Just an hour’s drive from glorious Turin — where the vibrant nightlife and thriving shops jostle with its industries — the tiny resort of Sansicario offers the chance to don your Prada skiwear alongside lively Italians on the many slopes of the Milky Way circuit. For après-ski you might sample the cafés and bars of Turin and Milan, trying your hand at the national pursuits of looking good and drinking espressos.

At 1,700 metres (5,577ft), Sansicario is perfectly positioned at the centre of a huge natural bowl, with access to 400km (248 miles) of skiing. It has good links with neighbouring Sestriere, Sauze di Cesana and Claviere. Now an Italian property developer, Gruppo Norman, is opening up the village to foreign buyers; the first apartments in the new development are now for sale. The family-orientated village is well designed, with a pedestrianised high street. In true Italian style, the shops offer a vast selection of delectable foods, wine and designer gear. There are cafés and a restaurant specialising in bagna cauda, a local fondue of chopped garlic and anchovy, and the low-key nightlife offers a respite from the hectic nearby city. As one of the hosts of the Winter Olympics, Sansicario was the beneficiary of substantial investment, which has resulted in great improvements in lifts, roads and pistes. Gruppo Norman, which completed a 144-room hotel in the village after the Winter Games, is now building the 460 ski-in apartments. The first phase will include 126 flats, which are due for completion in July next year. About 60 per cent have already sold.

The low-level buildings, with glass aplenty, will offer uninterrupted views of the Montagnedoc mountains. Prices range from €96,000 (about £64,600) for an 82 sq ft studio flat to €519,000 for a 420 sq ft three-bedroom flat. Each buyer must own a parking space or garage, at an extra €18,000 or €28,000 respectively.

The rental income for the 1,400 apartments already established in Sansicario seems healthy. Studio properties go for €600 a week and two-bedroom apartments hit €1,300 in high season. With the ski season lasting from early December, snow permitting, to the middle of March, rental demand may be sustained for 14 weeks.

But what to do with it once the snow melts? Richard Edwards, of Piemonte Property, is cautious about such apartments: “Ski resorts are ghost towns out of season, so having property there isn’t so useful for all-year-round rental.”

Edwards sells properties in the nearby agricultural areas of Langhe and Monferrato. Here you can pick up houses on substantial sites for €150,000 to €200,000. “You are only an hour or so’s drive to the slopes, but you have the bonus of a lovely Italian house with loads of land.” But as well as relying on Turin’s appeal, Gruppo Norman is working on proving that Sansicario has potential beyond the season.

Elisabetta Terzariol, the company’s co-ordinator of tourism projects, says that from this summer activities for holidaymakers will include a tennis school, rafting and kayaking, and trekking and mountain biking.

All-year activities for children will include theatre workshops, music lessons and art and craft classes, albeit taught in Italian. Terzariol says: “We realise that to attract the foreign investor we need to include English-speaking instructors and staff in the village, which we are working on.”

This very Italian region is going through some changes. The famous Fiat factory has been transformed into a rather impressive shopping mall; Juventus, for so long the No 1 team in the region, have been usurped by the smaller club Torino, to the delight of locals; and the miles of beautiful ski fields and attractions of the unsung region are attracting a trickle of British second-home buyers.

As with most ski properties, these apartments don’t come cheap. You may need a second mortgage just to take advantage of the great food, drink and shopping in the area — and to keep your wardrobe up to stylish local standards.

Gruppo Norman: 020-7299 3570

Piemonte Property: www.piemonte-property.com

How do I get there?

British Airways, Ryanair and easyJet all fly daily direct to Turin.

What about my carbon footprint?

Take the Eurostar to Paris (prices start at £59), then a high-speed

TGV across the French Alps to Milan or Turin (prices from £19 one way). It takes longer, but at least your conscience is clear and some of the scenery is spectacular.

What are the regional delicacies?

Red wines of the Piedmont region include Nebbiolo, Barolo and Barbera. The town of Asti produces excellent light sparkling white wines, while Cinzano and Martini are produced near Turin.

Edibles include: the white Alba truffle — three specimens weighing 1.51 kg (3lb 5oz) were sold in December for €125,000 (£85,000) — grissini sticks, Raschera and Gorgonzola cheeses, and gianduiotti, a blend of chocolate and hazelnuts.

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