Some people collect stamps, ornaments or miniatures, but Toni Hilton collects houses in the Monferrato region of northern Italy.
“I’m a little bit of an obsessive,” she said, referring to the four properties that she and her husband own in and around Villa Sansecondo, a small town about 55 kilometers (34 miles) from Turin. They rent them out for short-term stays.
Ms. Hilton’s fascination with the area’s real estate began, oddly enough, on a bus in Mexico in 1992. She was on vacation from her job as a nurse in Florida and struck up a conversation with her Italian seatmate, Roberto Pierobon. They ended up traveling together — followed by romance, marriage, Ms. Hilton’s move to Italy and the birth of their daughter, Rebecca, now 11.
