Loose Cannons (Mine Vaganti) in Cinemas around London and UK

Loose Cannons, the new Ozpetec's movie is a good occasion to explore the historic wine towns, fishermen villages and white sand beaches of this beautiful, unspoilt region of Italy, Puglia... Salento! A nice postcard of these places, particularly you will discover the baroque wonders of Lecce and crystal clear water of Gallipoli beaches and surroundings. If you are in London and want to visit our region... just go to the nearest cinema and watch the movie.

Synopsis: Tommaso is the youngest son of the well-to-do Cantone family, who own a pasta factory in Puglia. His mother Stefania is loving but stifled by bourgeois convention; his father Vincenzo has unrealistically high expectations of his children; his aunt Luciana is an eccentric; his sister Elena a frustrated housewife; his brother Antonio works with their father at the pasta factory; and then there is his rebellious grandmother, trapped in the memory of an impossible love. All of them loose cannons in their own way...

Tommaso returns home from Rome to attend an important family dinner at which his father intends to hand over management of the family business to him and his brother, and their new associate Brunetti. Determined to assert his own personal choices, Tommaso plans to announce at the dinner that he is gay. But that evening, just as he begins to say "silence please", he is upstaged by his brother who, to everyone's surprise, reveals his own secret! Antonio is promptly disowned and father Vincenzo collapses from a heart attack.
With the family in a state of turmoil, Tommaso reluctantly steps in to run the factory with the new business partner's daughter, Alba. Despite his growing affection for the gorgeous but complex Alba, Tommaso's heart isn't in it and he misses his life in Rome. But how can he come out now and risk damaging his father's health further? A surprise visit from his friends forces some well hidden family secrets to the surface and some realisations along the way. Loose Cannons is an uproarious, uplifting and moving comedy 'al dente'.

Do not lose it ;)

Where to see it
17/12/10: Odeon Covent Garden, London
17/12/10: Apollo Piccadilly Circus, London
17/12/10: Cine Lumiere, French Institute, London

24/12/10: Gate, Notting Hill, London
24/12/10: Arts Picturehouse, Cambridge
27/12/10: South Hill Park, Bracknell
31/12/10: Showroom, Sheffield
01/01/11: Chichester Cinemas, New Park
02/01/11: City Screen, York
02/01/11: Glasgow Film Theatre
07/01/11: National Media Museum, Bradford
07/01/11: Zeffirellis Ambleside, Cumbria
14/01/11: Dundee Contemporary Arts
14/01/11: Watershed, Bristol
17/01/11: Lighthouse, Wolverhampton
18/01/11: Abbegate Picturehouse, Bury St Edmunds
21/01/11: Eden Court Theatre, Inverness
24/01/11: Robert Burns Film Institute
01/02/11: Cornerhouse, Manchester
05/02/11: Riverside Studios, Hammersmith
09/02/11: Ipswich Film Theatre
11/02/11: Chapter Cinema, Cardiff
15/02/11: Stoke Film Theatre
16/02/11: Warwick Arts Centre
22/02/11: Everyman, Reigate, Surrey
23/02/11: Plough Arts Centre, Torrington
08/03/11: The Theatre, Chipping Norton
14/03/11: Knutsford Studio Cinema,
15/03/11: Strode Theatre, Somerset
27/03/11: Keswick Film Club, Keswick
06/04/11: Trinity Theatre, Tunbridge Wells

Crew: FERZAN ÖZPETEK (Director and Co-writer) is one of Italy's top directors. Özpetek has received numerous international awards. Özpetek's directorial debut was in 1997 with Hamam (The Turkish Bath) which was presented at Cannes and became an international success. - DOMENICO PROCACCI (Producer) founded Rome based production company Fandango in 1989. Over the last 20 years films produced by Fandango have won numerous awards and participated in scores of international film festivals. Procacci has won the most prestigious Italian awards as Best Producer: the David di Donatello three times.
Screenplay by Ivan Cotroneo and Ferzan Ozpetek - Director of Photography: Maurizio Calvesi - Editor: Patrizio Marone - Composer: Pasquale Catalano - Production Designer: Andrea Crisanti - Costume Designer: Alessandro Lai - Production Supervisor: Claudio Zampetti - Line Producer: Gianluca Leurini - Production Manager: Roberto Leone -Sound: Marco Grillo - Assistant Director: Gianluca Mazzella

Cast: RICCARDO SCAMARCIO (Tommaso) is one of Italy's best known young actors. His career also continues to grow internationally, with roles in 11 Minutes based on the novel by Paulo Coelho, where he co-starred with Mickey Rourke and Vincent Cassel and a role as the near-wordless immigrant in Costa-Gavras's Eden is West in 2009. Scamarcio is currently shooting Manuale d'amore 3 (2011) dir Giovanni Veronesi with Robert de Niro, Monica Bellucci and Valeria Solarino. - NICOLE GRIMAUDO (Alba) is one of Italy's most popular actresses. She recently appeared in Ozpetek's Perfect Day and Giuseppe Tornatore's Baaria. Her latest movie Baciato dalla Fortuna by Paolo Costella will be released in 2011, co-starring Asia Argento and Alessandro Gassman.

Antonio: Alessandro Preziosi - Vincenzo:Ennio Fantastichini - Stefania: Lunetta Savino - Grandmother: laria Occhini - Aunt Luciana: Elena Sofia Ricci - Elena: Bianca Nappi - Salvatore: Massimiliano Gallo - Teresa: Paola Minaccioni - Giovanna: Emanuela Gabrieli - Young grandmother: Carolina Crescentini - Nicola: Giorgio Marchese - Domenico: Matteo Taranto - Marco: Carmine Recano - Andrea: Daniele Pecci - Davide: Gianluca De Marchi - Massimiliano: Mauro Bonaffini - Patrizia: Gea Martire - Brunetti: Giancarlo Montigelli - Antonietta: Crescenza Guarnieri

For further details visit the website http://www.loosecannonsthemovie.co.uk/

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Winter 'a good time to tour Puglia'

Piazza Sant'Oronzo at Christmas, Lecce, Puglia, Italy

Travellers who don't mind putting up with chilly weather could consider visiting the Puglia area of Italy during the winter, a season that offers a number of benefits for visitors, according to a tourism industry representative.Stefania Gatta, a spokeswoman for the Italian State Tourist Board, pointed out that coastal resorts in the south-eastern region will be much quieter during the colder months.'It will be easier to tour the region in winter and visit art cities such as Lecce and the Trulli area of Alberobello as there would not be many tourists there and prices would be low,' Ms Gatta explained.'The little towns will also be decked in Christmas decoration and you can expect to eat very well at reasonable prices.'ACI Europe recently released European aviation figures showing that Brindisi airport in Puglia welcomed 50.2% more passengers in October 2010 than in the same month last year.Ms Gatta said that more people may have been catching flights to the region in this period to get some late-summer sun.

Find more on http://news.opodo.co.uk/NewsDetails/2010-12-10/Winter__a_good_time_to_tour_Puglia_

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Once again we have the pleasure to wish you Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year with our home made christmas card, for which we have to thank the sunset of Santa Maria al Bagno for inspiring us everyday.

From all of us at www.sispropertyandtourism.co.uk

Casa Puglia by architect Peter Pichler

Though still only 28, Peter Pichler's CV charts his progress through some of Europe's most high-profile practices, including Zaha Hadid and Delugan Meissl and the Italian's portfolio is filled with ambitious schemes, ranging from a new country house for the photographer Cellina von Mannstein to a car showroom in Bolzano.

For this casa in (Santa Maria al bagno) a small fishing village in Puglia, his brief was to turn a 14th-century fortified farmhouse into a contemporary retreat. Pichler retained the broad interior arches that are set into the hefty sandstone walls. 'The idea was to expand those arches in the exterior façade to provide light and direct access from each room towards the exterior' he said.

The patterned aluminium panels on the façade were etched using a precise water-cutting process. 'It evokes a new interpretation of the classic Arabic "linear" pattern', says Pichler, explaining how the sunlight and artificial light from within causes the structure to cast dramatic shadows, inside and out.

Written by Jonathan Bell
Read the full article at http://www.wallpaper.com/architecture/casa-puglia-by-peter-pichler/4885

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The historic, homely heel at the end of Italy's boot: Six things you must do in Puglia

written By Gareth Huw Davies for DailyMail

Think the high heel of Italy's famous 'boot' and you have Puglia, the country's buzzing destination. This long-forgotten region has been climbing the travel league table and is now challenging Tuscany and Umbria as the chic place to visit. Here is Gareth Huw Davies's must-see-and-do list in this tucked-away region:

1. Look out
Puglia (Apulia in Italian) is a land of vivid colours and rustic charm - all low hills and broad red plains smothered in crops and gnarled old olive trees. The big scenic feature is the long, east-facing Adriatic coastline.
Dotted with pretty seaside towns and bays of clear water and white sand, Italy's south-east extremity has been an invaders' thoroughfare down the millennia. Its early-warning system survives in ancient watchtowers along the Salento peninsula.
There are about 50 left, some Norman. Another ancient feature is the string of 800-year-old churches and cathedrals. Finest of all is in the seaside town of Trani. Its dazzling, chalk-white, big-impact cathedral sits on a broad square, on the lip of the turquoise sea.

2. Floor show
One of the many little-known marvels scattered about Puglia is in Otranto. This peaceful place is on the clear, clean Adriatic, near the tip of the heel, where Albania is much closer than Rome.
The astounding 800-year-old Tree of Life mosaic is in the Norman cathedral. Filling the entire floor of the nave and choir, it is arranged like a standard family tree. The trunk rests on two elephants.
Lose yourself in a fabulous and dotty mix of images spread through the branches, depicting Creation, the fall of Adam and Eve and Judgment Day. There's a supporting role for Noah and other biblical worthies as well as King Arthur, Alexander the Great, the Tower of Babel and assorted dragons, unicorns and Norse gods.

3. Bold build
In the 17th Century the city fathers in little Lecce commissioned their own masterpieces to compete with the grand cities in the north. The exuberant baroque architecture gave the town the unofficial title 'Florence of the South'.
Six fine churches are scattered through the compact historic centre, alongside Piazza Sant'Oronzo, the main square, the Roman amphitheatre, triumphal arch and shady courtyards under wrought-iron balconies.
Leading the over-the-top list is one of the most exciting baroque churches in Italy, the 16th Century Basilica of Santa Croce. Carved cherubim, mermaids and wolves swirl around the lavish facade and encircle the Rose Window. The Trattoria Le Zie does amazing home cooking.


Chiesa di San Domenico, Nardò, Lecce, Puglia

4. The chic of it
One of the key words in Puglia's current tourism boom is masseria. These once-crumbling fortified farmhouses, with turrets and thick walls to deter invaders, are being spruced up to boutique hotel standard. Rooms look out over orange groves and shimmering sea. Now seaside watchtowers are being converted, too. Expect sumptuous bed linen, swanky furniture and polished antiques. Some rooms have their own private gardens, or a pool. Many have a spa and there's usually a restaurant. The new deal is cookery lessons from the chef, and wine and olive oil tasting. Bikes are often supplied for touring.

5. Power of eight
The 13th Century Castel del Monte has the secret of eternal youth built into its ramparts. The exceptionally well-preserved, honey-hued fortress, commanding a rocky peak near Andria, is more maths formula than fairy castle. The perfectly regular shape is a homage to the figure 8, with octagons everywhere. Experts are still trying to fathom what it all means. Built by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, this unique piece of medieval military architecture is one of two world heritage sites in Puglia.
The others are the trulli - little stone houses with conical roofs - around Alberobello. Some are very old indeed. They were built without mortar using an ancient technique.

6. Smart chefs
Puglia chefs know how to make the land work for them. The cuisine is simple and glorious, based around the local orecchiette (ear-shaped) pasta and a cornucopia of vegetables.
Tough times made cooks inventive with chickpeas, capers, green peppers, aubergines and basil. They even have their own vegetable, the barattiere, a cross between a cucumber and a melon. Look around for small, extremely hospitable family restaurants. My drink of choice would be deep red Primitivo wine.

Article from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-1329508/Italy-holidays-Six-things-Puglia.html

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Nardò DOC Red and Rosè Wines - Ancient wine for a new market!

A table wine available as red or Rosé, the Nardò is mostly made from Negramaro grapes, which give the wine a distinctive bitter note, but other vines can be added, for instance red Malvasia of Brindisi and red Malvasia of Lecce, both of Greek origin. The Rosé is pale cherry pink in colour, the flavour is rich and quickly fading, winy, fruity with notes or raspberry and blackberry. The taste is pleasantly dry, warm, almost smooth, poorly tannic and tasty, full-bodied and well-balanced. The red has a nice ruby red colour, which can range from pale to dark, with some orange specks if aged. The flavour is winy and rich, the taste is well-balanced, slightly bitter, velvety and reasonably tannic. The minimum alcoholic strength of both wines is 11.5 degrees. With a minimum alcoholic strength of 12.5°C and two years’ aging, it can be labelled as “Riserva”.

Matches - How to consume it:
The Rosé should be drunk with moderately rich dishes, such as boiled sea fish with sauce, stuffed cuttlefish, pasta and chickpea soup, baked gilthead. The read instead is a good match for red meat, especially lamb, pork, mixed boiled meats and cold pork meats.

How to recognize it:
As well as mentioning the Registered Designation of Origin, the label must include all the information laid down by the law: native region; designation, in which the cultivar from which the wine comes is matched to the geographical area in which it is grown; nominal volume of the wine; bottler’s name or corporate name and address; bottler’s number and code; country; batch number; ecological information.

Notes:
The perfect serving temperature for the rosé is 12-14°C, in glasses for smooth rosé wines within two years of the harvest. The red should be served in long glasses at a temperature of about 18°C.

This is a noble and full-bodied wine that in the past has been used for cutting more famous wines. Now there are several wine producers in the area who are gaining a place in the sun in the wide list of Italian wines.

If you have a chance to spend your holiday in Nardò area or around its marinas Santa Caterina, Santa Maria al Bagno and Sant'Isidoro, you can free taste those kind of wines directly at the producers shops or winery.

The following is our suggested Nardò wine tour:

1) Cantina Sociale di Nardò - http://www.cantinanardo.it/azienda_en.php

2) Vini Bonsegna - http://www.vinibonsegna.it/INDEX.HTM

3) Schola Sarmenti - http://www.scholasarmenti.it/default.asp

4) Vini Gabellone - http://www.tenutegabellonevini.it/ita/azienda.asp

5) Vini Totò - http://www.vinitoto.it

How to buy a house

Actually, how to think about buying a house.
You don't see a lot of ads trying to sell you on spending too much money on a house. It's more subtle than that. The marketing is all around us, and has been for years. The enormous social pressure and the expectations that come with it lead to misunderstandings and confusion. Here's my advice to someone in the market:
1) In an era where house prices rise reliably (which was 1963 to 2007), it was almost impossible to overpay for a house. It was an efficient market, and rising prices cover many mistakes. Investing in houses in the USA was a no-brainer. More leverage and more at stake just paid off more in the end. This consistent, multi-generational rise taught us more than an ad every could: buy a lot of house with as little downpayment as you could.
2) A house is not just an investment, it's a place to live. This is the only significant financial investment that has two functions. Things like cars and boats always go down in value, so most of the time, if you're investing, you're doing it in something that you don't have to fix, water, fuel or live in. You shouldn't fall in love with a bond or a stock or a piece of gold, because if you do, you won't be a smart investor. The problem (as people who sell and fix and build houses understand) is that you just might fall in love with a house. What a dumb reason to make the largest financial investment of your life.
3) The psychology of down markets is irrational. Rising house prices might be efficient (many bidders for a single item lead to higher prices), but when there aren't so many bidders, irrational sellers (see #2) don't lower their prices accordingly. So, inventories get longer and it's easy for the prospective buyer to think that a certain price is the 'right' price because so many people are offering houses at that price. Just because someone offers a price, though, doesn't mean it's fair in a given market.
4) Along the same lines, anchoring has a huge impact on housing prices. If someone offers a house for $800,000 and you think it's worth half that, you don't offer half that. No, of course not. The price is a mental and emotional anchor, and you're likely to offer far more.
5) The social power of a house is huge. When you buy a big house or an expensive house, you are making a statement to your in-laws, your family, your neighbors and yourself. Nothing wrong with that, but the question you must ask yourself is, "how big a statement can I afford?" How much are you willing to spend on personal marketing and temporary self-esteem?
6) Debt is an evil plot to keep you poor. If buying a bigger house (or even a house with a living room or a garage) is going to keep you in credit card debt, you've made a huge financial error, one that could cost you millions.
7) By the time you buy a house, you probably have a family. Which means that this is a joint decision, a group decision, a decision made under stress by at least two people, probably people that don't have a lot of practice talking rationally about significant financial decisions that also have emotional and social underpinnings. Ooph. You've been warned. Perhaps you could add some artificial rigor to the conversation so that it doesn't become a referendum on your marriage or careers and is instead about the house.
8) If you have a steady job, matching your mortgage to your income isn't dumb. But if you are a freelancer, an entrepreneur or a big thinker, a mortgage can wipe you out. That's because the pressure to make your monthly nut is so big you won't take the risks and do the important work you need to do to actually get ahead. When you have a choice between creating a sure-thing average piece of work or a riskier breakthrough, the mortgage might be just enough to persuade you to hold back.
9) Real estate brokers, by law, work for the seller (unless otherwise noted). And yet buyers often try to please the broker. You'll never see her again, don't worry about it. [Let me be really clear about what I wrote here, just in case you'd like to misinterpret it: When a prospect sees an ad or goes to an open house, she is about to interact with a broker. That broker, in almost every case, is hired by the seller and has a fiduciary responsibility to the seller to get the very best price for the house. There are exceptions, like buyer's brokers, but those brokers, as I said, note that they are representing the buyer--how can you represent someone without telling them? Many brokers like to pretend to themselves that they are representing both sides, and while that's a nice concept, that's not the law.]
10) You're probably not going to be able to flip your house in nine months for a big profit. Maybe not even nine years. So revisit #2 and imagine that there is no financial investment, just a house you love. And spend accordingly.

I'm optimistic about the power of a house to change your finances, to provide a foundation for a family and our communities. I'm just not sure you should buy more house than you can afford merely because houses have such good marketing.

Article from http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/04/how-to-buy-a-house.html

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Financial Times article: Lecce’s architectural wonders

Even the “fast” train from Rome takes nearly six hours to get to Lecce, labouring over the Apennines before dipping across coastal flatlands and endless olive groves, past places like Monopoli, whose names recall the Greek heritage of Italy’s deep south.
In the baking summer heat it is a relief to enter the walled city of Lecce – the harsh light is absorbed by the famed limestone of its buildings. Spared the hordes of foreign tourists that cram the renaissance cities of Venice and Florence, Lecce has a provincial charm. The churches are quiet, but this is a university town, with a buzz in the bars, pastry shops and bookstores.

The city is a delight to explore on foot, each turning revealing another architectural treat. To understand the story behind the architecture, I hire a guide, Simona Melchiorre, a local historian, who is passionate about her home city. She tells me the stately grandeur of courtyard villas, some occupied by descendants of their original owners, and the refined elegance of the churches conceal a darker passage in Lecce’s history. Following the persecution of Jews in Spain, Charles V expelled the city’s Jewish population in 1541. Wanting space to build a castle, Charles V moved the church and local nobility into the former Jewish quarter.
A stone foundation block below ground level in the Palazzo Adorno reveals an inscription in Hebrew, “House of God”, testifying to its origins in what had been the local synagogue. Other Jewish remnants went into the construction of Lecce’s Church of the Holy Cross, consecrated as a basilica by Pope Pius X in 1906. Building started in 1549 and took about a century to complete. While the side chapels are richly ornate, the basilica – in Greek-Roman style modelled on the Temple of Jerusalem – is light and airy, beautifully proportioned with 12 pillars.
There are several villages close to Lecce where the inhabitants still speak a form of ancient Greek, while at the Church of Saint Nicholas in Lecce the liturgy is in Greek according to the Byzantine rite.
Before moving on, my guide introduces a local, heavenly treat – black coffee doused with ice and almond milk (caffè in ghiaccio con latte di mandorle) and oval-shaped lemon custard pastries (pasticciotti).
Being inland, on the southeastern tip of Italy’s boot, Lecce was spared the sieges and destruction that befell the Norman cathedral ports, such as nearby Otranto where the bones and skulls of 800 Christians martyred by the Ottomans are on display in the crypt.
When the coastal towns declined in status with the discovery of the Americas and trade shifted from east to west, Lecce survived on the backbone of its rural economy and its importance as a religious centre.
Yet the 20th century was less kind and in the 1970s much of the city lay in disrepair, its tobacco and textile industries unable to match east European and Chinese competitors.
But efforts to regenerate the area, from the late 1980s, appear to have been a success. So much so that a visitor to the city could be tempted to place Lecce less in the company of chaotic southern cities like Naples and instead with the far away prosperous north. Yet the burghers of baroque feel very much of the south.
Lecce’s architectural history can be surveyed in one sweep across the main piazza, Saint Oronzo. Towering above the scene is a statue of Lecce’s patron saint (Saint Oronzo) perched atop a 25-metre-high marble pillar from Roman times that had been one of two marking the end of the Appian way, stretching across Italy to Brindisi. The column was donated to Lecce by the people of that Adriatic port to mark the saint’s reputed triumph over the plague in the 1600s.
Next to the square is the half-uncovered Roman amphitheatre, which was once big enough to seat up to 15,000 people. It was discovered in 1908, having been lost in the 1500s. Excavations were carried out under Mussolini, who was intent on rebuilding a national sense of empire. In the process, the renaissance-era town hall on the square’s edge was demolished, and municipal buildings erected instead.
The severe buildings are yet another reminder that Lecce’s compelling character has been forged out of so many diverse influences. Written by Guy Dinmore is the FT’s Rome correspondent
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/2f32b6a2-48da-11df-8af4-00144feab49a.html

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Borgo Cenate, luxury villas for sale in Santa Caterina di Nardò, Salento, Puglia

New development of 6 luxury villas for sale in Santa Caterina di Nardò, south-western coast of Puglia Italy. This unique development in XIX-century style is located in one of the most exclusive area of Puglia and next door to the most important villa of the Cenate, ancient borough where noble families from all Italy used to spend their holidays and own their villas. This under construction development consinst of 6 independent semi-detached villas each spread on two levels: ground and first floor, with terraces, private garden and car parking. The villas will be built in 3 different sorts and each will have 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, living room with dining area and kitchen corner, garden, car parking and storages. The development will be finished with high standard specification following the character of the region and its typical materials. Part of the building will have vaulted and star ceilings and part with particular and original roofing tiles. The villas will be elegant and comfortable at the same time, will respect the building character of 19th century and the existing environment. The location will be unique: next door to the most exclusive villas of Puglia, only 10 minutes walking from Santa Caterina beach and piazza, 5 minutes driving from Nardò town centre, 10 mins from Gallipoli, 20 mins from Lecce and 50 mins from Brindisi international airport. Become an early owner of one of these unique villas, with a little payment you will book it, fix the price and not pay the agency commissions. Full details on http://www.sispropertyandtourism.co.uk/public/Sale/Villa/SV695LS.php

Italy, Puglia, Salento: Property market analysis

Picture: Santa Maria al Bagno Piazza and views

As for UK Clients, our area has suffered during the last year not the real crisis but the weekness of the British Pound against the Euro. Clients have continued to aks information about the properties for sale in Puglia but most of them decided to wait for a better exchange rate before to make an offer to buy. Now most of them are used to that exchange trend and from a couple of months are starting again to buy Puglia properties, which are more affordable than other well-known regions of Italy. Of course, the trends of the sales are lower than the latest 3 years but it is a fair and positive signal for us. In my opinion the crisis in this area have stopped the quick-raise of the prices and now most of the vendors decided to follow the market trends for their asking prices.

The number of Swedish buyers come after the British ones. They haven't been effected by the global crisis and their exchange rate is still good against the strongness of the Euro. Swedish people prefere brand-new property or taking a better advantage and choosing off-plan solutions which give them the opportunity to buy with a 20% discount of the final price.

As for the rest of Europe, last winter we had a good new! Ryanair and other low cost airlines, start new direct flights from most of the Europe's airports to Puglia and opened new markets for us, especially to Brindisi the nearest international airport to the south-western part of Puglia. Those new flights brought to us a good number of clients from Belgium first, followed by Norway, Netherlands and Denmark.

We are proud to offer character properties in a nice area, where buyers can enjoy history, food and beaches. There are also undiscovered Baroque towns down here, in the countryside or by the sea, with low-priced properties. I think that the South-Italy is a safe bet and the property market in Salento area continues its slow upward trend for a simple reason: the area is desirable to locals and non-residents, who both want a holiday home in a place unaffected by mass tourism and where there’s a safe and healthy property market. The hot spot for our clients is Puglia’s south-western coast and particularly the coastline between Gallipoli, Santa Maria al Bagno and Santa Caterina di Nardò passing by the next-door towns Galatone, Nardò, Maglie and Galatina. (Luigi Spano)

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Italy: mortgages for overseas properties.

The Italian market is slowly becoming more accessible to non residents, despite the fact that very few Italian banks provide a customized non-resident service and many agreements are made on a case by case basis. Although a few major players have withdrawn their non-resident offerings from the market in recent years, there are other Italian banks entering the playing field, who in contrast, are warming up to the UK borrowing culture by developing their product range to better service the non-resident market. We are excited to announce that we are now able to offer finance for the purpose of Bed & Breakfast acquisitions, (on a case by case basis) and in the near future, will be able to expand to other small commercial loans.
Attractive new products now available for our clients are capped rates that guarantee a cap on the increase of the monthly repayment; in addition, mixed rate products are available for our clients who want to feel free to switch between variable and fixed rate during their term. For those products ask us to introduce you the Baydonhill financial services.

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Brits reject far-flung destinations in flight to safety‏

British overseas home buyers are reverting back to more traditional second home destinations, according to a survey of 1200 second home owners by Savills International. During the overseas property boom, the proportion of Brits buying outside of Western Europe grew significantly as buyers became motivated by the potential for capital gains. However, since the market turned in September 2008, buyers have returned to the traditional favourites of Spain, France, Portugal and Italy.
“In 2010, the overseas second home market will be characterised by cash-rich, lifestyle buyers benefiting from lower prices in traditional, established holiday home hotspots.” Says Charles Weston-Baker, Head of Savills International. The survey data also confirms that 2009 was one of the worst years for the industry. 70% of respondents invested in overseas property between 2003 and 2008 but just 2% had in 2009. Rebecca Gill, research analyst at Savills International comments. “Whilst UK overseas home ownership has doubled since 2001 recent global recessionary trends have seen take-up levels dramatically slow. Factors such as fewer overseas holidays, reduced leisure spend capacity and financing availability, unfavourable exchange rates and declining house prices have impacted second home purchasing activity.”
20% of owners plan more purchases. The positive news is that a fifth of respondents said they are considering or planning additional holiday home purchases in the future. The top ten destinations being considered were France, Spain, Portugal, the US, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Morocco, Brazil and Turkey. However, further property price falls, better mortgage availability and a strengthening of sterling against the Euro are all necessary conditions before we see the market return to anywhere near the transaction volumes of 2007.

Article from http://www.globaledge.co.uk/news/brits-reject-far-flung-destinations-in-f-38270

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