IL Postcard

High Rental Returns on Your Italian Sea-view Apartment

Date: 04/28/2008

Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Bevagna, Italy

Read more about Italy in International Living Postcards—your daily escape

San Pietro in Bevagna at night in the low season is not a place to get your pulse racing. At first sight, you might even be tempted to turn around and head back to the busy town of Manduria just a few miles north, as there are few shops open and fewer people on the street to give you directions. My friend Annette and I spent some time trawling the deserted main road of San Pietro looking for a hotel before the welcoming lights of Hotel Byzantine came into view.

With our beds sorted out for the night, the next problem was dinner—the hotel restaurant was closed until the beginning of the tourist season in May.

We drove back along the dimly lit southern coast of this part of Puglia in search of a decent meal, but things were looking bleak: the few open cafés and restaurants we’d seen earlier had closed up by 8.30 p.m.

Eventually, we pulled up by a log cabin pizzeria just outside of town, called Il Refugio, watched over by a mammoth dog. Should we go in, or abandon all hope of food? Rumbling stomachs won. Although the music didn’t stop when we stepped inside, all local eyes were on us as we sat down. But the diners watching us did so out of friendly curiosity and the waitress soon put us at ease. From such unpromising beginnings, we had a great evening.

Some of the teenagers had set up a karaoke arrangement and started to regale us with Barry Manilow. We protested and asked for some old Italian pop songs, and soon the whole room was singing along. I watched the cook spin the dough for my delicious thin-crust artichoke and mozzarella pizza (€4). Annette had a margherita pizza for only €3 and we shared a half liter of Mandurian red wine (€2.50). The total bill came to a mere €9.50 ($14.90).

Everything looked better the following morning as I drew the curtains to a sunny sky and the sound of the Ionian Sea. From the balcony I could see long, white sandy beaches and dunes. These stretch east of the industrial city of Taranto all the way along to Gallipoli, and are fast becoming a popular alternative to the seaside resorts along the Adriatic.

On this southern coast it’s mainly new-build or recent construction, in contrast to the ancient homes in the Itria Valley. My contact in the region, Michele Torroni, wanted to show me some good-value properties.

We visited some brand-new apartments less than a five minutes’ walk from the beach. Set in a small estate of 32 units, called the Stella Marina, each apartment is more than 600 square feet and has a veranda, two bedrooms, and parking space. And on top of this, every apartment on the first floor (U.S. second floor) has its own roof terrace with sea views—the terrace is plumbed and wired for outdoor living in the summer. And the price: $175,000 for the ground-floor properties, and $192,000 for the first-floor apartments with roof terrace. (To compare this price with France: For $184,000, you would get just half that space with a view of the Mediterranean.) This kind of apartment can rent for as much as $1,500 per week in July and August, and up to $1,100 in other summer months.

But even cheaper were the bungalows for sale next to the Hotel Aurora down the road (the owner is retiring in a few years). The one-bedroom bungalows are solidly built and just need redecorating. For $103,000 they’re not a bad deal—plus, you have your own yard and access to the hotel pool as well as the beach.

Although the Ionian shore is not undiscovered—Italians from the north have been soaking up the sun and spray here since the 1960s—there’s still plenty of room here. And it’s not as empty as it seems at first sight. Folk from nearby towns come to spend the weekends here off-season, and some northern Europeans live here year-round alongside the locals, making the most of the coast, low cost of living, and friendly atmosphere.

After all, it’s not just bricks and mortar that counts. The people of Puglia are generous to a fault. After locking the car keys in the rental car, I was impressed by the way the hotel staff responded, calling up the local Fiat agent and garages in the area free of charge. In less than an hour, a grizzled mechanic turned up, rescued the keys, and he, too, refused to take any payment for his time.

Leigh Fergus
Roving Europe Editor, International Living

P.S. For more information on property in the area, you can contact Michele Torroni (who also represents David Stanley Redfern Ltd.).

Editor’s note:Steenie Harvey, our other roving Europe editor, also visited Italy recently and came back with some super deals. In an upcoming issue of International Living magazine, Steenie shares what property bargains she discovered on the Adriatic coast: fixer-uppers for $30,000...a restored home for $75,000…these are just a few examples of what’s in store.

Read related articles:

- Your Own Restored Italian Home for $86,000

- A Home With a View of the Adriatic Sea: $186,000

- Property Bargains in Italy’s New Hotspot