"Tuscany has a reputation for expensive
real estate; buying and living here is
popular and probably always will be. You
can still find good deals, though, and this
apartment in the seaside area of Versilia
is one of my picks of the best-value
Tuscan properties available right now.
For more details, read on…" 

Dear International Living Reader,

Situated on the Tuscan coast (one hour from Florence, two from Genoa, and three from Rome), Versilia has been the vacation place of the rich and famous for more than a century.

Here you can enjoy perfectly kept beaches with a vast choice of "bagni"--beach establishments that rent and run a beach lot. Each has beautiful sun umbrellas with matching beach chairs and a small bar or restaurant serving food directly on the beach.

Versilia's landward views are of the beautiful Apuane mountains. The most precious marble in the world is quarried and shipped from here. Michelangelo often came to personally pick a piece for one of his sculptures, and it's said he let the marble guide him by telling him what to sculpt.

The medieval city of Pietrasanta is still home to a large international artists' community and is the cultural center of the area. The more elite locals live along the beach at Forte dei Marmi, hanging out for cocktails at Caffè Morin on Viale Morin and basking in the sun at Bagno Piero.

Though property in this area can be as high as $725 per square foot there are some very reasonable properties in equally beautiful nearby towns that can fetch a high rental income--if your priority isn't becoming part of the jet set. Below are two of my picks for the best values near Italy's most exclusive beaches. Contact me by e-mail for more details.

Carol Milligan
For International Living in Italy
E-mail: Italy@Internationalliving.com

1. (Pictured above) Second-floor 780-square-foot apartment in the Versilia seaside area, with two bedrooms, kitchen, bath, washroom, boiler room, and laundry room. Three miles from the seashore, three miles from Forte dei Marmi and Versilia Golf Club. Price: $350,000. [Ref. 1/21]

2. Six-rooms consisting of the entire ground- and first-floor of a townhouse in the ancient town center of Pietrasanta, including portico and large garden area. This property can be extended from its present size of 1,100 square feet to a maximum of 1,600 square feet. Price: $417,000. [Ref. 2/27]

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Tuscany: further reading
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* You've got the questions about moving to Italy… and we've got the answers, from what kinds of properties are available and where to look for them to how to obtain a residency permit, negotiate the tax system, take care of your health, and more.

* "When my husband and I visit the Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence, Italy, we always stop to admire a monument erected in the artist's honor…"

* Dreamy hilltop villages bathed in golden light…churches and bell towers glowing in warm
antique colors…seas of yellow sunflowers… Tuscany fits almost everyone's notion of picture
book Italy. For the best properties available right now in this sun-kissed region, contact
International Living's local representative, Carol Milligan, by e-mail:
Italy@InternationalLiving.com.

* "After a local rooster's raucous wake-up call, my husband and I stepped onto the balcony of our hotel room in Tuscany and into some of the most romantic scenery on the planet…"

* Watch this space for more about International Living's first-ever Live and Invest in Italy Conference, taking place in Florence, Oct. 104, 2005. For more information, write to Conferences@Internationalliving.com.

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