Stone-carved rustic charm returns to the hills of Piacenza
Val Trebbia and Val Tidone are in high demand, especially by clients from Milan. Val Luretta receives plenty of attention from VIPs
A second home in the countryside? This will be increasingly in demand in the future. Such ownership will be a fortune and a privilege, according to many operators. Especially among the Piacenza hills of Val Trebbia, Tidone or the small and pristine Val Luretta. The return to the countryside is now a consolidated trend after the health crisis. If in the months following the lockdown, the Emilian hills were rediscovered as a refuge by the people of Milan, “now they have become life companions - says with certainty Fabrizio Floriani, provincial president of Fiaip Piacenza. Val Trebbia and Val Tidone actually attract a varied range of clients, not only those seeking a second home.
Thus, they create lifestyle options for those who live in the city". On the other hand, managing your business from home, immersed in the tranquility of a green environment and in the serenity of your home, is a source of creative and productive energy.
Hence the search for outdoor spaces and new residential dimensions in a wider ambiance, which are more difficult to find in urban areas. Ultimately, "the distancing and the fear of contagion have done the rest - concludes the expert - and here the market, while leaving aside the numbers and values of sales from the early 2000s, is filling the vacuum by bringing the Italians back to the countryside slowly, but steadily". The phenomenon that emerged very strongly in Val Trebbia and Val Tidone and which is presented in one of our previous accounts is the focus on renting. Consequently, many owners of villas and stone houses with garden and outdoor space have suspended the sale negotiation with the respective agents for the summer season, with a view to rent the properties to relatives or friends, at their request, generated by the lack of an adequate market of this kind. This is confirmed by Marco Gazzola, sole director of the company in Rivergaro bearing his name (www.gazzolaimmobiliare.it): "We have received an impressive request for tourist rentals that have been met only minimally, because we lack the weekend culture and there are no holiday homes; the villas have been rented since the beginning of the year". If summer rentals prove to be a predominant trend, the request for purchasing a dream home in the Piacenza valleys follows the pattern of those properties suitable for the entire summer.
NEAR TREBBIA
"In the countryside around Bobbio, at a maximum of 5-6 km away from the centre, surrounded by a green area, made of stone, with a possibility to be renovated and a surface between 80 and 100 square meters", this is the dream house according to Gabriella Peveri, owner of Immobiliare Sviluppo Casa (www. immobiliaresviluppocasa.it), the first agency established in this enchanting village, operating since 1994. "These characteristics are increasingly tempting to many architects from Milan wishing to plan a fine restoration and pre-select it for their customers - adds the agent -. The buyers still ask for certain services and maybe a property just a few minutes away from Trebbia river: some houses have in fact a path that leads to the beach, but it is not easy to satisfy this request ".
The prices range from 40 to 80-90 thousand euros for a rustic villa of about 150 meters, on two levels, made of stone and which can be renovated. A unique opportunity? In Case Trebbia, close to Bobbio, Peveri introduces a bright former barn from the '900, with a surface of 120 square meters, featuring a refurbished stable door, terracotta interiors and direct access to the river for swimming. Not only that, but it also has a stream that flows into the garden. Price: 200 thousand euros. It should be noted that the demand for a cottage for rent or for sale in Bobbio and its surroundings has surged since 2019, when the Rai3 program "Il Borgo dei Borghi" acknowledged the prime position of the Val Trebbia village. And there is more. A camping area is available here and the Bobbio Film Festival, founded by director Marco Bellocchio, a native of these lands, is always one of the major attractions of the year.
"But three fundamental customer requests must be met - adds Marco Stombellini, of the local firm Geodomus (tel. 339.4143024): the presence of the garden, the price, and the fact that the property must be already renovated or, at the very least, needing only minor finishing touches". And the location: 4-5 km from the historic centre, a surface between 200 to 300 square meters, on one floor, with a child-friendly fenced green area of at least 200- 300 meters. "Well, yes - he explains - eight out of ten buyers are families looking for a second home, a stone farmhouse from the ‘70s and ‘80s at prices from 80 to 150 thousand euros".
THE PRIVILEGE OF VAL LURETTA
Gianluca Gusai, of the homonymous and historic real estate in Castel San Giovanni (www.collinepiacentine.it), who last year accompanied a Hollywood actor in the small Val Luretta in search of a farmhouse or a villa with swimming pool, tells the story. This part of the Piacenza hills is in fact much loved by well-known personalities who do not want to be in the public eye, professionals of the national and international economic and financial world. "This is an unspoilt, peaceful small valley" adds Gusai. The main villages here are Agazzano, Gazzola, Gragnano, Piozzano, Rottofreno. Less extensive than Val Tidone and Val Trebbia, it boasts, among other things, excellent woods to go looking for mushrooms. It, therefore, has its charm and is at the top of a very selective list. Not surprisingly, Gusai, overwhelmed with houses for rent and then for sale from 1 April, wishes to emphasize that, given the high demand, "owning a second home in the Piacenza area is a privilege and a fortune". And that's not all. The expert noted an increase of 10 percent compared to the previous year with regards to restored farmhouses in a good panoramic and dominant position. Need an example? "A farmhouse of 450 thousand euros with these characteristics, today it would be worth 500 thousand euros, but it is difficult to find," he says.
A COTTAGE IN VAL TIDONE
From her office in Pianello Val Tidone, Graziella Volpini (www.obiettivocasa.pc.it) confirms that "at the beginning of 2020 there was an increase in prices of 5-10 percent on properties of a certain value, stone farmhouses and Art Nouveau villas in a dominant position, but also in those needing renovations, due to the introduction of the energy bonus". Among the most popular areas in Val Tidone: the surroundings of Rocca d’Olgisio, Arcello, Corano, Sala Mandelli. “The standard request - she adds - is for an independent stone house in a panoramic position, with a surrounding plot of land of 1 or 2 hectares to be used as a garden. It must not have a historical value, as long as it is made of stone, as our rural constructions have always been from 700 onwards ". Clients from Milan (and Lombardy in general) are in pole position when it comes to purchasing, also due to the proximity to the city. They would prefer to spend from 60 to 150 thousand euros for a property needing renovations, and 300 to 600 thousand euros for an already renovated property".