Bodies of water have always had a strong pull on the human imagination. Romantic, decorative, or just a fun place to splash about, many people couldn’t imagine going on holiday without aiming for water of some sort. Human recreation – indeed, human inspiration – often seems to go hand in hand with the glittery blue stuff. Gaze at it or get into it, you can’t help but delight in it.
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One of the many reasons Italy consistently ranks among the most visited countries in the world is its generous abundance of watersides. The boot-shaped peninsula, together with its several islands, has a staggering 7,500 kilometres of undulating coastline. That’s nearly the distance from London to Vancouver. With so much Mediterranean seaside to choose from, you might wonder why anyone would seek out a land-locked body of freshwater instead. But there are some good reasons. |
Italy’s lakes generally offer cleaner and safer water than the Med. On most lakesides, the opposite shore is reassuringly visible – which gives you rather more to gaze at than the sea’s flat line of watery horizon. Self-contained and clearly defined, a lake is an altogether tamer, quieter environment than the sea. And it’s a pleasingly intimate environment too, naturally conferring a sense of community on all who live on its shores. ‘We all live on Lake X.’ Seaside-dwellers are more disparate, their habitat more linear. On a practical note, there’s one expense you don’t need to worry about much if you buy a home on a lake: building a pool. Out in the countryside or even at the sea, a pool is a huge boost if you want to attract holiday rentals. On a lake it’s less important. So that’s a five-figure saving.
Italy has far more lakes than most people realize. The northern lakes – especially Garda, Como and Maggiore – are very well known. Indeed they are often referred to simply as ‘the Italian lakes’, as if the country had no others.
But there are a handful of hugely attractive lakes further down in central Italy – Lake Trasimeno in Umbria, and the sparkling volcanic lakes of northern Lazio, for example. On a much smaller scale, many tiny mountain lakes lie scattered across the remote interiors of southern Italy. And then there are the coastal lagoons – the tranquil, saltwater places of the Po River delta, of northern Puglia, and of southern Sardinia… |
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If you know you’d like to buy near a lake but you haven’t yet firmly decided which one, it’s worth keeping an open mind and investigating all that Italy has to offer. Each Italian lake has its own distinct character, and the one that suits you best might be one you haven’t yet heard of. Make a checklist of what matters to you, to see which lakes meet your criteria. Is price your key factor? Are good rental prospects crucial? Do you mind a lake that might get crowded in the summer or are you seeking a remote and blissfully undeveloped place? Do you want a vast basin, a modest pool, or something in between? Will you need access to the sophisticated cities and efficient infrastructure of the Italian north, or will you be happier in the sleepier, rustic south?
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One of the many reasons Italy consistently ranks among the most visited countries in the world is its generous abundance of watersides. The boot-shaped peninsula, together with its several islands, has a staggering 7,500 kilometres of undulating coastline. That’s nearly the distance from London to Vancouver. With so much Mediterranean seaside to choose from, you might wonder why anyone would seek out a land-locked body of freshwater instead. But there are some good reasons. |
As a very general guideline, it’s fair to say that property prices, rental prospects, visitor numbers, and potential for summer crowds are all highest in the northern lakes, and slowly sink the further you move down the Italian peninsula. The weather, of course, gets progressively hotter – making for a potentially longer visiting season (but don’t forget the possibility of winter rentals if your northern lakeside property isn’t far from a ski resort). Lakes tend to be largest in the north, medium-sized in the centre, and small in the south. They’re often close to world-class cities up north, near lovely smaller cities in the centre, and in rural mountainous settings in the south. Let’s look in closer detail at each of the lake-groups, and see what each has to offer.
Set mainly in Lombardy, but occasionally spilling over into Piedmont, Switzerland or the Veneto, Italy’s northern lakes are astonishingly beautiful places fringed with steep mountains, elegant shorelines and exquisite villas. Romantic and restful, their peace is arguably spoilt only in a very few places by summer crowds. The northern lakes enjoy efficient travel connections, and lie within easy reach of some of Italy’s most sophisticated cities. Long adored by wealthy visitors, property on the northern lakes is among the priciest in Italy. Super-prosperous northern Italians want a second home here as much as foreigners do, so properties don’t stay on the market for very long. Prices have steadily increased for years and continue to do so. Holiday rental prospects are excellent.
With the northern lakes, fame is commensurate with physical size. The largest lakes – Garda, Como and Maggiore – are the best known and command the highest property prices. Little lakes Orta, Varese, Iseo and Lugano, meanwhile, have much of the larger lakes’ elegance but draw fewer visitors and have slightly lower property prices. Lake Garda is the priciest of all the northern lakes, with one-bedroom apartments asking €175,000 on average, and two-bedroom houses €300,000 or more. [All quoted figures accurate in 2007.] The most visited lake in Italy, Garda is arguably a little touristy and over-developed in some parts, but its holiday rental prospects are superb. Wealthy Italians are the largest group buying here. (The Germans who used to adore having homes on Lake Garda seem to be moving on elsewhere.) Garda’s surrounding landscape is mountainous in the north and flat in the south. Prices are fairly uniform around the lake, but the best value property may well be in the west. If anywhere is cheapest, it’s the southern tip, around Peschiera, but the landscape and architecture here are perhaps the lake’s least interesting. Note that resorts such Riva del Garda can seem a bit deserted in the winter, while Salo, Desenzano del Garda and others stay lively.
Moving west, Lake Como is a breathtaking place with perhaps the most dramatic scenery of all Italy’s lakes. Its surrounding slopes are uniformly steep and impressive, lushly sprouting Mediterranean greenery at their feet and Alpine foliage further up. Tranquil and jewel-like, with some especially lovely little towns on its shores, Como has become quite popular with international celebrities over recent years – which has done nothing to bring down its property prices! It’s still possible, however, to get a nice one-bedroom apartment here for around €100,000. Two-bedroom houses, meanwhile, ask €170,000 and upwards. New-build property can be especially good value. Further west, Lake Maggiore is a similarly attractive place, if only slightly less dramatic. It’s especially popular with older visitors. There are lots of apartments available in converted period villas. One-bedroom apartments here go for about €150,000, two-beds about €200,000. Again, holiday rental prospects on Como and Maggiore are excellent.
The lakes of central Italy are arguably no less appealing that their better-known fellows in the north. To some minds, they’re preferable. Less crowded in the summer, but still offering good holiday rental prospects, the lakes of Umbria and northern Lazio lie in genuinely rural landscapes that also harbour appealing little towns rich in history. Ringed by gentle hills rather than steep Alpine slopes, these central Italian lakes are smaller, rounder, and a bit sleepier. Their surrounding scenery may not be as dramatic as in the north, but has a more restful beauty. The super-sophistication of Milan or Venice may not be on your doorstep, but the delights of Tuscany and Umbria – not to mention Rome – are never too far away. And this being central Italy, the weather is warmer for slightly more of the year.
Lake Trasimeno in Umbria remains a tranquil place of great natural beauty, despite its current popularity with outdoors-loving visitors and second-home-owners from northern Europe. While not exactly cheap, property around Lake Trasimeno is still generally less expensive than in Umbria’s most coveted locales – such as hilltowns Assisi, Todi and Orvieto. Small two-bedroom stone houses near the lake can be had for around €100,000. Newly-built three-bed apartments in a small, tasteful complex can go for just under €200,000. Further back from the water, partially-restored farmhouses start at €250,000. If you’ve got a lot to spend and you’d like the thrill of renovating an old castle or fortress, the towns on Lake Trasimeno have quite a few that might interest you.
Lake Trasimeno lies not far from Tuscany’s Chianti Hills, and not far from Umbria’s capital Perugia and tourist-magnet Assisi – so there are abundant breathtaking places to visit nearby. Holiday rental prospects are good, with two-bed apartments garnering about €650 a week in the summer, and three-bed houses taking in around €1,000. As with the lakes in Lazio discussed in the next section, you should expect enquiries from Dutch and German holidaymakers as well as British and Americans. Note that Ryanair’s recent introduction of budget flights from Stansted to Perugia is likely to boost interest (and prices) round Lake Trasimeno. |
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About 30 miles south of Lake Trasimeno, the first of northern Lazio’s glittering trio of volcanic lakes appears. Eight miles wide, Lake Bolsena is the fifth largest lake in Italy, and the cleanest lake in Europe (you can drink it). Like tiny Lake Vico a few miles further south and more sizeable Lake Bracciano a few miles more, Lake Bolsena is surrounded by green, fertile hills, lovely countryside, and small, friendly towns bursting with Etruscan and Roman relics. Lake Bolsena benefits from being just a stone’s throw from Tuscany and Umbria. Lake Bracciano, meanwhile, benefits from being within commuting distance from Rome – especially on its southern shore. Property prices on both lakes can be substantial in places, but very affordable in others. All three of Lazio’s volcanic lakes have grown popular with northern European visitors over the last decade or so, but remain utterly unspoilt by development. Building in the immediate lake area is heavily restricted, so property values here can only increase. Holiday rental prospects, meanwhile, are good.
On Lake Bolsena, small village houses generally start at around €90,000, and small country villas at €200,000. Prices are highest in the beautiful little town of Bolsena itself. They can be quite high indeed – a large four-bedroom house in town is currently asking €650,000, while a nearby farmhouse needing full restoration asks €850,000. Restored apartments in the medieval centre are less expensive, if you’re lucky enough to find one for sale. On the other side of the lake, homes in charming Capodimonte or Marta are much lower-priced. One- and two-bedroom apartments here can go for less than €100,000 – often very attractively restored and sold fully furnished.
A couple of miles from Lake Bolsena’s shoreline, the handsome old town of Montefiascone has abundant homes for sale. Again, nicely restored apartments in the old centre go for less than €100,000. New-build villas of various sizes ask €100,000 to €300,000, and at least one local farmhouse needing full restoration asks just €160,000. You might consider going a little further from the water, to Bagnoregio, where there are some bargains: restored, furnished apartments in the old centre for €70,000 or less, a restored three-bed country house for €400,000. Note that the towns to the northwest of Lake Bolsena tend to have the lowest prices of all, but draw fewer visitors and have arguably fewer charms.
Tiny Lake Vico, a few miles south of Lake Bolsena, sits in a nature reserve. The only property available here is on the lake’s southern edge, and it’s all modern. Villas get going at about €200,000. There are plenty of small towns with lovely old centres near Lake Vico, and their one-bedroom apartments usually ask around €80,000. Prices on Lake Bracciano, meanwhile, tend to be a little bit higher than those on Lake Bolsena. This is especially true on the southern shore, as Rome lies within commuting distance. Two-bedroom apartments on Lake Bracciano are offered from €120,000 upwards.
Italy’s north and centre have the country’s most significant lakes, but you should know that there is no shortage of remote, tiny lakes scattered across the mountainous interiors of the Italian south. Prices of property on these very little-visited lakesides is minimal – four- or five-figure sums for country homes in various states of repair. And you’ll have all the splendid isolation anyone could want.
Similarly uncrowded, and inexpensive, are Italy’s several coastal lagoons – with the added advantage of being not quite so remote as the mountain lakes of the south. The Po River delta area north of Ravenna is a sleepy, reedy place riddled with seawater; and property prices here are low for northern Italy. Or you could consider the two lagoons on Puglia’s prized Gargano Promontory – quiet, uncrowded, and so much cheaper than the honeypot beaches nearby. Remember that Sardinia too has its restful lagoons, near Oristano and Cágliari… Seems like the more you look at Italy, the more waterside options there are!
The largest and most visited of all Italy’s lakes, Lake Garda is an elongated teardrop-shaped body of water half in Lombardy and half in the Veneto. Its northern shorelines are dramatic, with mountains plunging steeply down to meet the water. The southern extreme, meanwhile, lies in a comparatively plain, flat landscape. Lake Garda is especially good for sailing, windsurfing and other watersports. There are a couple of large-scale theme parks nearby much loved by children. Popular with Italian visitors since Roman times, Garda draws tourists from far and wide these days. The majority of its property-buyers, however, are still Italians. The Germans who used to buy in large numbers here are no longer so prevalent. Property prices are among the highest in Italy. In recent years, prices have risen more rapidly here than in Tuscany. Some say that parts of Garda’s shoreline are a little over-developed now, and that not all of the lake’s resort-towns are attractive. However, new-build homes tend to be low-rise and tastefully done. Holiday rental prospects are excellent.
A three-pronged lake shaped like an inverted letter Y, Lake Como is long and slender, with every shore enjoying entrancing views across the water to another. Steep green slopes plunge everywhere into the blue, giving Como an especially dramatic aspect. Evaporation haze, meanwhile, makes romantic layers of the scenery. To many minds, this is Italy’s most beautiful lake. A little quieter and less crowded than Garda, Como nonetheless attracts a very healthy number of visitors to its gorgeous little towns. The lake is hugely popular with wealthy Milanese (Milan is only 30 miles away), and in recent years celebrities such as George Clooney have bought properties here. Refined and elegant, it’s not a cheap place. Western neighbour Lake Maggiore has a similar slender elegance and wealth of pretty villas, although its surrounding slopes aren’t always so dramatic. It has, however, the stunning Borromean islands in its midst – decked with some of Italy’s most unforgettable villa-gardens. Maggiore certainly isn’t a cheap place either. It draws perhaps the most of the northern lakes’ more elderly clientele. Both Como and Maggiore offer excellent holiday rental prospects. Note that prices are lower on the lesser-known small northern lakes, viz. Orta, Varese, Iseo, Lugano, etc.
Italy’s fourth largest lake remains a rural and tranquil place supporting abundant wildlife, despite being quite well established now with northern European visitors and second-home-owners. Clean and shallow, the water reaches a bath-like temperature for much of the summer. It’s ringed with small sandy beaches and reedbanks – while woodlands, sunflowers and vineyards arc across the low surrounding hills. Shoreline villages are generally peaceful, and the urban delights of Perugia conveniently lie only about 30km away. Umbria’s many stunning hilltop towns and villages lie further afield, and the border with Tuscany isn’t far off. Lake Trasimeno properties are still a little cheaper than those in other Umbrian ‘hotspots’ such as Todi, Assisi, Orvieto and Perugia. Ambitious restorers or developers should note that there are plenty of abandoned medieval castles and fortresses dotting the lakeside towns. Umbria also has other lakes to consider – Alviano, Corbara and Piediluco. All are attractive, and slightly cheaper than Trasimeno.
A trio of bright blue gems adorning the green, unspoilt landscape of northern Lazio, Lakes Bolsena, Vico and Bracciano are hugely attractive places which have long been familiar to summer holidaymakers from Rome. They’ve become increasingly familiar to non-Italian visitors over the last decade or so. Spawned by long-dead volcanoes, and ringed by a circle of fertile hills, each of the three lakes offers astonishingly clean water, great swimming and abundant shoreline wildlife. Set in the ancient heartland of the Etruscans, and not far from Rome, Lazio’s lakeland area is very rich in historical relics – with Roman roads and Etruscan tombs dotting the pretty countryside. The lakeside towns, and those of the wider area, are small and charming, with friendly inhabitants and plenty of good, inexpensive restaurants. Lake Bracciano boosted its profile recently when Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes married in a castle here. Lake Bolsena, meanwhile, on the edge of Tuscany and Umbria, has gone from strength to strength over the last decade – drawing more and more discerning visitors and modestly gentrifying its shoreline without damaging its rural character. Prices in the lovely town of Bolsena itself have become particularly high, while other towns on the lake of the same name are considerably cheaper (see main article for sample prices).
If you’re looking for very inexpensive property, or for a feeling of having a little lake practically all to yourself, you should consider hunting round Italy’s far south. Little-visited regions like Molise, Basilicata and Calabria (as well as the rather more-visited islands of Sardinia and Sicily) each have a handful of small lakes dotted throughout their mainly mountainous interiors. Quiet and secluded, these mountain lakes typically have no real settlement on their shores. Great if you want splendid isolation and don’t care if your home has quite low holiday rental prospects. The prices of homes in settings like these can be rock-bottom (less than the price of a new car), but finding property for sale in the first place can require some effort. As well as asking local estate agents you should also ask local people if they know of anyone who’s selling independently. But freshwater surrounded by hills isn’t your only option. Italy also has several coastal lagoons offering tranquillity at a very reasonable price. Look at the crumbly, lagoon-prone Adriatic coast south of Venice – the Po River delta, peaceful and reedy, with the dazzling little cities of Emilia-Romagna never far away. Investigate Varano and Lésina lagoons on Puglia’s gorgeous Gargano Promontory – two oases of silence in an otherwise well-visited area. Or try the flamingo-rich lagoons outside Cágliari and Oristano on Sardinia.
Emma de Souza from Hertfordshire bought and restored a large house in the pretty countryside near Lake Bolsena in Lazio. She and husband David, together with their ten-year-old daughter Ellie, visit the property several times a year and also rent it out to holidaymakers.
“I’ve always had a love affair with Italy,” Emma explains. “A friend at school was half Italian and I stayed with her in the holiday after O. Levels. Even then I loved the food, and the attitude of the people.” Regular visits to Italy followed, including to friends who owned a house in the beautiful town of Bolsena in northern Lazio. “Then a friend started restoring a house in Yorkshire,” Emma says, “and it got me thinking…”
In January 2002, Emma went out to Lake Bolsena with a friend and little Ellie to view properties. “Homes in Bolsena were either too expensive or didn’t have much land,” she says. “I almost gave up, then an estate agent asked if I’d be prepared to go further out – to a village 20-30 minutes from the lake. I saw five houses, all looking like possibilities. Two weeks later, David and I travelled out to view three of them. ‘The Yellow House’, as my daughter had called it, was the second we saw and within ten minutes David gave it the thumbs up. It was a very emotional moment.
“It’s interesting how things work in Italy. We viewed the house at ten o’clock that morning, went to the estate agent to fill in some paperwork, and by lunchtime we had the owner of the house in the office accepting the offer!” It wasn’t the last time the couple would meet the vendor, Kalle Röhr – a German who had moved permanently to Italy. Becoming a firm friend, he helped to find builders to restore The Yellow House, acted as a project manager during the restoration work, and currently helps organize the holiday lettings.
“There was a lot of work to do,” Emma recalls. “The roof had caved in, the doors were hanging off, the window-frames were rotten, there was no electricity and only very basic plumbing. We restored as closely to the lovely original design as possible, only adding modern conveniences, a small extension and a pool. We now have a six-bedroom house that sleeps fourteen people.
“We’ve rented it out since 2003 and I still get a thrill from reading the guest-book comments. Notable visits include the guests falling in love with the area and buying a house here themselves, another couple getting married in Bolsena and having their wedding party at the house, and another couple proposing to each other under the oak tree in the garden!”
Visit: www.theyellowhouse-italy.com
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