Italian holiday homes for food-lovers

By day, they press their own olive oil from the groves around their farmhouse, peruse the produce at local markets and organise tours of the vineyards. By night, they cook meals for their guests, or host wine-and-food matching events. Martyn and Margaret Lewis, from Oxfordshire, are living every food lover’s dream.

They bought Casa Lavanda, a beautiful six-bedroom farmhouse in the Florentine hills just north of “Chiantishire”, with eight acres of wild-rosemary meadows and gardens with fig, apricot and cherry trees, in 1999. “We were always switched on to the Mediterranean lifestyle, particularly the food,” says Martyn. “It was meant as a semi-retirement holiday home, but we found a way to spend more time here.”­  

Although every region of Italy has its allure for epicures, the Emilio Romagna region, where the Slow Food Movement began, is considered the “official” gourmet capital of Italy (it boasts Parma, Bologna and Modena, home of balsamico vinegar), Tuscany and Umbria. And, according to agents in Italy, after a very tough couple of years for its international property market, it’s this heartland that’s starting to whet second home buyers’ appetites again.

“Since the spring we have seen an increased number of sales,” says Gemma Bruce, of GK Italian Property. Tuscany has stood up well, “due to its beautiful landscape, the culture cities of Florence and Siena and its world-renowned vineyards. At least 80 per cent of our buyers have chosen Italy for a second home due to its fantastic food and wine.”  

Source: Daily Telegraph