236 A translated news clipping on Trulli contributed by Charles Joseph

Charles found an interesting story on Trulli on Sole 24 Ore and has been kind enough to translate it (along with the original clipping) for the members of this forum - so informative and another chance to brush up on Italian! Here is the text: [font=Times New Roman][size=3]BEWARE OF RESTRICTIONS[/size][/font] [font=Times New Roman][size=3]Renovating a trullo is no light undertaking. Contrary to what estate agents will have you believe, renovation is costly, not forgetting any unforeseen problems that you may encounter along the way.[/size][/font] [font=Times New Roman][size=3]According to Sefim franchising immobiliare, there are two contractual situations you need to be aware of when buying in Alberobello. First, with the Sovrintendenza delle Belle Arti (Ministry of [i]Artistic Heritage[/i]), who has rights of pre-emption. And second, the preliminary contract between buyer and vendor.[/size][/font] [font=Times New Roman][size=3]Estate agencies will not always highlight the potential problems; rights of way and servitudes for example, or allowing neighbouring farmers to use your water well, or [/size][/font] that the vendor[font=Times New Roman][size=3] may want the use of your olive trees, in some cases for periods exceeding 10 years. Additionally, many of these buildings have been left in a state of abandonment for years whilst the local farmer has continued to work the surrounding land thereby removing any [/size][/font] access roads[font=Times New Roman][size=3] leading to the property. [/size][/font] [font=Times New Roman][size=3]But what about the renovation costs? It depends on the condition of the building and the land that surrounds the property – if the landscape is rocky the costs are higher – says Architect Ado Franchini from Adm in Milan). Removing external rendering, restoring vaults and rebuilding a trullo cone roof will cost on average 7-8 thousand euro per square metre. Generally, you will not find renovation costs below the €1200 to €1500 per square metre mark. On top of this you can expect to spend a further 3-4 thousand euro to install a septic tank [/size][/font] and the clipping: