THE quest for farmhouses and barns fit for conversion has driven up prices throughout northern Italy, and all but exhausted the stock. But there’s one small region where prices are still low and suitable properties are available: Lunigiana in northern Tuscany.

The three valleys of Lunigiana reach inland from Liguria’s Mediterranean coastline, an area with little heavy industry, barely economic farmland and more than a hundred hilltop castles. The beach and several picture-postcard villages are close by and communications are good: the airports of Parma, Pisa and Genoa are an hour away by road. Property prices here are much lower than those around Lucca or Florence. Long overlooked, Lunigiana’s property market is now heating up, with Italians leading the scramble to snap up anything with a view.

Some estate agents are based among the medieval buildings of Pontremoli in the hills, but the commercial centre for Lunigiana is the less atmospheric town of Aulla, closer to the sea. My search for affordable Tuscany led me to the estate agent Sica l’Immobiliare, which had a whole hamlet listed for €420,000 (£286,000), with one small house restored and seven more to go, set in 60 acres of farmland. Access was across a river spanned by two ancient humpbacked bridges; I wouldn’t bet on them taking the weight of builders’ lorries.

Young Italians are flocking to modern apartments in cities, and hence Lunigiana has a huge number of rural houses for sale. Among them was a farmhouse with four acres and a pool, restored by two Italian surveyors, for €430,000, for sale via Lunigiana 2000. An almost habitable house, along with the neighbouring building and a stone-built barn, seemed something of a snip for €190,000. When I told the agent that my next day was booked with L’Architrave, a competitor in the town of Licciana Nardi, her face darkened. “They only sell to foreigners,” she said. “Much more expensive.”

But it wasn’t the prices that were different. L’Architrave sells the sort of properties outsiders might want. First stop was a beautifully restored hilltop haven for €320,000, which just needed the fuel storage tank moved from the middle of the view and a swimming pool built in its place. We went on to view some tasteful period properties, with several priced at under €100,000.

If Lois Allan, the English-born owner of L’Architrave, can’t sell you a house she can try to sell you a dream: the company has a construction department which claims always to stick to the agreed timetable and budget. She showed me some of the firm’s barn conversions, which would do credit to any designer’s portfolio.

All L’Architrave’s properties, if not named already, get one from Allan: La Fragola (the Strawberry) was a tiny barn on the point of collapse, but the views were pretty and it was only €120,000. It had planning consent to become a four-bedroom palazzo and L’Archi-trave’s geometra (a cross between a surveyor and an architect) showed me two stylish designs that would apparently cost no more than €250,000 to build. Very sweet fruit indeed.

FACTFILE

Tax is payable on purchases, assessed on the valore catastale, or rateable value, which is generally about half the actual sale price. Rates are 4 per cent for Italian residents and 10 per cent for foreigners.

Capital gains tax is payable, at 20 per cent, if a property is sold within five years.

Details: www.sicaimmobiliare.co.uk, 00 39 0187 409416; Lunigiana 2000, www.lunigiana2000.com, 00 39 0187 421400; L’Architrave, www.larchitrave.com, 00 39 0187 475543

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