Can we use the emerging COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic to so some good and reset daily habits to be more sustainable? In these days of worries, lockdown, economic and sanitary crises all over the world, I have started to reflect on the fact that there is something wrong in our economic models and modern lifestyle. Eventually, I was very happy to find out that my thoughts were shared by many other people from completely different backgrounds.

Here in Italy, a few weeks ago the popular newspaper La Repubblica, published an interview with the famous architect Stefano Boeri, designer of the building Bosco Verticale in Milan.

The title of the interview resumes the architect’s point of view: “Via Dalle Città, nei vecchi borghi c’è il nostro futuro” (“Away from the cities, our future lies in the old hamlets”). In this interview, Stefano Boeri shared many of his ideas of a new lifestyle and a new possible economy. He concluded, “To go back to normality in which the causes and joint causes of this tragedy are rooted would be mass suicide.”

The same vision is also shared by another famous architect, Massimiliano Fuksas, interviewed by Elle Décor Magazine in which he declared: “The countryside is not to be considered a luxury, it must become an alternative for everyone.”

Our cities, once considered places of freedom, have turned out to be big prisons. Scientists say that this virus is weaker in the country. This is in part because of reduced social contact, lesser quantities of metal and plastics, as well as iodine-rich air in seaside resorts. The Apennines with their numerous abandoned villages offer the perfect opportunity to revive them. From an architectural perspective, this is closely linked to sustainable design, with approaches that can include renewable energy, water management, waste recycling and sustainable building materials. Escaping the city could therefore give life to beautiful places which are the spirit of Italy.

 With a castle built around 1,200 ad sited directly next to the church, it is certain that settlement has been around the site of the village for many centuries. Colledimezzo literally means ‘Hill in between’, in fact the village is located on a hilltop between two higher mounts.

The hill of Colledimezzo is a solid limestone rock, so of course stone is plentiful and most of the houses have been made from this and the local surrounding stone. The houses in the village are connected by a network of streets that are all stepped to accommodate this large rock, many of the houses are not accessible by car but originally mule would have been an option of transport.

Under the village, in the rock, are a number of caves and cellars that were carved out of the hill, perfect for keeping stores of food cool in the summer.

Clearly a feudal system of some kind was in place over the centuries, with the bigger land owners co-ordinating the effort of the villagers in exchange for farming harvests of crops and olive oil supplies as well as other goods needed to maintain the village life. This was clearly exchanged with other outlying towns especially Atessa and Lanciano. To a large extent the Abruzzo area has been self sufficient for centuries.

The manor house that is most certainly known through the later generations, is the ‘Old Doctors House’ which sits just under, on a path to the side of the church and looks out towards the river. After his death in the early 1960’s the house has been lying unoccupied as he left it, it’s like an untouched time capsule. Within this building, there is an insight into how life was for the people of Colledimezzo in the past. Generations of doctors in the family treated the local villagers with their ailments, as well as dentistry and midwifery. Large storage areas under the house indicate how grain, salamis dried meats, oil and wine were stored to see them through the cold winters.

1. Transfer taxes and stamps
2. Notary fees
3. Agency fees

Transfer taxes:

Let’s start with the trickiest one, the transfer taxes. Transfer taxes include: registration tax, the cadastral tax, mortgage tax.

1. The registration tax is payable for purchase of properties for personal use (not business or companies), is usually a standard amount of 1.100,00 Euro’s (one thousand one hundred Euro).
2. The ‘Cadastral Rendita’ is a taxable value calculated by the government for every building in Italy.

Cadastral Rendita⁽¹⁾: Cadastral meaning an official record of the land and property used for the basis of taxation; Rendita meaning revenue.

The Rendita is used to determine the amount of taxes due at the time of purchase and later to collect the amount of taxes that have to be paid yearly⁽²⁾. Be aware that these calculations are not based on the price of the house, they are based on the Cadastral Rendita.

 It was October of 2013 when I returned to Rome and Lake Bracciano, this time alone. This time I was on a mission: It was to collect as much information for the area as I could, to find the real estate agents who sold property and to take it home with me, so that I could take a look on line.

My holiday was a good one, I was traveling alone and was able to find time to enjoy the warm Autumn sunshine. The lake visit was sandwiched between two visits to Rome. The Eternal city did not fail to energise my mood and I was able to visit a lot of the sights that I had not seen first time.

I was pleased with myself, as by the time I went home I had found the option available to me that would hopefully enable me to find the property in Italy that I wanted. It was a property portal called 'gate-away.com'. I did several things to help me plan so that I could be ready when the right property presented itself. During the year I did a lot of looking and searching through the property portal gate-away that I had found. There was property advertised right across Italy, anything from mansion houses and palaces to tiny caves that had little to no facilities. I was quite taken by a number of little places dotted around the countryside near to Rome, but after speaking to a friend and thinking it through, it wasn’t going to be very helpful to myself to buy a property that had no electricity or water.

It was these thoughts that helped me to consider just what I did want and what practical things I had to consider.

Here is the tick list of my personal wants that I prepared during my year of searching for my house, it needed: