Resources
The Library.
Everything we know about buying a home in Italy from abroad — written once, kept true. No news cycle, no filler: reference pieces with their facts checked and dated.
Every article carries its sources and the date we last verified them.
Long reads
- The Bora, measuredHow strong, how many days, which months and where: Trieste's Bora with numbers from weather stations, satellites and terrain.
- Gorizia: the baron's arithmeticLiving in Gorizia, on the border: home prices, sunshine, trains, healthcare, tax and residence, with every source.
- Barcola: life on the shoreLiving in Barcola: where to swim and how warm the sea is, the clubs and the Barcolana, buses, Bora and building works, with every source.
Buying process
How buying a home in Italy works
The notary at the centre, an agency that by law works for neither side, and four stages from offer to public record. The Italian purchase process, explained for buyers used to a different system.
6 min read
Taxes & costs
Purchase taxes in Italy: the honest numbers
Registration tax at 2% or 9% — often on the cadastral value, not the price you pay. How the prezzo-valore works, who qualifies for the prima casa rate, and a worked example from Trieste. Figures as of 2026.
6 min read
Buying process
Who can buy in Italy
EU citizens buy freely; Americans and Britons do too; Canadians, for now, cannot. How Italy's reciprocity rule works, why a deed is not a visa, and the one free document to obtain first.
6 min read
Living in Trieste
Trieste, area by area: an honest map for foreign buyers
A plain description of Trieste's six main areas — centre, Barcola, the Costiera, the Carso plateau, Muggia, Sistiana-Duino — with the trade-offs each one asks you to accept: parking, stairs, wind, and the distance between you and a bus.
7 min read
Country by country
Italy vs the US: what changes when there's no title insurance
In Italy no one sells you a title insurance policy: the notaio's checks and the trascrizione in the public registers do that job. A plain comparison for American buyers, covering agents, caparra, annual property tax, FIRPTA and the questions your bank will ask.
5 min read
Country by country
Buying in Italy from Austria: the land registry will feel like home
Trieste kept the Habsburg land registry: the tavolare system IS the Grundbuch. What changes is everything around it — the broker's fee cap you are used to, the Treuhand closing, and a purchase tax that is often lower than Austrians expect.
2 min read
Country by country
Italy vs Germany: two notaries, two very different closings
In Germany a purchase is one notarial Kaufvertrag; in Italy it is a proposta, a compromesso and then the rogito. A step-by-step comparison of the two sequences, of Auflassungsvormerkung against trascrizione del preliminare, of Grunderwerbsteuer against imposta di registro, and of who pays the agent.
5 min read
Mortgages & finance
Mortgages in Italy for non-residents: what the banks will actually do
Italian banks do lend to non-residents — typically half the property's value, in eight to twelve weeks, case by case. What to expect, and how one clause in your offer protects the deposit.
6 min read
Taxes & costs
Owning in Trieste, year after year
What a home in Trieste costs to keep, year after year: ILIA — the regional tax that replaced IMU in Friuli Venezia Giulia — TARI, and how to pay both from abroad. Exact 2026 figures, including the bill that never arrives.
6 min read
Rentals & yield
Renting out your Italian home, properly
Four long-term contracts, a 30-day rule, a national code and a flat tax that non-residents can use. What letting an Italian property actually involves, as of 2026.
6 min read
After the purchase
After the Deed: The Unglamorous Chapter
The keys are yours; now come the meters, the refuse tax, the condominio and one or two questions from the taxman. A sober inventory of what follows completion in Italy — and who deals with it.
6 min read
Buying process
Moving money into Italy: the paper trail
Italian anti-money-laundering rules are strict, enforced, and entirely manageable if you prepare. Who asks what, why the notary can hold the price on your behalf, and what a euro deposit means when you earn in another currency.
6 min read
The chapter