The Pirries have been guided in their search for a home by a UK-registered sustainable tourism company called Tricali. Set up in 2005, the company specialises in renovating and selling traditional properties that have fallen into disrepair, acting as a buffer between Italian sellers and overseas buyers. Once a house is legally signed over, it is renovated and furnished with rustic-style furniture, the cost of which is incorporated into the sale price.
The initial project was in Calitri in Campania but for the last 18 months the company has been selling properties in the Borghi Nascosti villages - half a dozen medieval settlements in Abruzzo which include Fossa - and the town of Irsina in the region of Basilicata. To make itself accessible to British buyers, Tricali operates through agents including Each Property Med, the sole agent in Scotland. Katrina Tasker, of Each Property Med, explains: "The aim of our sustainable tourism projects is to offer a practical, grassroots solution to developing the local economies in the villages we work with. These areas are as beautiful as Tuscany, yet suffer from slowing economic growth.
