Tips and advice

Holidays in Le Marche
• Le Marche is a beautiful area, unspoilt by tourism. Don’t expect the locals to be fluent in English and restaurants to cater for tourists. Take this as an advantage to try food that Italians enjoy eating and any attempt to speak Italian is greeted with enthusiasm. Hand gestures always help too. Children are welcomed in restaurants and food is excellent value.

• The beaches are mostly developed and you can hire sun beds for the day or week. Be aware that although nobody is actually lying on them, some of them might be already rented out. The sand and the sea are clean and excellent for children and sun worshippers alike.

• Shopping in Le Marche is a pleasure when you shop as the locals do, using local markets and shops, remembering that most of them are closed for a few hours between 12.30 and 4.30pm. Along the coast and in more built-up areas you will find large supermarkets and plenty of shopping opportunities.

• The climate is varied but spring/summer tends to start earlier and temperatures are generally higher than in England. Even during the hotter months you’ll always catch a breeze inland in the hills and villages.

Buying a home/second home in le Marche
Having been through the process of buying a house in Italy we could supply a wealth of advice but here are a few tips to start with.

• Searching on the internet is a good start but nothing beats actually driving around the area you are interested in and looking at houses normally with local estate agents. This takes time and patience but you soon start to realise what you are looking for.(And some of those lovely pictures tend to omit the factory next door!)

• It’s a good idea to do some research first and let estate agents know your requirements and budget. Think about how much renovation work you want to take on. There are lots of ruins, which, as the estate agents say, require a degree of visione.

• When you find a house be prepared to put down a deposit of 10-20%. Open a bank account in the area. For this (and for lots of other applications) you need a Codice fiscale (like a N.I. number), which can be easily obtained.

• Get good advice on the buying process in Italy, find a reputable notaio (notary) and geometra. (surveyor/architect).

• We can offer a service, which may help you make your initial decision to buy a property, especially if you are unable to repeatedly visit Le Marche. We can visit the property or properties and compile a report on the state of the building, the location, local amenities etc. Cost for this service would be around £50 depending on detail required, location and how many visits to the property would need to be made.

More detailed quotes for building work could be arranged, as well as organising a visit from a geometra at extra cost.

Any questions/queries of a general nature that are e-mailed to us we will try to answer from our personal experiences.

Books to read
Guide Book
Cardogen Guide Tuscany, Umbria and Le Marche
Blue Guide, Le Marche and San Marino

Annie Hawes
No nonsense account of living in Italy (in her case in Liguria). The culture, food and people are wonderfully described (evoked with a great sense for detail and an ability to see the funny side of things.

Frances Mayes
Dreamy, evocative account of buying a home in Tuscany. Language a little flowery sometimes but still enjoyable. I preferred her second book ‘Bella Tuscany’.