Borgo Virgilio – terratetto con mansarda abitabile e garage
BORGO VIRGILIO – TERRATETTO CON MANSARDA ABITABILE E GARAGE. Needs renovation, autonomo heating, garage, mansarda, taverna, accesso per disabili, arredato, cantina.
What it really costs
Can you move in?
Livable, but something basic is worn out
In the listingNeeds renovationSee what needs doing and what each job costs
At €317/m², the €80,000 asking price is below the local €419/m² benchmark, and the property includes a garage, cellar, habitable attic and independent heating. However, estimated renovation brings the effective cost to about €1,017/m², making this only a fair project unless the 252 m² includes substantial usable space already in good condition.
More on the house and the area
This is a substantial traditional townhouse with attractive terrazzo floors, high ceilings, original furnishings, a garage and plenty of space for the €80,000 asking price. The main house is clearly furnished and usable, but it feels elderly rather than move-in fresh, with worn finishes, damp marks and a heavily deteriorated exterior; the upper areas need more work.
Certified wiring, water and drainage, a heat source, a roof that keeps the water out, one working bathroom. Facade, insulation, a second bathroom and the floors wait.
All the services redone, bathrooms, kitchen, windows. The structure is left alone.
Our read of the photos, €700/m², falls in this band.
Turnkey, facade and insulation included.
Materials only, work you may do yourself€50,000 – €89,000
Wiring, water and sanitary work of any kind, heating, air conditioning and gas go to a registered firm by law, and so do flues and the air openings for gas appliances. That labour stays in the bill. Yours is the stripping out, plaster, paint, floors, tiling and carpentry.
Labour is 61% of a renovation price on average and 67% at the median, across 191 items of the Emilia-Romagna 2025 public price list. Materials are the rest. An averaged price list, not a quote.
Materials you buy yourself carry 22% VAT; supplied by the firm doing the work they go at the 10% renovation rate. On a €30,000 materials bill that is €3,600 of extra tax.
Household wiring installed before 13 March 1990 counts as compliant if it has a main breaker with overcurrent protection, protection against direct contact and a 30 mA RCD. Having a firm bring the existing wiring up to that and certify it is the cheapest lawful route.
Bringing a house that has stood empty back into service: new water, sewer and electricity, plus the practices. The same sum on an 80 m² house and on a 300 m² one, which is why a €40,000 house is not a €40,000 project.
Show more
Water 1,800 · sewer 2,500 · electricity 700–1,600 · CILA 1,000 · cadastral filing 500 · structural design 700 · Legge 10 report 900 · safety coordination 1,800
No mains drain: add €2,000–4,500 for a septic tank. Listings never say, so ask.
- The main living areas appear usable but dated, with significant cosmetic renovation needed.
- Visible damp staining and deteriorated exterior plaster warrant a careful structural and moisture inspection.
- The mansarda/upper storage areas are unfinished or very basic, despite the advertised habitable mansarda.
Estimate from the listing and its photos, not a survey. Treat it as the starting point for your own quotes. An Italian builder's quote is normally written without VAT and without design fees, so add about a quarter to any figure a firm gives you.
The area around
Location score 58/100This is the flat Po plain south of Mantova, with the Mincio river and its wetlands immediately to the north around the city. Mantova is the nearest town of size, with a substantial historic centre and UNESCO status for Mantova and Sabbioneta. The area is known for irrigated farmland, river landscape and the Gonzaga heritage tied to Mantova.