When most people first think about buying a new retirement home or holiday home in Italy the areas of Tuscany and Umbria are normally the first places that spring to mind.

Tuscany has been a popular holiday destination and second home buying area for many years, but in the last few years prices have soared and now only the rich can afford anything more than a small apartment in most Tuscan villages and towns.

Umbria was then seen as the new Tuscany with less expensive properties but still with beautiful countryside full of pretty mediaeval villages and towns. Places such as Todi, Spoleto and Perugia and their surrounding areas have become very popular with buyers from Germany and the UK.

During all this time Le Marche to the east of Umbria was little known and also because of the lack of major airlines flying into the regions small airport at Ancona, it was overlooked by visitors and buyers from the UK and northern Europe.

The Germans and to a lesser extent the Dutch could always drive down to the Le Marche on the excellent Autostradas, but even then most of these visitors only passed through Le Marche on the way further south to Puglia. It was not until Ryanair the low cost airline started flying into Ancona in central Le Marche that the area started to become popular with the British.

Le Marche has been likened to a second Tuscany, but its geography and landscape is much more varied and unlike Umbria it is not landlocked. The region has the long Adriatic coastline to its east, and to the west it is bounded by the beautiful Apennine Mountains.

The rolling countryside is dotted by numerous small mediaeval hilltop towns and villages and the region has many small olive groves and vineyards producing increasingly popular and well known olive oils and wines. The beautiful resort towns of Senigallia, Portonovo, Civitanova, Porto san Giorgio, Grottamare and San Benedetto offer miles of sandy beaches, and also some of the best restaurants in Italy.

From the property buyers perspective the region still has many, many inexpensive uninhabited  farmhouses needing restoration, some say as many as ten thousand derelict farmhouses throughout the region as a whole!! But now an increasing number of house hunters are concentrating on buying and restoring exquisite mediaeval village houses in sleepy hilltop villages.

These buyers have realised that they can own a small village property in Italy for holiday or rental use without the expense of having to buy and restore a farmhouse with several acres of land.

As the property market has started to mature, an increasing number of Agents and builders have gained experience in dealing with foreign clients. Buyers should always be careful when buying anywhere abroad but with a little common sense and by doing some elementary research, most property buyers in Le Marche today should not come across any major problems. Also you should consider contacting a specialist Le Marche Estate Agent for advice.

There is a common saying that, “Le Marche is all of Italy in one region”, and once you have been there you will see how very true this old saying is!!

• property, village, house, home, restoration, le Marche, Italy


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