Buy a home in Umbria

Those looking to buy real estate in Italy might alight on Umbria for a couple of reasons. It has various claims to fame. One is that Umbria is ‘the next Tuscany’ and for years now those who have given up on finding development properties in Tuscany have been moving on to its neighbour. The other is that it’s ‘the green heart of Italy’, and offers a gentle and very beautiful Italy for those of us besotted by rolling green hills, lines of olives and vines, hilltop farmhouses and lines of cypress trees.

All these elements make property for sale in Umbria a very attractive proposition for housebuyers from the UK and US … and given its position in central Italy, Umbria is a remarkably uncrowded region. Whether you’re looking to buy a renovation property in the Umbrian countryside, or set up home in one of the marvellous walled hill towns so characteristic of the region — Gubbio, Todi and Assisi to name but three — there are good property deals to be had here. Perhaps you're already in the early stages of planning a trip to Umbria? If yes, then consider ahotelinitaly.com if searching for hotels in Umbria. There's a great deal of choice, mapping from Google, and instant availability checking plus reservation.

Real estate in Umbria — history and geography

Uniquely in the peninsula of Italy, Umbria is landlocked. Lack of a coastline traditionally inhibited the Umbrian economy, with its position betwixt north and south Italy leaving it rather isolated. The area depopulated for hundreds of years, with workers heading north for work. Even today, with the population slide halted and numbers starting to grow, the population density of Umbria is half the Italian average. There are real possibilities for buyers of real estate in Umbria here of course, with old farmhouses and country estates being ripe for purchase and redevelopment.

The Neolithic Umbrii tribe are today as much of a mystery as their neighbours the Etruscans, who founded Tuscany. They were steadily driven to the east of the Tiber by the Etruscans, battered further by the advent of Rome, and then retreated into fortified hill towns in the face of the Barbarian invasions of the Dark Ages. The historical quirk means that today there is a preponderance of these hilltop towns and villages, offering superb scenery and homes for those buying property in Italy.

Assisi, Orvieto and Gubbio

Known as ’the land of the saints’ in addition to its other soubriquets, Umbria gave birth to Saints Francis of Assisi, and St Benedict (founder of the Benedictine Order). Before you buy a home in Umbria you’ll undoubtedly do some sightseeing and there are delights here. Check out Assisi, with its marvellous series of frescoes by Giotto within the Basilica di San Francesco. See Orvieto, which boasts a magnificent Gothic cathedral. Or see Gubbio, which many claim as the most perfect mediaeval town centre in all Italy.

Indeed, although geography and history isolated Umbria (and the region stagnated economically for centuries under the lacklustre rule of the Vatican), it doesn’t seem to have missed out culturally. Possibly that is because the infrastructure was established early. Buy real estate in Perugia, Orvieto, Spoleto, Todi or Assisi and you’re investing in a town that has been here since Roman times or before. The roads and communications were established around the dawn of the Christian era as were the new systems of agriculture developed by efficient Rome.

Umbria, an ancient civilisation

The region may have been cut off but it was self sufficient; those buying real estate in Umbria today reap the benefits of those two millennia of continuous civilisation. You will be buying produce from farms that have worked the land here for generations; the comune in which you live may have been in place for a thousand years; the architecture and civil organisation of your town may date back to the 14th century.

Anybody looking to buy property in Umbria shouldn’t expect the mildness of climate enjoying by coastal Tuscany. The landlocked region has a continental climate with hot summers and cold winters — another reason property investors have tended to favour Tuscany. This though, is another factor that has kept the prices of homes lower in Umbria than in neighbouring regions.

Lake Trasimeno and the Cascata delle Marmore

To the east, Umbria is bordered by the Apennines, and to the south lies the city of Terni and the extraordinary waterfalls of the Cascata delle Marmore. Head to the north-east and the city of Perugia and, over on the Tuscan border, you’ll find Lake Trasimeno, the biggest inland waterway on the Italian peninsula. At its deepest Trasimeno drops to only 7m, so becomes very warm in summer, and is very popular with watersports fans.

Anyone buying property in Umbria should check out the marvellous sites the region boasts. See unspoiled Gubbio, a mediaeval hill town with none of the crowds and tourist traps of Assisi. The Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria in Perugia houses a superb collection of Umbrian art from the mediaeval and Renaissance eras, or encounter the unexpected delight of Benozzo Gozzoli’s fresco cycle in the little town of Montefalco.

And there is the marvellous Duomo in Orvieto. The mediaeval hill villages of Spello, Montefalco, Trevi and Bevagna make for a lovely journey through the Valle di Spoleto. Or check out the magnificent countryside of the Monti Sibillini national park, and the mountain-fringed valley of Valnerina.

Real estate in Umbria — where to buy and how much

Recent properties for sale include a two-bedroom house in the medieval village of Piegaro, just south of Lake Trasimeno. €190,000 would buy you a home with two hectares of land, handily placed in the countryside to the east of A1 motorway. €180,000 would have bought you a semi-detached stone-built cottage in Citta di Castello, a lovely and unspoiled little medieval town near to the Tuscan border. With four bedrooms and permission for a pool, the house sits in 1500 square metres of its own land, and lies between the historic cities of Arezzo and Gubbio.

You should also explore the southern region of Terni. Less exploited by property buyers than its neighbouring province of Perugia, Terni still offers old farmhouses and country properties from around €500 per square metre.

Real estate in Umbria — airports and communications

Unspoiled and sparsely populated though it is, Umbria is well connected to the outside world. If you buy a home in Umbria you can reach it via the airport at Perugia, or head down the A1 to the airports at Rome, some 50km from Umbria’s southern border. Road communications are good too, with the A1 highway running up the west of Umbria and joining the region to the north and south of Italy.

We've included some links to ahotelinitaly.com should you be planning to visit Umbria in the course of your researches; the following links take you directly to a selection of local hotels in Umbria, all with quick online booking:

Assisi hotels / Gubbio hotels / Perugia hotels / Spoleto hotels

Property for sale in Umbria — the cuisine

Umbria is an agricultural region, and you might expect simple rustic fare. Pasta and roast meat are the traditional staples, but are elegantly augmented with shavings of truffle (Umbria and Piedmont are the only Italian regions to have truffles in any quantity). Specialities are la porchetta, a whole suckling pig stuffed with rosemary and sage; game such as guinea fowl and pheasant; lentils, chocolates and pastries. Just as in Tuscany, olive oil is very good. So is the wine. Think crisp white wines. Orvieto is a dry white wine and Grechetto is increasing in popularity.