent pictures and reports, and tracked expenditures very closely. Very professional. Giancarlo was to manage the restoration of our property too! It wasn't until October 2007 that we finally concluded the purchase of our property. We decided to save our cash (from the sale of our house in the US) to start the restoration, and so needed an Italian bank loan for a mortgage. Not being EU citizens and not living in Europe proved to be problematic, but Max and Andrea made it happen. They filled out loan application paperwork for us. Max met appraisers at the property in the rain. It took a while, but it finally came together. Max handled all the business matters for us. All paperwork was completed in both Italian and English. We were lucky to be able to attend the celebratory party in June 2008 for the opening of the Tower. This meant that the same team, led by Giancarlo and the artisan builder Lorenzo, are now ready to tackle our little project in Faedo! In June we agreed to the terms of the work for 2008, and the project began shortly thereafter. A new foundation went down during June, and new walls and roof in July. The work goes on. As the project progresses, additional pictures will be posted here. The full restoration of the building and the vineyard will take a few years. We will complete phases and pay as we can afford to do so. Learning to do things the Italian way is part of the experience!

Go for your dreams. Ciao! - August 2008

Completion of the 2008 Renovation

It is now the end of November. Earlier this month we visited our project for the last time this year to conclude the contracted business associated with the renovation work for 2008. Lorenzo and Giancarlo have done a wonderful job not only in the quality of the work, but also in that they were able to complete more than was originally planned for the contracted amount! That doesn't happen any more in the USA! The exterior stone work is fantastic. They found matching old stone for the new walls and re-pointed all the old stone walls to the point where it is hard to tell where the old walls end and the new walls begin. As you can see from the photos, the stone looks much different in different lighting. Were we once had rotting wood we now have hand-cut stone window sills and old wood beams over the windows. The Italians are true recyclers and they ensured that as many of the old roof tiles were cleaned and re-installed over the brand new bottom roof tiles. Next year matching stone will be added to the retaining walls and a pergola installed over the patio. Inside, all the old plaster and wooden beams are gone. They brought in old wood beams for both the second floor and the upper ceiling, and increased the building two feet in height. We have exposed old brick in the ceiling, interior doorways where none previously existed in the walls, and the beginnings of our new two-way fireplace. Inside is now ready for the services (electrical and plumbing), floors, stairs, and plaster. Next comes the kitchen, baths, etc. There is much more to do, but the heavy work is now finished!

Donald e Denise - November 2008

November 2008	the roof tiles
the future bedroom	new wooden beams
Fire place	Denise in 'her kitchen'

THE TOWER OF FONTANAFREDDA

This property is set in the Euganean Hills (south-west) and enjoys a stunning panoramic view over the surrounding area. This property was a look-out tower belonging to the Republic of Venice and built to guard a villa used by the Venetian "Doge" as a summer residence. The tower was then widened by adding two outbuildings and used until World War II as a farmhouse. It was then abandoned and left in ruins. The tower is still structurally very sound while the outbuildings have partially collapsed. Because of its historic value the property is listed by the Superintendency of Fine Arts.

Restoration process

Being an historic property, the restoration project had to been approved first by the Superintendency of Fine Arts. Afterwards the Regional Park and the local Commune had to approve it as well. The project includes a careful restoration of the existing structures and a recovery of the collapsed parts by using the same original stones. The two outbuildings will be connected to the tower to create a single living unit, disposed on three floors. All the windows of the tower will be recovered (some are now walled up) while the outbuildings will have new ones, consistent with the façade and the use of the living space. On the west side a cellar will be created and also a terrace which will enjoy the stunning view over the surrounding area.

Photos and project

the Tower North

South

The restoration project (draft)

REAL LIFE STORY

Beth and Nigel Walsh describe their initial experience in buying a derelict tower in the Euganean Hills, in the Veneto area of Italy

"It was in an idle British winter moment that I picked up a copy of Italy magazine and read about an area of the country of which I had never heard despite many visits to Italy - the Euganean Hills. The article spoke of the area in glowing terms: its nearness to beautiful, historic cities such as Venice, Verona, Ferrara and Padua; its status as a regional park of ancient volcanic hills with fascinating fauna and flora; its wine, food and hospitality. It really sounded too good to be true! We were looking for a project that would divert some of our attention away from work and the weather in Britain (pure escapism really) and decided to contact Properties in Italy, the English-speaking company who are specialists in buying property in the Veneto, particularly Venice and the Euganean Hills (website: www.propertiesinitaly.net). Taking advantage of cheap flights, off my husband headed to the hills. A selection of properties for sale was incorporated into an initial tour of the area, including one that stood out from the others. A second set of tickets was soon booked so that we could visit the area and the property together. From the outset, we realised both that this property was totally unique and that it was full of potential problems! It was an old, partially-ruined watchtower of a noble family of the Venetian Republic. As we explored the area further it seemed that its description had not been exaggerated: the hills really are very beautiful and offer a relief from the heat of the plain in the summer yet with very easy access to many facilities. Vines, fruit trees and wooded slopes, gardens and Venetian villas provide year-round interest. The tower itself is situated above a small village with shops, post office, restaurant and trattoria, yet gives a feeling of privacy always accompanied by those views right across both hills and plain. The tower is called "Torre del Roccolo". The origin of the word "roccolo" (plural "roccoli") comes either from the Latin word "rotulus" (round), indicating a rounded shape, or from "rocca" (fortress), "roccolo" being its diminutive. It survives as historical evidence of a method of bird-catching used by local people to capture migrant birds by attracting them with an ingenious system of nets, decoys and tools. For the poor inhabitants of the hills, bird-catching was an important supply of both meat and income as some of the captured birds were sold as either cage-birds or decoys. Originally the Roccoli were built in a very poor way: the structure of wooden poles, the walls and the roof covered by straw and clay. In the 18th and 19th centuries, when fowling became popular among the noble families who owned villas in the Euganean Hills, they started to be built as three-storey solid brick and stone "towers", usually 6-7 metres high. It became fashionable for these families to have a Roccolo for two main reasons: firstly their passion for hunting and shooting and the skills that these practices required and secondly the pleasure of owning a "Roccolo" and being able to spend warm autumn days there organising feasts for their friends, immersed in the beauty of the hills. There are less than 10 "Roccoli" still in existence within the whole chain of the Euganean Hills: most of them are ruins! Our "Roccolo" is situated in a large parcel of land right on top of a ridge with fantastic views in every direction. We have been told this was probably the ideal place to have a "Roccolo", though our particular structure was probably built earlier as a watchtower. "Roccoli" were usually built on the top of a ridge or between two wooded hills overlooking the plain, as migrant birds were forced to fly through them along their routes. They were located in the centre of a semicircular clearing, surrounded by a line of trees (pruned chestnuts) connected with three sets of nets with different sizes of mesh. The ground floor room, with a fireplace, was used as a storeroom for empty cages and cages with decoys. On the first floor were the fowler's bed and his tools. The upper floor was the "operative" floor, with a wide window used by the fowler for observation and to use his tools. At the beginning of autumn, the migrant birds flying over the hills were attracted by the warbling of the decoys, and broke their flight on the cleared land surrounding the tower. Suddenly the fowler threw a dummy falcon, imitating its hunting whistle. The birds tried to escape by flying towards the light filtering through the lower branches of the trees, where they got captured by the three sets of nets. Our tower was originally built by the Contarini family who owned a stunning villa nearby, connected with Venice by the Bisatto river. The "roccolo" was later turned into a rural house by the adding of two attached outbuildings. The one on the right was used as additional living space while the left one was used as a pigsty and hen-house. We decided to commit ourselves to this wonderful example of local culture and history, persuaded also by its fantastic location, and began the long process of buying, throughout which we were fully supported by Properties in Italy. Their knowledge of the area, the law and the process of buying property in Italy was invaluable to us. At an early stage in the process we had to decide whether to trust the company and their advice and we have never regretted our decision to do so. As we had anticipated, the process of obtaining the necessary permissions for the renovation of an important historic building was long and complex, but we considered the Tower to be worth all the effort. We finally signed the documents for the completion of the sale in January, nine months after we had first seen the Tower, but the wait and effort involved seems worth it every time we drive up through the hills and arrive at our very own piece of history. Because of its historic importance, the central tower will remain largely unchanged. A simple stairway will lead from a small ground floor dining hall to a landing area above, from which there will be access to the master bedroom and bathroom in the two "wings". The stairs will continue up to the "Observatory" on the top floor where we will be able to enjoy views from the four windows across hills, valleys and vineyards, over the plain to the south and as far as the pre-Alps to the north-west. This room promises to absolutely fantastic: we hope that we will be able to see the migrating birds too! The ground floor will comprise a guest suite with shower room on one side of the tower, and a kitchen on the other with a new staircase leading down to a generous living room with wood-burning stove and doors leading out onto a terrace. Practicality will be added by building a garage/utility/cantina into the hill when the landscaping and ground-works for the property are undertaken. The outside of the property will be the vernacular combination of stone and render, with simple shuttered windows and doors maintaining the proportions of the original building. Our aim is to maintain the building's integrity as an ancient building which sits superbly in its environment. Our plans for the land surrounding the property involve plants and trees traditional to the Euganean hills: almond, cherry and Judas trees, lavender and rosemary will be planted around the tower and the beautiful beech and oak woods maintained and improved. We hope to recreate the atmosphere of those eighteenth-century woodland parties (without the bird-catching of course!). With the continued support of Properties in Italy, detailed plans have been drawn by the geometra Filippo, a skilled local builder instructed, the neighbours met, the land cleared and the wonderful local restaurants sampled. Now all that remains is actually start building!

Beth & Nigel Walsh - 2006

April 2008 - The Tower is ready!

Well, we are not sure whether the hard work is finished or just starting! The tower now stands in all its glory, beautifully and sensitively restored by Giancarlo, our engineer, and Lorenzo, our builder, with the help of many other skilled hands. The quality of the workmanship is outstanding and every aspect of the work has been carefully controlled, including the costs! Every week on the TV in the UK there are horror stories about people having problems with work being carried out in their absence. All we can say is that this has not applied to us - we have been consulted and informed and the trust we have put in 'our team' has borne the most wonderful fruit! Now it is over to us to furnish with sensitivity and (and here is the hard work!) tackle the neglected land. What fun is in store! Our thanks go to all those who have helped us, particularly to Andrea and Max, who have made the whole experience so rewarding in every sense of the word.

Beth & Nigel Walsh - April 2008

April 2008 - Roccolo Castelletto di Fontanafredda

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