Buying a property in Umbria

Tuscany is invariably the number one choice of buyers who consider entering the property in Italy market. However, its neighbour to the east, Umbria, is increasingly winning investors over as it has not suffered from Tuscany’s decades of inexorably rising prices. And in truth, from the moment one steps foot in Umbria, appeal of owning property in Umbria becomes eminently clear. Its centuries of rich history seem to emanate from every cobbled step and church facade in its scenic hilltowns and villages, which are within easy enough reach of one another to be comfortably visited in one fell swoop, even on a relatively brief trip to this part of Italy. In addition it is not overrun by the millions of tourists who flock to Tuscany and consequently is all the more delightful for it. Umbria proudly describes itself as The Green Heart of Italy, and with good reason. Landlocked it may be, but some of Italy’s most stunning landscape is to be found here. Its has 750,000 acres of verdant woodland that includes seven nature reserves. So it comes as little surprise that Umbria is arguably the second most popular region, behind Tuscany, among investors in property in Italy – a trend accelerated when Perugia’s airport was extended in 2006 to take international flights.

In truth, properties in large swathes of Umbria have soared to close to Tuscan levels. Expect to pay about €400,000 for a restored farmhouse in Umbria and around €250,000 for a two-bedroom apartment or house. If you are happy with a fixer-upper, a rustic property to restore can cost under €100,000. But bear in mind you may spend an additional €300,000 bringing it back to its former glory.
However, these average prices do not portray the whole story and there are highly affordable properties available in Umbria if you look in the right places. For instance, on the northern shores of Lake Trasimeno, a one-bedroom property in Tuoro sul Trasimeno can go for just €100,000. Meanwhile, expect to pay €20,000 more for a new-build two-bedroom apartment and €220,000 for a new-build three-bedroom property.

Bear in mind also that the current economic downturn gives buyers the whip hand and smart negotiators can frequently knock up to 10 or 15 per cent off the listed price of a property.
Where in Umbria to buy? This is a region that has not lost its unspoilt charm, boasting a chain of splendid medieval towns apparently unaltered since the Middle Ages – Assisi, Perugia, Spello and Todi chief among them. However, the best thing for any prospective investor is to pay a visit to Umbria to get a feel for it in person. But deciding where to start can often prove a headache as the region boasts numerous attractions. One often preferred option is to base yourself in either Orvieto or Assisi and spend a handful of days, or a week if you have the time, seeing the lie of the land.

Although Perugia is Umbria’s administrative capital, Assisi is its spiritual heart, the town where Italy’s patron saint St Francis set up his religious order in 1209. It now attracts pilgrims worldwide, chiefly for the basilica that bears the saint’s name and is his final resting place. However, if one town in Umbria matches Perugia for religious preeminence it is Orvieto, which looks down from massive cliffs and boasting an amazing cathedral. Other must-sees include Spello, an enchanting town on the slopes of Monte Subasio, Bevagna, which lies on ancient Roman ruins and wine-growing Montefalco, nicknamed “Umbria’s Balcony” for its magnificent views that go as far as Assisi and Spoleto.

A woman, a dog and Umbria

Tired of laboring in city cubicles, Justine van der Leun sublets her studio apartment, leaves her magazine job, and moves to Collelungo, Italy, population: 200 souls. There, in the ancient city center of a historic Umbrian village, she sets up house with the handsome local gardener she met on holiday only weeks earlier. This impulsive decision launches an eye-opening series of misadventures when village life and romance turn out to be radically different from what she had imagined. Love lost with the gardener is found instead with Marcus, an abandoned English pointer that she rescues. With Marcus by her side, Justine discovers the bliss and hardship of living in the countryside: herding sheep, tending to wild horses, picking olives with her adopted Italian family, and trying her best to learn the regional dialect. Not quite up to wild boar hunting, no good at gathering mushrooms, and no mamma when it comes to making pasta, she never quite fits in with the locals who, despite their differences, take her in as one of their own. The result is a rich, comic, and unconventional portrait about learning to live and love in the most unexpected ways.

This is the plot of the novel 'Marcus of Umbria: What an Italian dog taught an American girl about love'. The book traces Justine van der Leun's funny and illuminating time spent in Collelungo, a 200-person farming village in central Umbria. The author of the new book Marcus of Umbria, Justine van der Leun introduces us to her former home village of Collelungo in Umbria and what there is to see and do around the more well-known town of Todi.

The effect of this book is utterly charming. I was engaged from start to finish!

The giostra del Saracino in Arezzo

Every year an appointment with the past, history and wars returns: The Giostra del Saracino in Arezzo, running the last week of June and the first week in September.

The Giostra del Saracino 'Giostra ad burattum' finds its roots in Medieval times, it in fact born as a military training exercise, when Christian armies fought the wars of the crusades against Muslims to contrast expansion into Christian lands and domination of the city of Jerusalem.

With the passing of time it took on a meaning of officiality for the nobles. It took place in the occasion of visits by important figures or to solemnize specific civil celebrations. Today the Giostra del Saracino returns as a historical commemoration, on the occasion of the patron of the city: San Donato. The four neighbourhoods of the city participate in the Giostra, corresponding to the Gates of the city of Arezzo: Quartiere di Porta Crucifera, Porta del Foro, Porta Sant'Andrea and Porta di Santo Spirito. The neighbourhood of Porta Crucifera is distinguished by the colours red and green and its main seat is in Palazzo Alberti and it expands into the north east area of the city of Arezzo.

South east there is the neighbourhood of Porta Sant'Andrea with its white and green posters.
Porta del Foro, the third rione, is distinguished by colours yellow and crimson and its seat is in Porta San Lorentino, in the north west area of the city. And finally the neighbourhood of Porta Santo Spirito, in the south west area of Arezzo with seat in the Bastione di levante of Porta Santo Spirito, with colours yellow and blue. The Giostra del Saracino, organised by the Arezzo Municipality, starts in the morning with the 'lettura del Bando', reading of the competition paper by the Araldo, then followed by the re-evocative parade in 14th century costume with over 300 walk-ons and 30 horses, culminating with the "benedizione degli armati" (blessing of the armed) on the steps of the Duomo, performed by the Bishop of Arezzo.


The true tournament takes place in the afternoon when Piazza Grande is entered by the parade carrying the old gonfalons of the city by the orders of the Maestro del Campo. Then follows the display of the Sbandieratori (flag spinners) and the entry of the jousters who come in galloping on the 'lizza', the competition ground. At this point the Araldo reads the 'Disfida di Buratto' (a poetic composition dating back to the XVII century), there is a greeting of arbalesters and halberdiers and finally the authorisation by the Magistrates to run the Tournament and the singing, by the Gruppo Musici, of the 'Inno del Saracino'. Then come the jousters galloping, according to the order with which the knights will have to face each other, as decided the Sunday before the tournament, by a draw entrusted to the 'paggetti'. The objective of each knight armed with 'resta', that is the lance, is hitting an armoured automaton, the Saracino "Buratto, Re delle Indie" which represents a bludgeon armed Saracen. The pair of knights that will have totalled the highest number of points (which go from one to five) hitting the Saracino's shield, will win its neighbourhood the 'Golden lance', the Trophy of the Tournament.