How it all started...
After a turbulent period in our lives, full of reflection and contemplation, we tied the knot in 2016: we started looking for our own place in Italy. With a good dose of enthusiasm, basic Italian knowledge and the help of a Dutch estate agent, we started our search. We looked at around 20 houses in Le Marche and eventually found a charming cottage on a borgo. This was an estate with six accommodations and a large swimming pool, where the owners occasionally stayed themselves. This also included the possibility of renting out the cottage during the holiday season. A lovely place with house rules to ensure that all guests had the same holiday experience and joint maintenance was done in a timely manner.
After four years of enjoying this fine group of English, Dutch and Belgian owners, it started itching again. Wouldn't it be great to start our own holiday home? You guessed it... once again we got in the car with the estate agent, ready for a new adventure part 2.
In 2019, the scavenger hunt began again. Some houses were beautiful on the outside but turned out to be dilapidated on the inside. Other houses required major renovations that were way out of our budget. Sometimes a house was too remote, and other times just too close to the neighbours. Then, in early 2020, we finally found our dream house, just a stone's throw from the borgo, in the idyllic village of Loro Piceno. Everything seemed to be falling into place. Until the corona pandemic struck and sorely tested our patience. Weeks of travelling back and forth, testing for corona that sometimes required leaving Italy within 72 hours to avoid quarantine measures. Still, we persevered and in July 2021 we finally got the key to our house: Villa Verde. With the purchase, we were also immediately joined by a group of wonderful former owners, who advised and assisted us.
What followed were three years of hard work: clearing, cleaning, chores and endless dreaming about how we could bring this special place to life. You know that feeling when you watch an episode of “Ik Vertrek” and think, “How so? You could have foreseen this, couldn't you?” Well, we can confirm: some things you just can't predict. No matter how well you plan, there are always surprises. And then when you're 1,500 km away, speaking the language ok-ish but not fluent and dependent on others, it gets even more exciting.
Sometimes things went surprisingly smoothly and sometimes it seemed to take forever. Was it the Italian bureaucracy? Perhaps partly. But mostly we believe it was a matter of unfamiliarity with the local rules, the “hazy paths” and not yet having a developed network of the right people. But giving up was not an option. Not even when a veritable moat was dug around our house for drainage and the garden resembled a motocross track. With great patience and perseverance, we achieved our goal: a beautiful flat to share our dream with others, a private loft on the top floor and a lovely swimming pool overlooking the endless hills of le Marche, surrounded by vineyards and olive trees.
There remains plenty to do and dream about, but this summer of 2025, it is time to fully enjoy everything we have achieved. This adventure has severely tested our patience, adaptability and resilience, but the enthusiastic response from friends, acquaintances and our guests more than makes up for everything.
Would we do it again with today's knowledge? Absolutely! This adventure not only gave us a dream home, but also personal growth. We wouldn't have missed it for anything. Because in the end, the journey was at least as valuable as the destination.
With this first milestone under our belt, we are already looking ahead to the next step: the extension with new flats on the ground floor. Last February 2025, we had our first consultation with the geometra (the permit coordinator) during which the first drawings were submitted. Our ambition? The opening of the new flats in the 2026 season!