Contrasts of Genoa: from antiquity to high-tech
Rapallo is a town in the province of Genoa. This place in northwestern Italy is known for the fact that in 1922 the RSFSR and Germany signed the Treaty of Rapallo, which broke the international isolation of Soviet Russia. Now no Rapallo resident knows about it, but each of them remembers that in Rapallo there was a money-changing shop of Domenico Colombo, who in 1451 became the father of the discoverer of America.
If archaeologists are to be believed, this town is as old as Rome. Nothing remains from those times in the city, only the Genoese fortress, which was taken by the pirate Dragut in 1549, and a couple of castles built a little later - 1551 and 1627. Most of the city is still built up with houses from the 16th-17th centuries.
How much does historical real estate in this suburb of Genoa cost now? A small 75-square-meter apartment is €130 thousand, and a large 150-square-meter one is €225 thousand. A square meter on average costs €1,650.
In neighboring Genoa, similar apartments cost one and a half times more, and the average price per square meter is €2,600. However, unlike Rapallo, present-day industrial Genoa is built up with modern high-rise buildings, and little in it reminds you that you are in Italy.
Rent in Genoa is quite inexpensive. On average, it costs €78 per day, and €540 per week. But this is for tourists. The Genoese themselves rent much cheaper - up to €1,000 per month.
Milan: the most expensive city
But the champion of Italy in terms of price per square meter is Milan. Here it ranges from €800 (this price is more typical for houses) to €4,076. The average values hover around €3,000 per square meter. Most likely, this is why most Milanese prefer not to buy apartments but to rent them. Moreover, apartments in large cities of northern Italy are rarely sold individually. If anything is bought, it is houses.
Venice: exclusive for millionaires
The architectural appearance of the city took shape in the 14th - early 16th centuries - during the period of the highest prosperity of the Venetian Republic. The city is extraordinarily picturesque - palaces, bridges and canals, narrow winding streets with continuous rows of three- and four-story houses. All this costs no less than in Milan. But Venetian real estate is not always for sale - most houses of historical value are either owned by the city, or by the province of Venice, or by the Italian Republic.
If apartments are still sold, they cost from €900 thousand to four and a half million euros. At the minimum price, mini-apartments are sold, which consist of a hallway, living-dining room, bedroom, and toilet. Their area is 60 m2. In neighboring Trieste, such an apartment can be bought for €250 thousand.
However, rental relationships flourish in Venice. You can rent an average 65-square-meter apartment in Venice for €92 per day, €600 per week, and €1,660 per month. A weekly apartment rental will cost you less than a hotel, where a good room costs $1,250 per day.
Florence: affordable historicity
Now let's move further south - to Tuscany. Its main city, Florence, is a large settlement by Italian standards. The ancient Roman era is reminded by the rectangular layout of the city. Florence is considered a city-museum. Most of the buildings that created this reputation are concentrated in the right-bank part of the city. Many of them were built in the proto-Renaissance era, or as the Italians call it, the Duecento (Italian: ducento - two hundred, i.e., the 1200s), and on Piazza del Duomo there is the Baptistery of San Giovanni, which was consecrated in 1059. Among the structures of the 20th century, only the central station and the stadium stand out.
Despite its historicity, Florentine real estate is not that expensive. If it is not a villa that belonged to the Medici family, then the price per square meter fits within €2,000. Even a 100 m2 apartment located on the top floor of an ancient building in the very center of Florence, built in the 14th century, costs quite acceptable by our Moscow standards - €450 thousand. True, these square meters are usually so many that the total price often exceeds €3 million. If you absolutely want to buy a 16th-century residence with an area of 1,040 m2, you will have to pay €4.2 million.
However, if you are planning to visit the city-museum during the holidays, you will primarily be interested in rental. The apartments there are tiny - daily rent costs €97, weekly - €680, and booking will cost €128.
Rome: don't believe the ads
Rome is a city that you cannot miss. Naturally, the capital is one of the most expensive cities in Italy. In terms of price per square meter, it is second only to Milan. A square meter of Roman real estate costs on average €2,900. However, if a foreigner searches for an apartment on their own, it seems that the average price per square meter approaches the five-thousand mark and sometimes even exceeds it.
For example, an apartment with an area of 160 m2, located in a new building near the Rome Ring Road and the Anagnina metro station, costs €750 thousand, while an apartment with an area of 90 m2, located in an ancient building near the Colosseum, will cost €900 thousand. There are simply ads aimed at foreigners, and there is a notification system for locals. Ads posted on poles and in courtyards, written in Italian, foreigners generally do not read.
Daily rental of a 70-meter Roman apartment costs €104, weekly - €720, and the booking fee is €131.
Naples: cheaper than Rome
Now let's move to the southern part of Italy - to the third largest Italian city, Naples. Its name comes from the Greek "new city", which was founded by Greek settlers in the 8th century BC.
If you are going to spend winter holidays in Naples, the daily rate for a rented apartment will be only €53, weekly - €370, and the booking fee - ?70.
A square meter when buying costs significantly less here than in Rome or Milan, and its average price is €2.400. A villa 50 meters from the sea will cost $1,35 million.
Buyers, learn Italian
How to buy Italian real estate? We asked Elena Miliari, owner of the agency Immobitorica, this question, who said that buying property in Italy is a very expensive pleasure. A property buyer is subject to an 11% state duty, and also pays 3% of the cost of the purchased housing to both the realtor and the notary. Under Italian laws, a foreign buyer is equal in rights to an Italian, and he does not need to set up companies to buy houses.
However, Pietro Antonelli, manager of Piperno & Co., warned that homeowners themselves are very reluctant to sell houses to foreigners. The simple and straightforward southerners may send you with the most refined Italian swear words, while polite northerners, smiling, will set a price that will immediately kill your desire to buy.
It's a different matter if you speak Italian. Then there is a chance to negotiate and even get a discount, and realizing that you are not an American, they may sell you a house at a price that they would only sell to a 100% Italian. If you only speak English with a German accent stuck from school, then your only path is to real estate agents. If they turn out to be honest, you can find property at the price for Italians.
Prospects: time to explore the south
As for the prospects of investing in Italian real estate, Irina Figner from the Milan agency Immobili Internazionale believes that it is very profitable, as demand for real estate in Italy continues to grow. After the euro replaced the lira, Europeans, who had feared losing out on Italy's traditional inflation, poured in a powerful stream into Northern Italy and swept away everything that was offered at that time. Nevertheless, it is not too late yet to invest in northern Italian real estate, as prices there have not yet reached their peak. However, great prospects are promised by real estate in southern Italy, which has not yet been sufficiently developed by Europeans, except for Naples and the Gulf of Naples.