Moving to Italy – Which Region to Choose’

Once you have decided to move to Italy, you’ll need to narrow your choice of location down a bit. The ideal scenario is that you move to a part of the country you know well. However, there is a good chance that you have not made your mind up and that your decision will be influenced by price, a special house or an exciting business for sale. In that case, research is vital, and once you have narrowed down the possibilities, go over for a visit. Consider renting before buying too. It’s not written in stone that you are obliged to buy a house if you live overseas.

Narrowing it down

Get serious. Make a list of factors that you must have in your new life. Involve your nearest and dearest if they are making the move with you. Some points include:

• distance from airports, especially if visiting the UK regularly
• house prices
• weather
• town or countryside
• proximity to doctor/shops/schools/sports centres/beaches
• liveliness of place (do you need nightlife? tourists? isolation?)
• cost of living (the south of the country is much cheaper than the north)

The regions

Italy has 20 regions. The country is often divided up into the north, the centre and the south and the differences are not just geographical.

The North

This is often referred to as Padania. One definition includes all regions north of the La Spezia – Rimini Line ( a frontier and linguistic division between northern and central Italy) – Val d’Aosta, Liguria, Lombardia, Piemonte, Emilia Romagna, Friuli Venezia-Giulia, Trentino Alto Adige and Veneto. The north is where Italy’s ‘industrial triangle’ of Milan, Turin and Genoa is located and the centre of business and industry. Geographically and culturally these regions are much closer to the rest of Europe.

The north is the most densely populated and wealthiest part of Italy and accounts for over 50% of GDP while comprising just one third of the total geographical area. This wealth is epitomised in its cuisine which is much richer than in the centre and south, making extensive use of cream and meat.

Apart from the vast flat Po Valley this part of Italy has mountains in the northernmost parts (it shares borders with Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Slovenia) as well as the world famous city of Venice in the east and the ‘Italian Riviera’ of Liguria in the west, including jet set favourites like Portofino.

The Centre

This is Tuscany, Umbria, Le Marche and Lazio, although Abruzzo and Molise are often included in the designation. It is a part of Italy increasingly popular with tourists and homebuyers. The birthplace of the Renaissance and home to Florence, Tuscany is the most famous region in Italy and one of the priciest. From the coastal areas of Monte Argentario and Versilia to the classic Chiantishire landscape of golden fields and green vineyards punctuated by cypress trees such as that surrounding Montalcino to the wild rugged mountains and thick forests of the Casentino Valley north of Arezzo, this region has got the lot.

More visitors and property buyers have been discovering Umbria, the only landlocked region of central Italy with beautiful Lake Trasimeno and picturesque medieval hilltowns, including Assisi. Prices increased as more foreigners arrived and so the search went east.

Le Marche was once fairly inaccessible but now that low cost flights go to Ancona airport it has become the ‘new Umbria’. It has beaches, mountains and ski resorts as well as a beautiful national park and medieval hilltowns.

Rome is in Lazio and over half the residents of Lazio live in or around the city. As well as being Italy’s political capital, Rome is also home to the Vatican state, seat of the Catholic church. The region is low mountains, hills and plains and borders the mountainous, rugged region of Abruzzo and the little known and least visited region in Italy - Molise.

The South

Known as the mezzogiorno, this part of Italy comprises Campania (home of Naples), Basilicata (whose city Matera with its sassi -cave houses - is a stunning UNESCO World Heritage Site and film location), Calabria and Puglia as well as the island of Sicily.

Puglia (aka Apulia) has been the hot, hip new property location for a few years now. It is a massive long, thin region that makes up the spur and heel of the boot and is famous both for its conical trulli houses and the white Baroque city of Lecce, known as the Florence of the south. It has great food and wine, sunny weather and wonderful beaches. It is very popular with holidaying Italians.

The south has been undergoing a transformation and a lot of government and EU money is being pumped into it. As well as developing the tourism industry and consolidating the infrastructure, new businesses are being encouraged to move or invest there.

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