Your Own Restored Italian Home for $86,000

In many of the stone houses I came across in Salento, I found beautiful old olive trees on the land.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Salento, Italy

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

Giovanni Russo is one of life’s go-getters. He is a hyperactive 50-year-old Italian with a passion for building and renovation.

Based in Puglia’s most easterly region of Salento (where the Adriatic meets the Ionian Sea), Giovanni serves on the local council. Having worked in the building sector for most of his adult life, there’s nothing about the region’s town planning, regulations, and masonry he doesn’t know. In his spare time, he looks after restorations at his daughter’s real estate agency, and draws his own plans for renovating properties.

He was keen to show me some of the projects he’s working on, but first I wanted to know if there were buildings specific to the Salento region of Puglia.

“ Paiara,” he said, and instantly sketched one for me. A paiara is a Salento stone farm dwelling or barn, with a straight outline, a flat roof, and square doorway. And before I could say capisco (I understand) , we were off in his SUV to see one.

Partly hidden by an old fig tree, this paiara is set well back from a narrow country lane on more than 1.5 acres surrounded by a low dry-stone wall. As it stands, the property costs $70,000, and Giovanni told us his plan to convert it into a stone house of 1,000 square feet with a spacious veranda. By using local stone that’s already on the land to keep costs down, he calculates that the full restoration will come to no more than $78,000. Not bad for such a quiet location. Especially if you can get Giovanni to hire the workers and look after the project—something he’s clearly itching to do.

Next stop was a 5,000-square-foot masseria, or fortified farmhouse, set among olive groves and fields. Built around an inner courtyard, the walls are large bricks of local stone, warm-looking in the evening sun. Arched doorways and windows give a glimpse of the countryside around.

The heart of this house dates from 1500, and over the last few centuries, the various owners have added other parts. The fireplace is made of a single stone block, and the smooth flooring of local pianche stone is still intact. The vaulted ceilings just need replastering, and the rewiring and plumbing work has already begun. From one of the roof terraces, you can see the 6 acres of surrounding land that comes with the house. Giovanni has a vision for this property and put forward a plan to turn it into four or five apartments. The local authorities have already given him the green light. The farmhouse will cost a group of friends or an entrepreneur $1.1 million. Plus, with the olive trees on the land, you’ll have your own olive oil.

But Giovanni had other cards up his sleeve, and took me to see a 16th-century townhouse in nearby Sogliano. He’s started converting it into apartments—retaining where possible the graceful indoor arches and the ancient stone staircases. He also showed a top-floor apartment with high star-vaulted ceilings that needs minimal care for $94,000, a fully renovated two-bedroom house with a courtyard and roof terrace just five miles from the Ionian Sea for $86,000, and lots with building permits and olive groves starting at $31,000.

Our last stop before he dropped us off is his pride and joy: a five-star hotel and spa, the San Giorgio resort that he designed and built himself, despite the historical appearance of one of the turrets. The honeymoon tower, he told me with a sly smile, has a pool on the roof terrace, hidden from outside view.

Leigh Fergus
Roving Europe Editor, International Living

P.S. I met Giovanni through Kevin Means, a soft-spoken British mediator, of Puglia Direct. You can contact him by e-mail. Brindisi is the nearest airport to the Salento region.

Editor’s note: Our team of far-flung writers is constantly on the lookout for real estate bargains around the world…and come back to us with examples of beautiful beachfront, countryside, and city homes. Whatever type of home you are looking for, we’ll show you where to find one for less than $100,000.

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