For this month’s blog I want to share a dream, from one of our new owners, Helena Ellison’s dream, of buying a home in Italy. She apologized for rambling on, but I love her passion and enthusiasm. I have been visiting Italy since childhood, my mother was Italian, and have always felt at home there. The warmth of the people, speaking the language, the sunshine, the beautiful countryside, cities, coast and mountains, culture and food and wine all combine to make it the country in which I wish to spend more of my leisure time.

Why did you decide to buy in Le Marche?

Le Marche is real Italy, across the Apennines from Tuscany and has a similar stunning landscape, but without the mass tourism. This beautiful undiscovered region stretches from the Sibillini mountains to the calm waters of the Adriatic Sea.

What do you love about the area?

The area is really undiscovered. It feels like authentic Italy. The locals are very friendly and welcoming and so generous in sharing this beautiful part of the world with visitors. The Italians really know how to enjoy themselves and there are countless food festivals, celebrations and feast days.
There is something for everyone in this region. From our house, it is a fifteen-minute drive to the beach or in the other direction about 45 minutes to the Sibillini mountains. When we were there in October, on a lovely autumn day we could get in the car and at the end of the drive we could turn left and go to the coast, walk in the glorious autumn sunshine, sit on the beach and have lunch on the terrace of our favourite seafood restaurant. Or we could decide to turn right and head up into the mountains to a chalet for a fireside lunch, listening to the cowbells and looking out at the snow on the peaks.
I love that there are activities to suit all interests. We have hired bikes (electric in my case) and cycled along the coastal route, for 9 miles, passing over the 43rd meridian line through wild grassy coastline, through resorts with fashionable Liberty villas, and elegant palm-tree lined promenades. Along the marina with hundreds of berthed yachts, through the large fish market, stopping for a gelato before returning home. Taking in the views of the medieval hill-top villages perched on the edge of the mountainous Conero National Park. For the serious cyclist, the area has many, many cycle routes and you cannot go out in the car without meeting the men in lycra, especially on a Sunday.
In winter, time we take a trip to the ski resorts of Bolognolaor Sarnano - perfect for snowboarding too. I particularly enjoy Nordic walking and I leave a pair of poles at the house. It’s wonderful to walk from the house and across the adjoining fields. For longer walks the Sibillini mountains are just stunning. The Sibillini Ring is a route which takes about nine days, going from refuge to refuge through some of the most stunning scenery. We have done a few sections of the route on day trips and would love to do more. It is so peaceful, and often you don’t see a soul for hours. A wonderful place to get away from it all.
The warm Adriatic Sea is a clean and safe place to bathe. In august the beaches are full of Italian families enjoying the sunshine, with rows of sunbeds and umbrellas lining the sand. At other times its vast expanses are uncrowded, and the sea is all yours.

GO TO HOMEPAGE

Why did you chose to buy into a fractional ownership property?

It had always been my dream to own a house in Italy once the children had left home and we were no longer working. But, when that time came, we realised that it was not affordable for us to buy the size of property we wanted. We realised that we wanted to spend time with our ever-growing family and also with friends, and a large house was beyond our budget. We also wanted to simplify our life and not take on additional practical burdens of maintaining a property from a distance, as well as the running costs. We also didn’t want to feel tied to one particular place and feel we had to spend much of the year there.
When I heard about fractional ownership, it seemed the obvious solution. By owning a ten percent share in a property, you get five weeks a year. Enough to get to know the area and feel settled, and also time to travel to other parts of the world. Another really important factor for us was that the costs are so much less than owning a property outright. We also only have to pay to 10 % of the running costs of the house.
Tell us more about owning a fractional property…
It suits us perfectly. The ownership structure with Appassionata works very well. The property is owned by a UK based limited company. The property is owned freehold and in perpetuity, so we get a sense of permanent ownership. A board, on which a house representative sits, takes decisions on the running of the property and budget and sets the service charge each year. And every year we are asked for our ideas which are then put forward and discussed. The accounts are transparent. The property is managed by India, Dawn and Michael’s daughter, and her husband Charlie. It’s helpful to have an English-speaking management. Everything runs like clockwork when we stay, but behind the scenes a great deal of work is done to make it run so smoothly and to manage the calendar, to maintain the property to such a high standard and manage all the change-overs.

GO TO HOMEPAGE

What are the pros and cons for your family?

The pros are that you arrive at your property and start your holiday immediately. The house has been carefully cleaned by the housekeeper, with fresh linens, and our wine chilling in the fridge. When it’s time to go we just pack up and go and don’t worry about a thing when we return to England.! We have all the best aspects of owning a property abroad but without the responsibility and stress.
The good thing about our group of owners is we all use the property ourselves, or if we are unable to take up our weeks, we let friends and family stay or other owners in the Appassionata group. We don’t let out the house commercially. Everyone treats the house with the greatest care.
The only con is you don’t have the flexibility of heading out there on a whim. The calendar is drawn up in the September of the preceding year, although it is often possible to swap weeks with other owners or take extra weeks. I take the view that if we did own a property outright, we would surely be letting it out in peak season to defray costs, so we would not have this flexibility anyway. And houses need to be lived in, the heart needs to keep beating.

Tell us more about your property…

It’s a reconstructed four-bedroom property, with lots of character and large open plan living areas and just a short walk from the centre of a pretty medieval village. It has its own terraces and garden and shares the 5-acre grounds with the farmhouse next door, which is also a fractional ownership property developed and managed by Appassionata. We have a large shared swimming pool with sun loungers and umbrellas, and an all-weather tennis court. The views from our terrace are amazing - big skies and sea views. There is also a grotto with an open fire for cosy evenings underneath the stars. I love that we have our own vineyard, olive grove, lavender and newly planted truffle orchard. All the produce is harvested to make our own wines, olive oil and lavender oil - and hopefully truffles soon.
Appassionata renovated the property with great vision and using the best quality materials. Dawn Cavanagh-Hobbs used her magic to create a beautiful home, creating a very liveable space, with old materials, and modern facilities. Her exquisite eye for detail, her sense of colour and texture, and her mission to find pictures, mirrors, pots and plates, to decorate the rooms, has contributed to making the house such a home.
I love that the windows frame such gorgeous views - from the kitchen looking up to the village above, lit up at night-time, from the sitting room across the valley to the sea, where a full moon reflects in the sea, sunrises are stunning, and the sunsets incredible.

GO TO HOMEPAGE

Your Cultural Pursuits in Le Marche…

Urbino, two hours away, is the cultural centre of the region. The birthplace of Raphael, and the seat of some important Renaissance patrons, its art gallery is rich in masterpieces. Two monasteries have stunning frescoes, and the fortified town, with its turrets and cobbled streets is a joy to explore. Le Marche can also claim a famous composer - Rossini, Pesaro’s most celebrated son - and a world-class music festival takes place there annually. There is one at Macerata too. But all around the region, opera is part of life. Le Marche has the most theatres per square kilometre than anywhere in the world. Every small town had one! The theatre in our nearby town of Fermo, for example, has the most beautifully adorned and opulent ancient theatre with gilded boxes, chandeliers and velvet seats. And these theatres are used regularly. Who doesn’t like the opportunity to dress up once in a while for a night at the opera to enjoy the most exquisite singing from the Italian repertoire - and it won’t break the bank. Or you could follow in the footsteps of Sartre and Hemingway and sip a cocktail in the ultra-elegant art deco Cafe Melitti in the Roman town of Ascoli Piceno,
Everywhere there is history. Of Church and State, in the churches and town halls, in the art galleries and museums, in the little cobbled streets, the elegant arcades, in the monuments and statues, fortifications and street names - a famous leader, the date of a significant event, a famous author or composer. If antiques are your thing, and they are mine, there are numerous open-air antique markets to browse and forage in. Fortunately, I know a man with a van!

The Food and Wine…

But I must now talk about the food. Italy is essentially very regional, and so the food and wine reflect this. Le Marche is a particularly abundant region for food. The coast provides the widest range of seafood, fresh and plentiful, seafood restaurants abound. The wooded valleys are home to wild boar and rabbits. Beef also appears on menus together with pork, although chicken is less common. But what will strike any visitor is the vast expanse of fields of produce in the area. In the valleys leading to the sea, you will see hectares of green vegetables, tomatoes, melons, nut-trees, citrus fruits, apples, all growing in the white calcium-rich soil. Olive groves and vineyards too - clinging to the steep hill-sides. Mainly the Montelpulciano red grape and the Passerina and Pecorino white grapes, producing a wine with an individual and unique taste.
And the pasta. The tiny village of Campofilone, a few kilometres away, produces fine angel-hair pasta. I had to smile when I saw these products featured in a large display at our local delicatessen here in London. We love eating out. Our favourite is the local Osteria, Cinque Colli, in our village. The chef creates the most exquisitely flavoursome dishes with seasonal ingredients, and with presentation worthy of any smart restaurant. The cantina has a long list to choose from and the girls serve with grace and charm, not with the weariness that you often get in touristy areas. We will never forget the New Year’s Eve there last year - what a feast! What a party.

Why did you choose to buy into a fractional ownership property?

It had always been my dream to own a house in Italy once the children had left home and we were no longer working. But, when that time came, we realised that it was not affordable for us to buy the size of property we wanted. We realised that we wanted to spend time with our ever-growing family and also with friends, and a large house was beyond our budget. We also wanted to simplify our life and not take on additional practical burdens of maintaining a property from a distance, as well as the running costs. We also didn’t want to feel tied to one particular place and feel we had to spend much of the year there.
When I heard about fractional ownership, it seemed the obvious solution. By owning a ten percent share in a property,you get five weeks a year. Enough to get to know the area and feel settled, and also time to travel to other parts of the world. Another really important factor was that the costs are so much less than owning a property outright. We also only have to pay to 10 % of the running costs of the house.

Is there any advice you’d give anyone thinking of buying a fractional property?

Do your research, take advice, and ensure that the ownership structure is sound, and the property is professionally managed. I just never expected it would be so easy!

VIEW OUR LATEST PROPERTY