Rome Is Top Italian Province To Live For Foreigners

Rome is where most foreigners choose to rent or buy a home in Italy according to a recent survey. Italian estate agency Immobiliare.it, together with its international partner LuxuryEstate.com, conducted a survey of foreigners’ searches regarding property purchases and rentals from January to April 2013. The survey reveals that Rome is foreigners most preferred province, accounting for 9% of the 200,000 searches analysed. The portal says that Lake Como comes second, with Milan a close third at approximately 5% each, followed by Verona and Imperia with 3% each, and Turin and Vicenza with 2% each. The nation most interested to buy or rent in Italy is Germany, which generated 17% of all searches; followed by Switzerland with 14% and Great Britain with 10%. Immobiliare.it notes that if those countries have long had a passion for Italy there were also a few surprises among the top 15 countries by number of searches: Brazil, Slovakia and Slovenia. Each nationality has preferences for specific cities. Germans, for example, look to the provinces of Verona, Rome and Brescia; the French love Rome, Milan and Imperia, as do the British. The Russians, however, are interested in prestige and seaside locations, opting for Oristano rather than Roma and Venice. The province most coveted by Swedish citizens is Palermo, Forlì-Cesena by the Dutch, Asti by the Norwegians, Monza-Brianza by the Irish and Trento by the Danes. For citizens of the USA, the most popular province is Vicenza – home to the Camp Ederle US Army garrison – followed by Ragusa, Isernia and Florence. Canadians head to Rome, as do Argentines. Australians prefer the province of Como, followed by the provinces of Bologna, Rome and Salerno. Turks like Arezzo, Indonesians love Florence, Mexicans head for Lecce and Algerians prefer Parma. Of the 2% of people seeking luxury homes, foreigners’ research focuses on Rome and Milan. There is also considerable interest in the Tuscany Hills, the province of Genoa and Santa Margherita Ligure in particular, as well as areas noted for luxury tourism such as the Costa Smeralda and Cortina d’Ampezzo.