APPROACHING Casole d’Elsa, at the end of a long drive from Pisa, I have to
shake myself. For a moment, the too-bright sun and the soft hills standing
over pockets of vineyard bring to mind a corner of my native Australia.
Doubtless this eerie familiarity is one reason why the King Valley,
northeast of Melbourne, was for so long a home of choice for Italian
immigrants. Now, families there that were driven from Italy by its postwar
deprivations have turned the dairy farms on which they settled in Victoria
into experimental vineyards.
Yet, in the Italy they left, time has also moved on. The farmhouses and
villages that they deserted have been colonised by that other sort of
immigrant: the holidaymaker. The allure of Siena province, less earthy and
more pristine with each passing year, seems unassailable. Despite the
pressure of property prices that have doubled in a decade, Tuscany remains
the preferred choice in Italy for overseas investors. A decent farmhouse
ripe for conversion – assuming that you can find one – now leaves little
change from £500,000.
Those determined to secure their own prime Tuscan plot can be reassured by a
clutch of restored farmhouses now up for sale at Castello di Casole, an
estate near Casole d’Elsa, a hill town of 3,000 souls within sight of that
Blair family favourite, San Gimignano. This is prime Tuscany, 35 kilometres
west of Siena.
The 16 original casali, gently restored using local terracotta tiles
and natural stone, but decorated with reference to the
deep-sofa-and-widescreen-TV school of American interior design, have
achieved an almost new-build feel. Their complicated restoration, which has
entailed endless consultations with authorities and might have taken a mere
mortal five years, has been whittled down to 18 months by the Colorado
developer Timbers Resorts and its local staff. Fully restored and decorated,
a typical farmhouse costs £2.88 million, with an annual management charge of
£30,000 that covers bills, taxes, furnishings and a maid service.
This is not cheap, even by Tuscan standards. But the Castello di Casole
properties are scattered throughout a rare and glorious Italian estate of
4,200 acres, once owned by a Sienese family, the Bargagli, and later by
Luchino Visconti, the Italian director best known for The Leopard.
Buyers can range over the vineyard and olive groves, hayfields and woods.
The estate, designated as a game reserve, is rich in boars, hares and
pheasants: this is life as the nobles lived it, gun in hand.
Expect to need a hire car: access to this delightful working estate is via a
network of unmade roads and, for now, you will need to drive the ten
kilometres to Casole d’Elsa, home of the Michelin-starred Il Colombaio, if
you fancy eating out.
At the heart of the estate, an 18th-century castello, with a 12th-century
water tower, is surrounded by coils of plastic pipe and piles of sand. But
by spring 2009 it will form a 41-suite five-star hotel, with a spa, bars and
formal gardens; in addition, an old deconsecrated church will be converted
to a wedding chapel. Final details of the scheme, which should rival
Castello del Nero further north in Tavarnelle Val di Pesa , are still
under negotiation.
Buyers at Castello di Casole have thus far been mostly time-poor North
Americans, who are more inclined to buy in fractions – the preferred method
of sale at Castello di Casole. Reassured by the hotel-like extras, such as a
concierge service that can arrange cooking classes, private chefs,
sightseeing tours and activities for children, the buyers have spent
£330,000 to £442,000 (and also committed to an £8,150 annual charge) for one
tenth of a four or five-bedroom property, with pool and guest quarters, in
which they are allowed to spend four weeks a year.
One of the rewards of ownership is a share of its delicious private-label
wine, blended from the grapes cultivated on site. Tuscan winemakers may be
having their sleep turned sour by the technological efficiency of their King
Valley rivals, but they’ve little to fear with such well-heeled consumers
living just down the road. www.castellodicasole.com
...FOR LESS
THE trattoria at Borgo di Vagli, a restored hamlet that nestles at the end of
the Niccone valley in Tuscany, is called I’cchè c’è, c’è, a Florentine
expression that roughly means “whatever there is to eat” or, in more modern
parlance, “what you see is what you get”. It offers superb Italian meals
made with local products. “What you see is what you get” could well be the
slogan for the hamlet as a whole, since it offers superbly converted
farmhouses restored with local materials.
The honey-coloured cluster of 21 properties set in 32 acres of rolling
countyryside has been developed by a Turin-born civil engineer, Fulvio Di
Rosa, who once worked with the world-renowned modernist architect Oscar
Niemeyer. But it is his painstaking renovation of historic Tuscan homes that
has attracted attention recently. Frances Mayes, whose book Under The
Tuscan Sun has sold by the barrowload, is a personal friend and has
watched Di Rosa transform the houses from picturesque ruins into luxury
homes. His method, she says in her book Bringing Tuscany Home, is to
stay true to the character of the village by asking, whenever a decision had
to be made, “how would the original owners have solved this problem? By that
one deceptively simple guiding principle, he stays true to the spirit of the
place that one feels so strongly in the village. I’ve watched and learnt
from the restoration at every stage. His is the best work I’ve seen.”
It is a philosophy that is reinforced when you meet Di Rosa. Clambering over
the steep gradients of the village, he enthusiastically relives his efforts
to maintain the hamlet’s integrity. “I was always seeking authenticity. I
didn’t want people to walk past these homes and think something strange had
happened to them. I am passionate about Tuscany and its beauty, culture and
lifestyle.” Working with local craftsmen, Di Rosa restored the buildings
with an artist’s eye. Thick stone walls are complemented by wooden beamed
ceilings, stone floors, and antique furniture bought at local markets.
Finishing touches are provided by commissioned Tuscan cotton, carved stone
sinks, copper cooking pots, handcrafted cutlery and bespoke pottery. There
are modern touches, too: flat-screen TVs, internet access and power showers.
Set back from the main road by a winding lane, Borgo di Vagli (“village of the
valleys”) offers a marvellous escape from the modern world, although the
stunning hill town of Cortona is only 20 minutes away. On site, there is a
shop selling local produce, including the estate’s olive oil, plus a
20-metre hilltop swimming pool with views over the 10th-century Pierle
castle. Normally to buy such a house near Cortona would cost, says Di Rosa,
upwards of €2 million (£1,354,000). However, Borgo di Vagli is the only such
project in the area to offer fractional ownership.
“With the rise in popularity of second home ownership, property prices have
risen 15 times over in the past 20 years. Not only are there fewer
properties of quality for sale, but the prices now make entering into the
market restrictive,” he says. “I believe fractional ownership is a natural
progression and a wonderful way to enjoy Tuscany without the normal
financial and maintenance responsibilities that go along with home
ownership.”
Under the scheme, buyers purchase one tenth of a specific property and can
book stays in three ways during the course of a year – planned reservations
with the chance to book up to 21 days, of which 14 can be consecutive; space
available reservations for stays of up to one week; and short-notice stays
where an additional week can be booked any time within 14 days of the
scheduled arrival date. The prices for fractional ownership are €55,000
(€60,000 from October 1) for a one-bedroom property and €75,000 for a
two-bedroom property.
Annual management fees are €1,200 for one-bedroom and €I,520 for two-bedroom
properties. The only additional cost is a one-off checkout fee on departure
which covers the daily (and optional) housekeeping service.
If the figures are complex, you will have time to ponder them at I’cchè c’è,
c’è, which is run by Nina, a resident of the hamlet who moved away and has
returned to offer marvellous Tuscan dishes cooked over an open wood fire.
JOHN CLARKE www.borgodivagli.com
TUSCAN TIPS
Tuscany’s most popular area has been Chiantishire, between Siena and Florence,
but rising prices are driving investors to Grosseto in the south, Lucca in
the west.
To buy outright, it is becoming easier to get euro mortgages locally. Barclays
(Italy) offers interest-only loans. Tax is payable on purchases, assessed on
rateable value, about half the sale price. Rates are 4 per cent for Italian
residents, 10 per cent for foreigners. Capital gains tax (20 per cent)
payable if property is sold within five years.
IT’S THE CLUB WITH A DIFFERENCE
IN THE mid1990s businessman Stephen Wise took his wife on holiday in Italy.
They spent the first week in a “perfect” Tuscany farmhouse, the second in a
run-down villa near the Amalfi coast. That second week was as bad an
experience as the first had been good; yet both were booked through the same
reputable villa rental company.
This niggling inconsistency sparked off an idea that led Wise and his partners
(including Mike Balfour, founder of Fitness First, and Patrick Henchoz,
founder of Esporta) to launch the Hideaways Club.
The club seems to incorporate the advantages of other schemes. As a member,
you’re a shareholder in a company that owns a portfolio of dream properties,
from villas in Croatia to chalets in Chamonix – just like in US “destination
clubs” such as Exclusive Resorts. But unlike in those clubs, members
collectively own the properties, so you benefit as they gain in value. In
this way the Hideaways concept is similar to fractional property ownership.
Be warned, though: you’ll need a spare £200,000 or so for the joining fee. The
fees from new members will be used to expand the portfolio to 100 properties
over five years, says Wise. “We’re aiming for a mix of developing markets
where property prices are moving rapidly, such as Morocco, Turkey and
Croatia, and mature markets that may offer a more attractive holiday
environment but where property prices are generally rising more slowly, such
as France, Majorca, Switzerland and Italy.” Values have grown, on average,
by around 50 per cent in five years.
The portfolio contains a mix of locations, including ski resorts, countryside
and beaches. But holidays come at a price. That initial £200,000 is invested
in immaculate properties; members pay an additional £10,000 a year,
basically the cost of running them. That sum will buy you enough points for
two peak and two off-peak weeks a year – and you’re unlikely to be
disappointed. FAITH GLASGOW www.thehideawaysclub.com
To
search for properties in Italy on propertyfinder.com click here
To find properties in
Tuscany on properazzi.com click here
