Palazzo passion - It’s more like selling a Picasso than real estate.”

A beautifully restored 17th-century palace that gives you more for your millions, The estate of Tenaglie, south of Orvieto, on which the house stands, has a dramatic history involving feuding families, money, murder, popes and football, thus according exactly with British expectations of Italy. According to research by David Giachini, the son of the present owner, Tenaglie was owned originally by the Baschi family, who had for centuries ruled the area from nearby Carnano Castle. After a gruesome massacre of a rival family branch in 1553, the Baschi estates were confiscated by the Pope, who invited the local population to tear down Carnano Castle. The ruins are still visible from Palazzo Ancajani today.

Priced Out of Rome

According to real estate agents at Tecnocasa, a real estate agency, sale prices in Zagarolo vary from 2,100 euros ($2,870) per square meter, or $267 per square foot in the historic center to 1,700 euros ($2,325) per square meter, or $216 per square foot outside of town. But even relatively wealthy people have thought twice about buying in the city in recent years as prices for luxury properties in the historic center now average 9,000 euros ($12,300) per square meter, or $1,143 per square foot, while a luxury home near the Spanish Steps can cost as much as 18,000 euros ($24,625) per square meter, or $2,289 per square foot.

IDYLLIC ITALIAN LIVING

DREAMING of living La Dolce Vita? A luxury home in Italy is closer and more affordable than you think. In fact, there's never been a better time to buy. Prices start from as little as £25,000 for a refurbished and fully furnished medieval village home in Abruzzo, close to Rome, and from only £32,000 for an off-plan beachfront apartment in Calabria, in Southern Italy. Katrina Tasker, Scottish agent for Italian property specialist Each Property Med says: "Interest in our Italian properties - especially in Calabria - has been amazing."

Calabria region of Italy sits at the brink of what could be a property-buying frenzy

As Europe's property markets develop, property investors are beginning to look elsewhere for opportunities. Calabria, in Southern Italy, could be one such opportunity, according to Debbie Espin of Overseas Property UK. Surrounded by clear silver-blue sea on three sides, Calabria is one of the warmest and sunniest corners of Europe. Even in mid-October, temperatures remain in the upper 70s. You'll find lemon groves, vineyards, and ancient chestnut woods, fishing villages, stone-built watch-towers, and donkeys carrying firewood. And wine festivals, religious parades, and a wealth of traditions that are deep-rooted rather than something dreamt up by the heritage industry. You'll see men playing centuries-old card games, women doing embroidery, and shepherds tending their flocks just as their fathers did.

Segro buys 70,689 sq metre business park in Italy for 84.5 mln eur

Real estate investment trust Segro PLC said it has acquired a 70,689 square metre business park in northern Italy from Europa Capital Partners for 84.5 mln eur, with a further 50,000 square metre for development. The company also said it is opening a new office in Milan to focus on developing flexible business space along the main motorway corridors in northern Italy.

Spazio Investment to buy real estate asset from Ortensia for 31.5 mln eur

Spazio Investment NV said it has submitted a binding offer to buy a real estate asset from Ortensia Srl for about 31.5 mln eur. The property, located in Melzo, about 20 kilometres east of Milan, is almost entirely leased to Sogemar Spa, Interpacking Logistic Spa and Interservices Srl. It is one of the largest freight terminals in the Milan area, with an estimated open market value of 33 mln eur at July 2007, Spazio Investment said in a statement.

Rich Russians Found New Courchevel in Italy

Forte Dei Marmi - a small Italian town has turned into the second Courchevel within two years. Russian money has forced up prices for all goods and services in the town, situated 20 minutes drive from Pisa, and now Forte-Dei-Marmi is one of the most expensive populated areas in Italy. Being a usual provincial town Forte-Dei-Marmi has rapidly changed: boutiques of the world-famous brands such as Prada, Gucci, Burberry, are mushrooming here.

Property in Tuscany

Covering 4,200 acres Castello di Casole is one the largest private estates in Italy. Situated 20 minutes north of Siena and 45 minutes from Florence it was originally home to the illustrious Bargaglli family, and later the film director Visconti. The estate is classic Tuscany in every sense, as one realises driving along the tiny roads which meander around the estate through sunflower fields, vineyards and olive groves. The estate actually produces a respectable crop of olive oil, wine and sunflower oil, some of which is sold to local hotels and restaurants but most of which is kept for residents of the estate.

Italian property - Palazzo passion for sale

A beautifully restored 17th-century palace that gives you more for your millions,The Ancajani family bought Tenaglie the same year, sold it in 1630 to settle debts and bought it back in 1664 – by which time the interim owner had built the palazzo. The estate stayed in the family until 1957, when a severe winter destroyed the olive harvest and drove the owners into bankruptcy. Palazzo Ancajani was then bought by the president of Roma football club, who, according to Giachini, wanted “to bring the team here as a retreat from the temptations of the big city”. He also went bankrupt, however, and sold it to an entrepreneur from Viterbo, whose wife and children disliked it, so it was sold on to Giachini’s parents, Vittoriano, a retired general in the Italian Air Force, and Gabriella, in 1986.

Pirelli gets final green light to develop Milan urban area

Pirelli Real Estate SpA said its 50:50 Quadrifoglio Milano SpA joint venture has received the final authorization to restore and develop the urban area in Milan previously owned by Manifattura Tabacchi, the historical headquarters of the State company that produced Italian cigarettes. Quadrifoglio, a joint venture with Fintecna Immobiliare, will begin demolition of the more than 83,000 square metres surface this September while reconstruction and construction of new areas will begin by the summer of 2008.

Culture and very good health service results in Italian investment

Director Mike Dunkerley said: "The overall culture is an attraction. It's a different lifestyle [to the UK], the weather is far nicer, there's quite a lot of exploring to do - a place like Italy is full of history, so you can wile away a good few years exploring. Mr Dunkerley added that there has been an increasing number of British people buying holiday homes in Italy as they wish to "get to know the area" before they eventually retire there.

Southern Italy 'becoming more popular'

Property in southern Italy is becoming increasingly popular among international investors, with rising interest in a number of regions. UK-based buyers are showing interest in areas such as Calabria, Abruzzo and the Amalfi Coast, despite the fact that facilities in the south are generally not as good as those in the north.

Southern Italy 'growing in popularity'

Areas of Southern Italy have been "gaining interest" among British people looking to buy holiday homes, RealPoint Property said today. Director Eddie Crompton said that regions such as Calabria, Abruzzo and the Amalfi Coast have grown increasingly popular, but the north of the country has superior infrastructure features such as "transport networks" for Britons who wish to travel home easily.

Investors buying into Italian lifestyle

Foreign property investors in Italy are shifting their interest from the countryside to Italian towns, according to a property expert. Rupert Fawcett, head of the Italian desk at Knight Frank, said that many investors are "cash-rich" but "time-poor" and so do not want to embark on the restoration of farm houses "that was once all the rage". Now they are being attracted to the ease, accessibility and security on offer in Italian towns, he said. Mr Fawcett explained that investors are buying into the Italian way of life when they purchase properties in the country.

Lazio bargains: this is the real Italy

HAVING Rome on your doorstep is prize enough, but what makes Lazio, the province that rings the capital, so enticing is its surprising beauty. Volcanic lakes and rolling farmland lie to the north near ancient Etruscan Viterbo; on the other side of the A1 highway to Florence sprawl the blissful Sabine hills. The Sabine melts into wilder stretches of olive-dappled hills towards Tivoli and then down again southwest of Rome, where the Roman plain stretches out towards Frascati, with its outstanding vistas, volcanic ridges and shimmering lakes.

Pirelli consortium wins contest for Italy's Fintecna real estate

MILAN (Thomson Financial) - Pirelli & C Real Estate SpA said its consortium has won the contest organised by Italy's state-owned Fintecna Immobiliare to buy four major real estate assets in Rome. The deal will see the formation of a joint venture in which Fintecna Immobiliare will hold a 50 pct stake. Of the remaining share, Pirelli RE will have 35 pct, Italy's Fingen will own 35 pct and Gruppo Maire 30 pct.

Goldman Sachs set to beat Merrill in Italy property fund

MILAN,(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) is poised to win a war with Merrill Lynch (MER.N: Quote, Profile, Research) for an Italian real estate fund after its higher offer, valuing the fund around 548 million euros ($750.9 million), won the favour of the fund's manager. Goldman's final offer for 95 percent of the Berenice fund (QFBER.MI: Quote, Profile, Research), or 570,000 units, stood at 913 euros per unit against Merrill's 827 euros.