The Tricali projects are local city council-backed ecotourism projects aimed at developing services in the sleepy villages where the houses are being sold. The Italian property for sale is located in areas that are situated in off the beaten-track, rural locations to date unmarred by mass tourism. The aim is to offer a passport to real, authentic Mediterranean life at a very affordable price – the price of a small car.

The more Tricali village houses are sold, the more people will be attracted to spend time in the areas in question, and the more people will offer patronage to the local service providers, restaurants, shops and businesses. The aim is to attract like-minded people, dubbed “intelligent tourists”, that will help the villages flourish economically and yet remain authentic, as they are today.

Tricali’s prices are probably the most attractive anywhere today in terms of value for money. There is a catch: the purchase process and the renovations are basic and non-personalized. Buyers cannot personalize their renovation works or choose the furniture they are provided. The bathroom goes where the building and plumbing plans say it will go, the sofa will be the colour that was delivered that month by suppliers, and so forth. The strength of the projects are the prices they hinge on. At these prices, the homes cannot be personalized to the buyer’s taste.

The renovation works are good but basic and aimed at conserving what is intact as opposed to replacing with new, modern materials. The furniture pack is carefully selected for taste and practicality. Even so, this is not everyone’s cup of tea. The buyer needs to carefully evaluate if this is the project for them, or if they prefer to go down the more expensive, personalized route. If this is the case, the potential buyer needs to contact property specialists that work with real estate agencies and with local architects’ studios who can follow and personalize their purchase every step of the way – there are plenty of these to choose from, starting from the Umbrian and Tuscany holiday homes market in more elite areas of Italy.

The concept behind the Tricali village projects is that one is not so much buying a property, but a lifestyle. The quality of life in the villages is very high compared to stressful, urban living and the pre-requisites of the modern corporate world. A three-course meal with local wine will often cost €13, and fresh vegetables, fruit and sunshine abounds in the villages. Once the buyer starts using the property, it will be up to them to decide how important the second, new bathroom is or whether they want to add grayish blue marble floor tiles. If a homeowner wishes to add these or any other upgrades, they will receive all the support needed locally over time with local architects, builders and the like.

If a homeowner prefers over the years to stick with the basic package, a decision that will keep costs to a minimum and permit one to resell the property very easily if need be, that’s fine too. What is essential is that from day one, the potential buyer knows exactly how much the purchase will cost. This sum will not increase during the course of the restoration works. This makes the process a pleasant, stress free one, and guarantees a lovely vacation home at the cost of a cheap Italian property.

Buying a medieval village home is a great way to save money in the long term. The Italian properties for sale allow homebuyers to increase their quality of life at a lower cost than that which is possible in Northern Europe or elsewhere. It will allow them to slash expensive holidays, where costs spiral from hotels, rentals accommodation and eating out.

One will also be able to break away and enjoy village life in Italy at the cost of a low cost flight – which, if booked well in advance, can cost less than an underground ticket in one of the European capitals. The cost of a Tricali holiday home is similar to that of a car. This will give buyers a lifelong passport to spend time in a village where the pace of life is slow and sleepy, and where heavy focus is placed on matters such as family structure and traditions. The family can enjoy the healthy outdoor lifestyle, the blue skies and the temperate weather.

Children will grow up speaking Italian, and lifelong friends and neighbours will welcome the homeowners with every visit as is customary in friendly southern Italian villages. Property (council) tax is a mere fraction of what it is in larger, northern European cities. Homeowners that come from a colder climate will be able to avoid the heating bills they pay back home. There are also quite a few Tricali homeowners that are retired and spend part of the year in sunny Italy. Others have bought with a view to their upcoming retirement.

For the lucky few that can work from home, this is the ideal location. With the villages offering access to broadband, working from Italy becomes seamless.The Mediterranean and Italian holiday home projects combine the attraction for foreign homebuyers of rural and uncontaminated locations steeped in tradition and history with the benefits the purchases generate for the local, mainly agriculture-based, economies.

For the potential acquirer, buying Tricali’s Mediterranean or Italian real estate means combining traditional Mediterranean hospitality, weather and holidays with an attractive pricing structure that over time will prove an excellent investment. If you are looking at property for sale in Tuscany, but have been scared off by the prices, then this is the perfect fit.

The first question every potential investor asks himself is what to invest in. With stock market investments and pension schemes not fairing very well, and with inflation starting to rear its ugly head, real estate can be an attractive option. In fact, those that have purchased to date will not have suffered erosions in their investment.

The second question is where to purchase, particularly in light of stagnant and declining real estate prices across the globe. Italy and the countries lining the Mediterranean basin are a safe and delightful alternative. The Tricali Mediterranean and Italian homes for sale – at very minimum - guarantee a charming and enjoyable holiday home for life.

Italian and Mediterranean cultures are based on traditions, on the family and on the life that revolves around the home. Being a property owner has dominated the priorities list of most Mediterraneans in the last century, also thanks to government-introduced home purchase incentives. Property ownership is taken very seriously.

The market for second and holiday homes has expanded in recent years as investors have sought them out as an avenue for entertainment, holidaymaking, relaxing and travel. Investors buying a house in the Tricali villages stand to benefit from all these aspects and will end up with a charming holiday home family and friends can enjoy for many years to come.

In fact, the Italian peninsula has attracted foreigners ever since the eighteenth century, as James Joyce, Lord Byron and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe remind us. Each corner of the country offers delicacies for the intellect, the body and the soul to savour. The nation's artistic and cultural heritage is evident not only in museums but also in the streets and in every-day life. The outstanding architecture, the artistic heritage, the thermal baths, the enchanting seashores, the skiing resorts, and the gourmet food and wine are among the infinite attractions that entice many a visitor every day. Each region has its own specialties and characteristics. While some are more well known than others, each is unique and has something very special to call its own.

Tricali has renovated and furnished homes available in Southern Italy starting from €25,000. The area still today remains a land virtually untouched by mass tourism with many of its delightful locations still to be discovered by holidaymakers. Italians in the second half of the 20th century, particularly from the 1960s on, developed a passion for seaside and mountain resorts and never thought to venture inland for holidays. The result has been that magical retreats like the Tricali villages have been largely ignored. While mountain and thermal tourism has started to develop in recent years, rural tourism in Italy still has to be very much put on the map.

There are some areas, for example Chianti in Tuscany (nicknamed Chiantishire by Italians) and parts of Umbria, where foreign ownership and patronage have made certain locations extremely fashionable. Tuscany holiday homes demand, in fact, has generated spiralling prices in the past decades for real estate in the region. Non-Italian buyers kick started the process by selecting prime real estate in towns and villages which today have become very sought-after locations. Unsatisfactory plane, train and road connections are another reason why rural tourism in the South escaped the mainstream holiday-maker for many years. This is no longer the case; investors and vacationers are starting to look at areas of undiscovered Italy and other Mediterranean coastal nations with different eyes as a result of recent and noticeable improvements in all three (particularly in low-cost airlines that have turned what were once remote areas into easily accessible ones, even from abroad.)

Tricali’s Bay of Spices project is available for those seeking a seaside property but are unable to find cheap Italian property on the coast. This is Amalfi coast real estate at a fraction of the price. Dubbed the Croatia of tomorrow, the Bay of Spices are still benefits from very low real estate prices and breathtaking coasts that are unmarred by the masses. Intense green olive groves lead the way down hillsides to shimmering beaches dotted with family-run local restaurants and hauntingly beautiful bays.

A short ferry ride from Corfu’s international airport, Bay of Spices homeowners are offered a permanent passport into Albania’s bustling portal towns, quaint cobbled village streets, beautiful coastal villages and stunning bays, as well as the incredibly friendly and welcoming locals. All in the context of what is possibly – ironically – one of Europe’s safest countries thanks to severe anti-crime laws and an efficient and present police force. Expect three-course mouth-watering seafood luncheons with local wine and vegetables starting from €5 per person. Add charming two-bedroom coastal village houses with gardens for about €35,000 to the mix, and plenty to see and do in the area, and an ideal combination is on offer.