careful monitoring of the airline’s Web

site, a savvy traveler could snag a oneway

deal as low as—yes, really—92

pence.(P assengers still pay £13

[OE18.35] to £15 one way in taxes, which

is still a deal.) “You could fly over for a

gelato,” Ms.Bruni laughs, “And it

might still be more economic than buying

one in London.”

It comes as no surprise that roughly

90% of Ms.Bruni’s clientele is from the

U.K. Other clients include Germans,

Dutch, Irish, Americans and Australians.

The influx of foreigners discovering

this enchanting region has resulted

in steadily rising real-estate prices,

says Mr.Fuchs, to the tune of 10% to

15% a year.

According to Ms.Bruni, if you had

purchased a basic, restored farmhouse—

a rustic stone dwelling with

about 250 square meters of space on an

acre or so of land—in Le Marche three

years ago, it would have cost roughly

300,000,000 lire, or about $135,680 (based

on 2000 exchange rates).T oday that

same house could easily run you in the

neighborhood of $335,550 (OE285,000).

Those snapping up properties aren’t

looking for just any house.Most want a

quintessentially Italian structure: majestic

old villas, or stone farmhouses

with several outbuildings or barns on a

sizable piece of land.Italy abounds

with such homes.Some are partially

habitable, others are structurally sound

shells, some are utter ruins—requiring

a complete overhaul and unconditional,

undying, often self-sacrificing love, not

just a little TLC, a few rosemary bushes

and a faux-fresco paint job.

Mr.Fuchs went through the process

himself 13 years ago, when he moved to

Le Marche with his wife, Barbara.They

found a 500-square-meter ruin on 5,000

square meters (1.2 acres) of land with

only one habitable room, a fireplace

and bathroom, which they bought for

about 150 million lire (equal to about

$125,200 in 1990 dollars).As is common

in buildings of this type, the ground

floor was a former stable; the garden

was, as he puts it, “all rubbish and

nettles.”

The pair created new rooms (a

kitchen in the calf stable, breakfast

room in the chicken coop), added windows,

built a new staircase, dug new

foundations, laid the floors with vintage

tiles, plastered the entire inside,

sloughed off ugly concrete on the outside

to reveal the original stone facade,

and created a terrace.

Of course, the place still needed

those little extras like plumbing and

electricity, a septic tank, and water systems.

Along the way, they were cheated

by workmen, made rookie mistakes,

and underestimated the cost of jobs at

every turn.In the end, the fix-up ran

them another 250 million lire (ranging

from $148,350 to $182,270, depending on

the exchange rate).But today the house

is valued at OE500,000 ($588,500), more

than a fourfold increase in value.

Mr.Greene went through his own

renovation process, rehabbing a cluster

of ruined religious buildings on four

hectares (9.8 acres) of land, which he

and his partner Richard Dixon purchased

for the equivalent of 36,000,000

lire in 1988 (about $30,000 then).T oday,

he estimates the property would sell for

no lower than OE450,000 ($530,000).They live in the former rectory, and rent out

what were the chapel and a workman’s

cottage for OE500 and OE750 weekly, respectively.

Mr.Greene, who runs an informational

travel Web site for English speakers

(www.le-marche.com), says, “it’s always

P eople do things here they would

never try in their home countries.Can

you imagine an Italian deciding to buy

and restore a manor house in the Scottish

Highlands?”

Indeed.Once you’ve found the falldown,

rocky ruin of your dreams, it’s

important to keep in mind—and not all

realtors communicate this—that not all

of your grand plans may jibe with what

the local powers-that-be have in mind.

Various regions often have differing

regulations regarding what can and

can’t be done to existing structures.In

addition to limitations on specific structural

additions, there are limits that

pertain to how much one can increase

the size of a structure and the percentage

of that structure that may be restored

to a “habitable” state.

For example, a purchase is made of

a derelict farmhouse with a separate

barn, tobacco tower and pigsty.The

ground floor of the house is consisted of

former cattle stalls.It may turn out that—

due to the town and even the relationship

between your architect and the

mayor’s office—you are only allowed to

make 90% of the existing space habitable.

So, the pigsty stays just that, or

becomes a glorified storage room.The

stalls are now a “hobby room” and so

forth.

You can almost always forget about

building a new habitable structure on

an extra guest cottage is usually out

of the question.

And everything needs to be applied

for.P ools tend to be the most common

request, and though they are often approved,

the process to gain that approval

The owner purchased this property in Ostra Vetere five years ago for OE100,000 and spent another OE100,000 on renovations. It is now valued at OE320,000.

can be a frustrating one for those

on any sort of time schedule.Some properties

already have the application process

in the works before they are put on

the market, so ask the realtor.

The cost of renovations has been rising

too.Mr .Fuchs estimates that work

by competent tradesmen who understand

the ins and out of meter-thick

walls and who know how to lay terra

cotta roof tiles can run OE650 to OE1,000

per square meter. But despite rising

costs on all fronts, say Ms.Bruni and

Mr.Fuchs, prices for comparable properties

in Tuscany are still twice as

much, and in Umbria, at least a good

third more, making Le Marche the better

deal at the moment.

Residents brag that there are plusses

about Le Marche that are hard to put a

that are still printed in Italian only.

Lower prices apply not only to real

estate, but to local markets, restaurants

and wines, such as the region’s famed

crisp white Verdicchio, and robust red

Conero, with its Montepulciano and Sangiovese

grapes.

The historic centers of towns such as

Ascoli Piceno and Macerata offer the

same charm and views one would find in

the Tuscan and Umbrian hill towns, minus

the bus traffic and flag-wielding

tour guides.And Amandola, with its

stunning Sibillini backdrop, is a great

stepping-off point for hikers and peakgazers

alike.

“Le Marche has a beauty all its

own,” Ms.Bruni explains, “and from the

mountains to the sea is only 70 kilometers.”

In between, travelers encounter

hills, lakes and countryside, which all

eventually give way to coastline.

Of course, there are some downsides.

Italian beaches—even those in Le

Marche—are renowned for their tacky resorts.And many homeowners silently

chafe that, for all the expense, they still

don’t live in Tuscany.And while flying into Ancona may be a low-cost breeze,

getting to Rome or Florence by rail or car can be time consuming.

While Mr.Greene feels that Le

Marche will never be as crowded as Tuscany,

Mr.Fuchs and Ms. Bruni say that if

the current real-estate trend continues,

Le Marche will achieve Tuscany status in popularity and price within three to five years.Already , realtors and would-be

buyers are trying to anticipate where the

next Tuscany will spring up.Will it be Abruzzo, just south of Le Marche? Could

be, especially since Ryan Air already flies daily to Pescara on that region’s coast.A realtor friend of Mr.Fuchs, who

handles Abruzzo properties, has already

warned him: “Please don’t send anyone

here who doesn’t have money—because

our prices are going up, too.”

A sampling of realtors in Le Marche:

Monica Bruni

Case da Abitare

Tel: 39-07-36-84-87-03

www.monicabruni.org

Eberhard Fuchs

Consilieri Case Coloniche

Tel: 39-07-21-72-82-52

www.case-coloniche.com

Ian McCarthy

Picene Homes