ABODE ACHIEVES HIGHLY ACCLAIMED EUROPEAN AWARDS FOR BEST ITALIAN REAL ESTATE AGENT AND BEST ITALIAN WEBSITE

The results of the European stage of the International Property Awards 2015-2016 have been announced and Abode Srl is justifiably proud to be among the national winners.

Abode competed against a number of the most accomplished real estate agents to receive the "Highly Recommended" award for Best Italian Real Estate Agent and the "Five Star" award for Best Italian Website. The award was presented and official announced at a gala presentation dinner at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane, London.

The award is a major achievement for Abode as entrants are judged against a strict set of criteria. Judging was undertaken by a panel of over 70 experts from all over the world and chaired by two active members of the House of Lords: Lord Caithness and Lord Best.

Stuart Shield, president of the International Property Awards, commented, "Once again, European real estate agents have excelled in this competition by offering an extensive range of superb services, embracing the latest in new technology and achieving exemplary levels of customer support".

Nick Ferrand (Founder), "This is a huge accolade and we are positively thrilled".

Trasimeno Blues 23rd of July - 2nd of August 2015

For more information visit Trasimeno Blues Festival 2015

The concerts are held in various places around the shores of Lake Trasimeno and there is still time to participate

 

Abode - Proud Sponsors of the 2015 Preggio Opera

La Traviata is only a small part of the XXXIII Preggio Music Festival which also includes evenings of both sacred and chamber music from the 24rd of July until the 18th of August 2015.

We look forward to seeing you there!

42 Years of Umbria Jazz

It's all go in Umbria this weekend; what with the teen-age Umbria Film Festival in Montone and the now middle-aged Umbria Jazz that starts this evening in Perugia and continues until the 19th July.

 With Paolo Conte, Stefano Bollani, Gaetano Veloso,  Herbie Hancock, Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga (amongst others) it really is going to be a star studded event so let's hope the lovely weather continues!

Abode - Proud Sponsors of the 19° Umbria Film Festival 2015

The Umbria Film Festival has been hosted in Montone since 1997 following a fruitful collaboration between the Associazione Umbria Film Festival, the Comune of Montone(PG) and London’s Riverside Studios creating an ideal cultural and physical environment for the flourishing of original ideas inspired by cinema.

The Festival takes place every year during the second week of July.

All showings are free and screened in the Main Square of this small medieval Umbrian city, the perfect place for meetings and discussions by all – guests, the public and the participants.

 The audience is eclectic and an integral part of the Festival in the same way as the guests and participants are an integral part of the public.

 Every evening the Festival screens a series of ‘shorts for children’ followed by a ‘feature film’ which forms the basis for a spectacular programme with international film premières, exhibitions, debates, workshops, master classes and meetings.
Over the years thanks to the constantl research carried out by the Artistic Director, the invaluable work of the Association’s volunteers and the Comune, we have presented for everyone’s enjoyment the best of international cinema culture.

 In these years of uncertainty the film lovers who gather in Montone’s Main Square for the Festival know they will see only the highest quality cinema in a magical and intimate atmosphere.

Spectators have been offered, free of charge, over 100 premieres, nearly 500 shorts, including animated films for children, more than 50 events related to the cinema (seminars, courses, round table discussions, master classes, shows, concerts), around 100 works of young filmmakers as well as presenting more than 50 renowned guests from the world of international cinema.

 The Umbria Film Festival has become an annual event and destination for celebrities, directors, film lovers, industry insiders and Others.

Two year high for Italian manufacturing!

Markit eurozone manufacturing data showed Germany hitting as three month low with France also performing poorly. Better news for Italy though which saw manufacturing hitting a two-year high; good news for the peninsula!

An Italian hamlet to call your own

Ever felt the desire to own a little hamlet of your own; a cluster of dwellings and some land on which to wander. Somewhere to accommodate guests at a distance; paying ones maybe?

Prato di Sotto is a perfect example; four restored and welcoming houses nestled in a wonderful garden and surrounded by Umbrian greenness. Pool, privacy, peace……perfect!

Prato di Sotto



Borgo Oli

If you fancy doing something up, then how about Borgo Oli a Tuscan hamlet consisiting of eight ruins on three hectares of land. If you have a few like-minded friends then maybe you could club together and have a property each or, if the budget allows, you could restore the properties and set up a frational ownership property, something like Borgo Di Vagli. Borgo Faulle is another example, this time with 30 hectares of land!

 

New to the market is Monte Castro. Strictly speaking it isn’t a hamlet but there are three buildings and, once you’ve seen it, it’s quite difficult to forget. 

 

Monte Castro

RESIDENTIAL SALES RISE IN ITALY IN 2014!

2006 was the best ever year for residential sales in Italy. As the graph below shows, from 2007 onwards there was a steady decline in sales, with a significant drop from 2011:

Figures show however, that the market is on the up finally, for the first time since the 2005-06 season, with residential sales in 2014 rising by nearly 10% compared to 2013, with a 7% rise in the last quarter of 2014. The quantity of mortgage finance issued in 2014 also bears out the evidence of an upwards trend, with a rise of over 30% compared to 2013. There is great confidence that 2015 will show more growth and continue the ascent.

Cinecitta World - Theme park in Rome

 

Cinecitta World, a  250 million euro project 11 years in the making, has opened its doors to the public in Rome.

Built on the site of the former studios of  Dino Di Laurentiis, known as Dinocitta, Italy’s first cinema theme park is set to inspire guests to step into the world of cinema creation. The park, which boasts 20 attractions, eight film sets, four restaurants and four theaters, is small relative to the size of Disneyworld or Universal Studios, but park chairman and CEO  Emmanuel Gout says it offers something much more. “At Universal Studios you step into their movies. America organizes the dream for you. There’s not a lot of space for personal imagination,” says Gout. “What we’re able to do is offer a place for shooting movies, where you can excite your imagination for cinema.”

 

 

 

The focus of the park is on a cinema studio, not on the product. The park staff are not dressed as cowboys or aliens, but as set technicians, constantly “filming” a movie that doesn’t exist. Oscar-winning composer Ennio Morricone created the soundtrack for the park’s Sergi Leone inspired Western set. Dante Ferretti, who has taken home three Oscars for art direction, did all the drawings for the park. He drew inspiration from his “three historical co-conspirators,” Federico Fellini, Pier Paolo Pasolini and Martin Scorsese. 

 

The sets are not taken from specific movies, with the exception of the park’s entrance, a daunting temple taken straight from the 1914 silent film Cabiria. Other sets include more generic versions of ancient Rome, a spaceship, a submarine, and an old-time New York set. Gout works out of the park’s headquarters inside an original Dino De Laurentiis office building. Inside the building, there’s still a small private elevator, painted in gold. This led directly to De Laurentiis’ apartment, where he could “inspect” prospective actresses for his films. A helix-shaped staircase leads up to offices, which still retain their 1960s character.

 

“My job here was to organize Italian excellence,” says Gout, who credits the parks top quality across food, design, shows and production. Indeed, the level of attention can be seen on anything from colorful park benches to playful streetlights. Immaculately detailed Bumper cars seem inspired by the 1950s Ferrari. A 260-ft fountain shoots water 65 feet high, with an Italian flair set to rival Dubai.

 

As Italy doesn’t do fast food, the four restaurants on site all feature top local food made on premises. Cinecitta World’s biggest rollercoaster takes guests on a smooth ride of ups and downs, and a hell-inspired ride peaks with the devil surrounding each car before dropping it 16 feet into darkness.

 

The park is expecting 1.5 million visitors by 2015, with an estimated turnover of  55 million euros. Whether the park can attract repeat visitors will remain to be seen. The average tourist visit to Rome is only two to three days, as after jam-packed days of sightseeing the Vatican and Coliseum; they are too worn out to stay longer. Cinecitta World wants to add an extra day to that journey.

 

It doesn’t hurt that the Castel Romano Designer Outlet, which attracts four million visitors a year, is directly across the street. And Gout has spent a great deal of time training his new staff on the ins and outs of service, something rarely seen at high levels in Europe.

 

Cinecitta is the largest film studio in Europe, and counts Martin Scorsese and Paul Haggis amongst its regulars. For the studio, which has fallen from over 350 productions a year in their heyday, to just 50 in the last six years, Gout expects Cinecitta World to bring some fresh air to the industry. “It’s a window for what Cinecitta can do for cinema,” he says.

 

Cinecitta World is open daily from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Tickets cost €29 and €23 for reduced admission.

  

Colosseum goes green for St. Patrick

 

 

Rome's Colosseum was illuminated green overnight in celebration of St Patrick’s Day, the first time the monument has been part of the annual celebration. One of the Eternal City’s most famous ancient sites was bathed in green ahead of celebrations on March 17th, Ireland’s national holiday which has become a global event.

Lighting up the Colosseum was part of a collaborative effort between the Irish embassy in Rome, city hall and the culture ministry. Ahead of the illumination Charlie Flanagan, Ireland’s foreign minister, said he was “delighted” the Colosseum would take on an Irish tint.

Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said the decision to include “one of the most famous monuments in the world” marked “a major coup for Irish tourism.” 

 

Dozens of major landmarks worldwide have been lit up this year to mark St Patrick’s Day, including Italy’s Leaning Tower of Pisa.

 

 

Flats and town houses in Tuscany and Umbria

So you have always had a hankering for a property in Italy but for whatever reason you don’t want to spend too much. Added to that, you aren’t ready to take on too much land and responsibility and would much prefer something that you can just lock ‘n’ leave. Something with a couple of bedrooms and maybe even a little terrace on which to sit.

How about a little Tuscan town house or a flat in pretty Umbrian market town then? Purchasing a property of this type is perfect for anyone who prefers to pop out for breakfast and take part in the lovely early morning bustle that is so very enjoyable and so typically Italian. Also, it isn’t a major drama if you forget to buy the milk/some chocolate/cigarettes/beer/wine/shoes. Well maybe not shoes, but it is nice to have the opportunity if you feel the need!

The Anghiari Townhouse is ready to walk into. Recently restored, everything is new. The plumbing, the electrics, the drainage. EVERYTHING. Only steps away from the main square of this pretty Tuscan town, this one bedroom property is in a quiet little street and overlooks someone else’s garden. It doesn’t have any outside space but that, of course, reflects in the price which was recently reduced.

Casa Amorino is in Cortona. Say no more. Famous for being ‘Under the Tuscan Sun’, Cortona is probably one of the most well-known and well-loved cities in Tuscany, if not in Italy itself. Amazingly, this property is on one level and is stair free despite being on the fourth floor of a palazzo. How can that be possible I hear you ask? Well I’ll tell you! Access to the apartment is from the ground floor at the rear of the property, remember Cortona is on a hill. Not only lovely, but magical too.

Casa Pescaia is also in Cortona and has a garden. This glamourous property has been designed and restored with attention to every, little detail. It really is a stunner.

Moving to Umbria and with a more accessible price tag, Casceri is a well renovated top floor apartment that requires sturdy legs because of the stairs, BUT, the pay-off is the pretty roof top terrace. Also in Città di Castello and with two terraces, Guelfucci is larger and also on the top floor of a lovely old palazzo.

Take your pick! Call us for more information on properties in Italian towns.

 

 

Italian properties with a difference

So you have always had a hankering for a property in Italy but farmhouses don’t really do it for you. You are immune to the charms of exposed wooden beams and you definitely prefer panna cotta to terra cotta. You may have already ‘done’ the farmhouse thing and fancy something different, or you may just be more Marie Antionette than milk-maid. If that is the case then please have a look at the following stunners that are bound to please those of us who have delusions of grandeur.

So, in no particular order at all;

Castello Gallenga Stuart is just outside of the Umbrian hill top city of Perugia. It is a delightful wedding cake of a house crammed with decorative features and sporting an octagonal tower, frescoes, decorative plasterwork and coffered ceilings. It has stables, out buildings, a tree lined drive, well over 6 hectares of fenced park land and marble gates!

Slightly more gothic and sober, Castello Neve is a semi-restored castle with low lying out buildings and hanging gardens. In a completely rural location, the Tuscan city of Cortona is a twenty minute drive away. All this place needs is a spectre or two and it would be perfect!

Close to Todi in Umbria, Torre Di Porchiano is also pretty spectacular and ideal for anyone who has a Rapunzel complex! It is perfectly habitable with a swimming pool to boot.

For purists, Villa Fontana is a classic Italian villa just outside of Cortona. With fountain, frescoes, formal gardens and a traditional façade, it really is fabulous. 

Immaculately maintained, Villa Prosperini has just been reduced in price. Though cleary elegant this lovely villa is surprisingly 'user friendly' and manages to feel like a home whilst still being a real show piece.

Villa Clara which has a view of Orvieto and is a mixture of all of the above really; a bit wedding cakey, totally and beautifully restored with a tower and lovely gardens. My personal favourite, but don't tell anyone!   

If any of the above pique your interest do call us, we are waiting for you!

Beautifully restored apartment right in the centre of Cortona. No stairs!