ITALIAN CITIES
Art Nouveau and Baroque architecture as well as Roman ruins and its position on the Adriatic Sea makes it a gateway to Eastern Europe.”
Bella island outposts On italy’s main islands, Sardinia and Sicily, it has always been about standout beaches but cities off er some intriguing options. Rather than the big three Sicilian cities of Palermo, Catania and Messina, look at Siracusa, Modica or Trapani suggests Ramsay Gilderdale of Modicasa Sicily (
modicasa.com). “T e centro storico of larger cities are
expensive, over €4,000 a square metre in Palermo for example, while cheaper properties tend to be in the concrete sprawl of the suburbs,” he says. “Instead choose smaller ‘art’ cities. In
Ortigia, the Baroque area of Siracusa, a restored two-bedroom apartment is €1,500 a square metre and it’s cheaper still in Modica, a UNESCO town.” Messina is chaotic and not especially
attractive warns Gilderdale while Catania has a beautiful historic centre but dreary suburbs and the additional problem of Mount Etna directly overhead.
“T e cities and towns in the centre of the
island have cheap property but it takes half a day to get to the seaside and they can be high up making for cold winters,” he adds. In Sardinia British buyers starting buying
homes around Alghero on the northwest coast when low cost fl ights began. Two-bedroom apartments there and in the market town of Bosa, one hour south, start from €250,000. T e delightful capital of Cagliari with a
classy marina, international airport and lively city centre has prices from €350,000 for a well renovated home. “Cagliari has a buzzing culture and good shopping,” says Rebecca Lewis Lalatta from England (pictured right) who has lived in the historic heart of Cagliari since 1995. “Sardinians are slow to tell the world what they have but we live a fantastic life,” she adds. “I ride horses nearby and can go miles without seeing a soul. At night fl amingos fl y over my terrace and the sea and mountain views are beautiful. A high-end residential project is underway to renovate the most beautiful buildings in Castello the old town on the hill. Cagliari does not have an active rental market yet but I am sure when word gets out that more people will buy a second home here.”§
“Choose smaller art cities in
Sicily: Ortigia, the Baroque area of Siracusa and it’s cheaper still in Modica, a UNESCO town”
SICILY – RAGUSA
A carefully restored penthouse in a Liberty palazzo close to the Duomo of Ragusa, a town in the south of Sicily. The apartment has three bedrooms and two terraces and selling for €470,000 (£376k).
modicasa.com
SARDINIA
A three-bedroom apartment on the third fl oor of one of the most ancient houses in Lucca’s walled centre, 30 minutes from Pisa airport. Priced at €680,000 (£544k)
knightfrank.com
LUCCA
One and two-bedroom apartments in a well-restored listed palazzo, formerly the Post Offi ce, in the centre of Sardinian capital Cagliari. From €420,000 (£336k).
savills.com
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aplaceinthesun.com
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