I turned to my husband and announced “this is it, Italy is where I want to live”! My husband pointed out that we had only been in Italy for 2 days, but I knew this was right place, I just had to convince him!
We returned to the Tuscany region two or three times over the next few months to search for the ideal property. Then a work colleague mentioned a region called Le Marche, he wife was originally from this area and they themselves had a home there. Knowing they both had exquisite taste, I thought it was worth a trip over to check it out, I never needed an excuse to jump on a plane to Italy!
I booked flights, hire car and accommodation and also arranged to meet up with a couple of local agents.
We decided to drive south along the coast road from Ancona airport instead of taking the autostrada. I fell in love with the breath taking scenery, rolling hills, sea and mountain views and the medieval hill top towns dotted around the countryside.
The people were warm and friendly and the area unspoilt by mass tourism……this is real Italy, a hidden gem.
As a lover of water we headed straight for the coast in Cupra Marittima. There we found a long white sandy beach dotted with chalets and wonderful seafood restaurants, we dined on fresh mussels and chilled white wine looking out across the Adriatic, dreaming of spending family holidays there in the future.
A cycle path runs for miles alongside the beach, what a great place to get fit, even I might be tempted to cruise along on my second hand bike, complete with wicker basket, overflowing with fresh produce bought from the local market.
I could hardly contain my excitement, breathing in the perfect tonic of both sea and mountain air I felt I had come home, the feel of the place was perfect. Listening to the locals chatting away in Italian, I quickly added language course to my to do list!
To cut a very long, elaborate story short, we fell in love with the first house we saw, but went on to see another 30 properties!
Some ruins, some impossible to access, some we accessed and were greeted not only by the owners but also grandparents, uncles, aunts, chickens and pigs, 3 legged dogs and litters of kittens. Some owners insisted we try their homemade grappa, (firewater), probably in the hope of getting us drunk enough to agree to the extortionate price they were asking for a parimeter wall , where once stood a house!
Four months after making an offer, we became the proud owners of our first property in Italy.
To be continued……………………………….
Dawn Cavanagh-Hobbs lives with her family in the stunning region of Le Marche. She is an interior designer and co founder of Appassionata, their family run fractional ownership business based in Le Marche, selling 1/10th shares in luxury properties. www.appassionata.com
