Southern Italian Riviera Facts :
Calabria is The most Southerly region of main land Italy. A region equally famous, for its hospitality, scenic beauty, and is the last truly emerging property market in Western Europe.

Calabria is the narrow peninsula extending into the Mediterranean for three hundred kilometers. It is located at the toe of the "boot" of Italy between the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west and the Ionian Sea and Gulf of Taranto to the east. It is separated from Sicily by the Strait of Messina, where the narrowest point between Capo Peloro in Sicily and Punta Pezzo in Calabria is only 3.2 km.

Although the Tyrrhenian and Ionian seas seem ever present, its spine is a mountainous region. Three mountain ranges run up the core of the peninsula: Pollino, the Sila, and Aspromonte. All are unique with their own flora and fauna. Which provide contrasting areas of truly natural beauty within close proximity of each other. The Calabria Region consists of five unique provinces Cosenza, Catanzaro, Crotone Vibo Valentia and Reggio Calabria serviced by three international airports at Lamezia Terme, Reggio Calabria and Crotone. There are visibly distinct differences between the East and West Coasts on the Calabria peninsula.

The west coast is dotted with picture post card beautiful towns such as Pizzo – famous for its Castle, Marina and Tarfuto Gelato; Tropea – famous for its beach (voted No. 1 in Europe in 2007 by The Times see this link http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/holiday_type/beach/article1292126.ece) and the church of Santa Maria Dell’isola; Scilla has magnificent breath taking views from the Marina Grande of the straits of Messina and Sicily. All along the west coast it is possible to wake up to the visual feast of Stromboli rising out of the Azure of the Tyrrhenian Sea. The East Coast has its own delicate natural allure with micro climates swirling up from the Cerulean of the Ionian Sea. The Touristic town of Soverato - famous during the summer months for its night fair in the main Piazza adjacent to the beach as well as it’s active nightlife of bars, restaurants and clubs; and Crotone – famous for its sights including the neo-classical Cathedral dating from the 9th century and the Norman medieval ruins of castle at Le Castelle.

It is possible to quickly run out of superlatives when describing the charismatic and enchanting nature of this hidden Italian treasure. As any detective knows the best place to hide a treasure is in plain sight. However this area has been no secret to the Northern Italians who have been holidaying here for years.

What do the experts say?.

Bill Belvins, Managing Director of Belvins Franks International, an independent firm providing tax and investment advice in the Sunday Times.
‘The Italian government is pushing money into the region to encourage regeneration and tourism, road links have been improved, and there is an international airport at Lemezia Terme. The publicity is still in its early days. Although more developed then it was, I believe that property prices have a good chance of increasing over the next few years. Tourism and holiday housing is a prime target for growth as prices are still lower than in comparable locations….as emerging markets go, Calabria looks a reasonable proposition and you could expect to see double-digit growth.’

By Ian Hunter, Director of Parson International, MNAEA (Overseas) Retired FOPDAC board member, Overseas Property expert, author and speaker
Then there is the inescapable fact of demand for investment homes current outstripping supply, and when you add that to the fact that in 2008/9 there is not enough land available to build on, and you have a recipe for major rental incomes and high yield investment.

This is helped by the fact that, despite its relaxed Southern Mediterranean appeal, Italy is in the EU, and as a result has a fully regulated building industry and strict rules regarding client protection with an insurance bond having to be issued, according to Italian law.

It gets better. Calabria will not be over developed because of strict ecology regulations, such as no high rise building. This is the sort of structure that helps predicted capital appreciation figures of around 25-30% over the next five years. And that is on top of there being no capital gains after five years, and no inheritance tax.

In other words, all the key elements are in place to ensure the continued growth of the region and of investment within it. Current high inflation rates are now providing fantastic real estate investment opportunities, backed by five tax free years.