Details provided and maintained by TUSCANY REAL ESTATE, Italy

The villetta in Arezzo has a common entrance hallway that leads to the garage, the cantina (wine-storage-cellar) and the stairways leading up to the independent Tuscany apartments. This villetta Arezzo’s apartments, one on each floor are each composed of a dining room with kitchen corner and living room with fireplace, 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.

This villetta Arezzo has a wonderful panoramic position, very close to Arezzo, and its balconies and terraces surrounding all rooms of the palazzina allow for enjoyment of the openness yet within a city context. Excellent quality in building and material choices.

Tuscany - Arezzo - Bucine

Tuscany farmhouse of 340 sq.mt. with hilltop location in process of being restructured, Bucine, Arezzo.Panoramic views of Tuscan vally of Valdambra, 3 hectares with 100 olive trees, vegetable garden completely fenced, horse shed and pool. At this stage buyer can still modify floor plan and influence finishing details.

This Tuscan country house has had a new roof done, it is currently set to be subdivided into three independent apartments, but work is at a stage where floor-plan can still be modified. Major infrastructure has been finished. The farmhouse’s detail finishes can still be impacted by the buyer. The poperty also has an annex for agricultural needs and a horse shed with water and electricity.

Move to Tuscany turns ex-East Dallas pair into olive farmers

The couple planted 250 olive trees on their acreage, but it will be several years before the young trees produce heavily. Meanwhile, the just-pressed extra-virgin oil from a neighboring farmer that the Nadalinis brought back to the States for their five grown children met with acclaim, and the Tutta Toscana olive oil label was founded.

"Fortunately, olive oil culture is growing fast in the American marketplace, and customers are more willing to pay the price for top products," Cesare says. "Many other Tuscan producers would love to export to the States, but they end up with a large distributor whose judgment is driven by price. We offer the straight link between Pilade Bianchi [the neighboring farmer] and you."

Tuscany - San Casciano Val di Pesa - Florence

Luxury renaissance Tuscan villa of 800 sq. mt. in San Casciano Val di Pesa, Florence, with ample living spaces, balcony with panoramic views, 5000 square meter garden, 4 hectares of which 2.5 Chianti Classico DOCG 20 year old vineyard & newly planted Sangiovese, 900 olive trees in production. Addionally 4 car garage, pool and changing room, elevator.

This Italy Tuscan villa hs an elevator, spectacular English garden with water fountain, panoramic views, panelled wood ceilings. Alarm system all throughout included the gardens, bars in doors and windows.

The Tuscan villa has been divided in 4 separate apartments. A 60 sq. mt. apartment on the ground floor as maid quarters. On the rest of the ground floor and the first floor is the main villa apartment of 350 square meters, with ample living spaces that open up onto the balcony with panoramic views.

Guide To Buying Property in Italy

Once you have chosen your property you should engage the services of a solicitor, whether you buy through a real estate agent or directly from the vendor. An Italian solicitors knowledge of Italian real estate law is invaluable and he is there to look after your interests and your interests only!

When buying a property in Italy the first document you will be called upon to sign is the so called “proposta irrevocabile d’acquisto” (reservation offer), this is normal practice when purchasing through an estate agent. On the other hand when purchasing directly from the vendor (private sale) this document is not normally used. This is one of the many reasons why a solicitor should always be engaged.

By signing the proposta irrevocabile d’acquisto you will be taking the property off the market for a limited period of time, normally 15 days. During which time your solicitor, and where necessary assisted by a surveyor, will make all the necessary searches to ascertain that the property is without any debts, mortgages, claims etc.

Ghanaians in Italy - Looking back 2008

Through the efforts of COGNAI, Ghana Real Estate Developers held an exhibition in Vicenza during the year which accomplished some success. The number of participants, including Italians, exceeded expectation and it was an event that demonstrated how far Ghanaians have come in building quality houses compared to those in Europe or elsewhere.

Ghanacoop, an established business entity born out of the Ghana Nationals Association in the city Modena, continued to make progress importing fruits from Ghana – pineapples, mangoes, pawpaw etc. – to Italy, supplying megastores and supermarkets like Nordi Conad, Coop Estense and GS Carrefour whilst exporting Italian wine, pasta and ham to Ghana.

Italian bond scandal could ensnare banks

According to some estimates, Italian authorities could be sitting on €35bn (£33bn) of liabilities relating to bonds they took out in the 1990s, which could turn into Italy's biggest financial scandal since the Parmalat fraud.

Milan has said it is considering legal action against a group of lenders – Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan Chase, UBS and Dublin-based Depfa, part of Germany's Hypo Real Estate. The group struck a deal to help Milan manage repayments on €1.7bn of bonds it bought to finance public spending.

Milan is losing money on the derivatives contract it took out with the banks, which allowed it to swap a fixed rate of interest on the bonds for a variable rate. Milan's mayor, Letizia Moratti, said: "We reserve the right to take legal action". Italian police are also investigating and raided the banks' offices earlier this year. The banks would not comment.

The favourite place in Italy for quaint and authentic properties is Tuscany

LOOKING around your house on a dull January day, did you ever wish you were living somewhere else, somewhere beautiful, somewhere hot, somewhere interesting, anywhere else? writes Joan Scales

That's what holidays are for, and when you opt for self-catering abroad, you can have that beautiful, interesting home in the sun. The best thing about self-catering holidays is that you can stay in fabulous places, in homes you could never afford, if only for a couple of weeks.

The quality of self-catering homes around the world has improved in recent years, and with the internet, it's easier than ever to find great accommodation, wherever you want to go. The building boom of the past 10 years across Europe, the US and South Africa means that great properties are available and the market is very competitive - good news for renters.