Finding a Fixer-Upper
In an Italian Hot Spot

October 20, 2003 -- Picture undulating green hillsides dotted with olive trees, their leaves shimmering over endless fields of swaying sunflowers. Medieval hill towns loom high on the sun-drenched horizon, their terra cotta roofs baking against an azure sky.

Now find a rundown villa for a song, add some elbow grease, grab a glass of red wine, and you're on your way to realizing a la dolce vita dream.

Since its publication in 1996, Frances Mayes's best-selling "Under the Tuscan Sun" has become a sort of Bible for would-be Tuscanites wanting to do just this. The book details the author's quirky domestic adventures as she negotiates the often-exasperating habits of Italian contractors and restores a long-neglected house, garden and olive grove, while collecting recipes along the way.

Followed in rapid-fire succession by two more books and a line of furniture, "Under the Tuscan Sun" is now a film starring Diane Lane (which opened Sept. 26 in the U.S., and opens in Europe starting in January). The film's imagery will no doubt inspire a new generation of villa hounds and pesto-seeking pilgrims in search of a piece of property and peace of mind.

However, the Tuscany of Ms. Mayes's series, while still transporting, is hardly a real-estate bargain and hasn't been for some time. But the appetite of foreigners for the Italian countryside -- where the wine flows freely and extra virgin olive oil spills from spigots -- is seemingly insatiable.

Decades of fascination with Italy's best-known region have resulted in inflated real-estate prices and scarce affordable do-it-yourself properties just waiting to be snatched up. Its neighboring region, Umbria, is already a close runner-up in price and popularity, having absorbed the Tuscan overspill. (The TV movie "My House in Umbria," based on the novel by William Trevor, was shown on cable television in the U.S. in May.)

So where are house-hunters now going to find that special fixer-upper? The answer could well result in a book entitled, "In the Shadow of the Sibillini Mountains:" Le Marche. Or, as English speakers sometimes refer to it, The Marches. "I tell people, 'You know where Tuscany is, but did you know what there is east of Tuscany?' " says Eberhard Fuchs, a German-born Le Marche resident who has sold real estate in the region for 13 years.

Le Marche (pronounced "MAR-kay" in Italian) lies on the eastern coast of central Italy. Bordered by the Adriatic Sea on one side and the Apennine mountains with its dramatic southern range, the Monti Sibillini, on the other, Le Marche is increasingly a destination for foreign house-hunters -- though many would be hard-pressed to find it on a map. For years the area escaped the stampede of Florence-today-Venice-tomorrow tourists for a couple of good reasons: "It has no magnet city," explains Peter Greene, a transplanted Londoner, copywriter and Web designer who has lived in Le Marche since 1988.

In fact, Urbino, birthplace of Renaissance master Rafaello and long-considered the gem of the region as well as one of the most fetching hill towns in all of Italy, isn't even reachable by train, which cuts down drastically on the Eurail crowd. So Le Marche rarely makes tourists' must-see list, since even those who stay in Italy for an extended period of time usually base themselves out of centrally located transportation hubs like Rome or Florence.

"Ninety percent of Italy is unappealing to foreigners," Mr. Greene says. "There are a few central Italian locations which have a particular charm that appeals to Anglo Saxon cultures."

That said, the striking mountains, gentle rolling hills, and sandy shore of Le Marche have historically inspired their own real-estate legends: When he made it big, Tuscany's own Michelangelo bought land and a herd of sheep near Urbino to be assured he would always have casciotta, his favorite Marche cheese. Fast forward several centuries, and the rising prices in the rest of central Italy, combined with a continuing love affair with the country, and it appears that Le Marche's time has come. "It's the best of central Italy without the crowds," boasts Mr. Greene.

For now at least. "It's growing much more quickly than Tuscany," explains Le Marche real-estate agent Monica Bruni. According to Ms. Bruni, who was born and raised in Le Marche before going to Rome to study architecture and eventually returning home, the last 10 years have seen a consistent increase in both foreign interest in the region and in real-estate prices.

The past three years in particular, she describes as nothing short of a boom. One reason, she says, is the Internet, where agencies such as Ms. Bruni's and Mr. Fuch's provide prices, lot acreage, maps, mortgage options and those oh-so-enticing before-and-after pictures that make renovation look so easy.

Another reason is no-frills Ryan Air, which started flying from London Stansted to Ancona, Le Marche's coastal capital, in 1999. "The effect of Ryan Air can't be denied," Mr. Fuchs says. Ryan Air spokesman John Rowley says the airline's one daily flight to and from Ancona transports an average of 100,000 visitors to Le Marche a year.

And ticket prices are cheap. They do vary, but with advance planning and careful monitoring of the airline's Web site, a savvy traveler could snag a one-way deal as low as -- yes, really -- 92 pence. (Passengers still pay £13 [$21.68 or €18.35] to £15 one way in taxes, which is still a deal.) "You could fly over for a gelato," Ms. Bruni laughs, "And it might still be more economic than buying one in London."

It comes as no surprise that roughly 90% of Ms. Bruni's clientele is from the U.K. Other clients include Germans, Dutch, Irish, Americans and Australians. The influx of foreigners discovering this enchanting region has resulted in steadily rising real-estate prices, says Mr. Fuchs, to the tune of 10% to 15% a year.

According to Ms. Bruni, if you had purchased a basic, restored farmhouse -- a rustic stone dwelling with about 250 square meters of space on an acre or so of land -- in Le Marche three years ago, it would have cost roughly 300,000,000 lire, or about $135,680 (based on 2000 exchange rates). Today that same house could easily run you in the neighborhood of $335,550 (€285,000).

Those snapping up properties aren't looking for just any house. Most want a quintessentially Italian structure: majestic old villas, or stone farmhouses with several outbuildings or barns on a sizable piece of land. Italy abounds with such homes. Some are partially habitable, others are structurally sound shells, some are utter ruins -- requiring a complete overhaul and unconditional, undying, often self-sacrificing love, not just a little TLC, a few rosemary bushes and a faux-fresco paint job.

Mr. Fuchs went through the process himself 13 years ago, when he moved to Le Marche with his wife, Barbara. They found a 500-square-meter ruin on 5,000 square meters (1.2 acres) of land with only one habitable room, a fireplace and bathroom, which they bought for about 150 million lire (equal to about $125,200 in 1990 dollars). As is common in buildings of this type, the ground floor was a former stable; the garden was, as he puts it, "all rubbish and nettles."

The pair created new rooms (a kitchen in the calf stable, breakfast room in the chicken coop), added windows, built a new staircase, dug new foundations, laid the floors with vintage tiles, plastered the entire inside, sloughed off ugly concrete on the outside to reveal the original stone facade, and created a terrace.

Of course, the place still needed those little extras like plumbing and electricity, a septic tank, and water systems. Along the way, they were cheated by workmen, made rookie mistakes, and underestimated the cost of jobs at every turn. In the end, the fix-up ran them another 250 million lire (ranging from $148,350 to $182,270, depending on the exchange rate). But today the house is valued at €500,000 ($588,500), more than a fourfold increase in value.

Mr. Greene went through his own renovation process, rehabbing a cluster of ruined religious buildings on four hectares (9.8 acres) of land, which he and his partner Richard Dixon purchased for the equivalent of 36,000,000 lire in 1988 (about $30,000 then). Today, he estimates the property would sell for no lower than €450,000 ($530,000). They live in the former rectory, and rent out what were the chapel and a workman's cottage for €500 and €750 weekly, respectively.

Mr. Greene, who runs an informational travel Web site for English, says, "it's always a shock to me how naive people are when they attempt these renovations. People do things here they would never try in their home countries. Can you imagine an Italian deciding to buy and restore a manor house in the Scottish Highlands?"

Indeed. Once you've found the fall-down, rocky ruin of your dreams, it's important to keep in mind -- and not all realtors communicate this -- that not all of your grand plans may jibe with what the local powers-that-be have in mind.

Various regions often have differing regulations regarding what can and can't be done to existing structures. In addition to limitations on specific structural additions, there are limits that pertain to how much one can increase the size of a structure and the percentage of that structure that may be restored to a "habitable" state.

For example, a purchase is made of a derelict farmhouse with a separate barn, tobacco tower and pigsty. The ground floor of the house consisted of former cattle stalls. It may turn out that -- due to the town and even the relationship between your architect and the mayor's office -- you are only allowed to make 90% of the existing space habitable. So, the pigsty stays just that, or becomes a glorified storage room. The stalls are now a "hobby room" and so forth.

You can almost always forget about building a new habitable structure on an existing property, no matter how much land you have. That means building an extra guest cottage is usually out of the question.

And everything needs to be applied for. Pools tend to be the most common request, and though they are often approved, the process to gain that approval can be a frustrating one for those on any sort of time schedule. Some properties already have the application process in the works before they are put on the market, so ask the realtor.

The cost of renovations has been rising too. Mr. Fuchs estimates that work by competent tradesmen who understand the ins and out of meter-thick walls and who know how to lay terra cotta roof tiles can run €650 to €1,000 per square meter. But despite rising costs on all fronts, say Ms. Bruni and Mr. Fuchs, prices for comparable properties in Tuscany are still twice as much, and in Umbria, at least a good third more, making Le Marche the better deal at the moment.

Residents brag that there are plusses about Le Marche that are hard to put a price tag on. Fewer tourists and lesser-known towns mean restaurant menus that are still printed in Italian only.

Lower prices apply not only to real estate, but to local markets, restaurants and wines, such as the region's famed crisp white Verdicchio, and robust red Conero, with its Montepulciano and Sangiovese grapes.

The historic centers of towns such as Ascoli Piceno and Macerata offer the same charm and views one would find in the Tuscan and Umbrian hill towns, minus the bus traffic and flag-wielding tour guides. And Amandola, with its stunning Sibillini backdrop, is a great stepping-off point for hikers and peak-gazers alike.

"Le Marche has a beauty all its own," Ms. Bruni explains, "and from the mountains to the sea is only 70 kilometers." In between, travelers encounter hills, lakes and countryside, which all eventually give way to coastline.

Of course, there are some downsides. Italian beaches -- even those in Le Marche -- are renowned for their tacky resorts. And many homeowners silently chafe that, for all the expense, they still don't live in Tuscany. And while flying into Ancona may be a low-cost breeze, getting to Rome or Florence by rail or car can be time consuming.

While Mr. Greene feels that Le Marche will never be as crowded as Tuscany, Mr. Fuchs and Ms. Bruni say that if the current real-estate trend continues, Le Marche will achieve Tuscany status in popularity and price within three to five years. Already, realtors and would-be buyers are trying to anticipate where the next Tuscany will spring up. Will it be Abruzzo, just south of Le Marche? Could be, especially since Ryan Air already flies daily to Pescara on that region's coast. A realtor friend of Mr. Fuchs, who handles Abruzzo properties, has already warned him: "Please don't send anyone here who doesn't have money -- because our prices are going up, too."

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