Bilocale in Via Lombardia
Bilocale in Via Lombardia
What it really costs
Can you move in?
Move in as it is
Condition not stated in the listingSee what needs doing and what each job costs
At €1,333/m², this is 2.8× the local €483/m² benchmark; with condition unstated and an estimated €700/m² renovation allowance, the effective cost is about €2,033/m². Being 1 km from the sea and having a terrace add appeal, but the one-line description gives too little evidence to justify the premium.
More on the house and the area
This is a solid, clean urban apartment with attractive original terrazzo floors, a usable bathroom, air conditioning, and a small terrace. However, the rooms are plain and dated, the outlook is entirely toward nearby buildings, and no kitchen is visible, so it feels more like a practical Acireale base than a dream Italian home.
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€15,000 – €27,000
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.
- The apartment appears structurally sound and usable, but the interiors are dated and largely empty.
- No kitchen is shown, so immediate move-in readiness is unclear.
- The terrace/balcony is modest and faces neighboring buildings rather than a scenic view.
- At €100,000, it is at the top of the stated budget with little visible character or land.
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 55/100The cluster is on the Ionian side of eastern Sicily, on the lava terrace between Mount Etna and the sea. The Timpa di Acireale, a protected coastal escarpment and nature reserve, is within the area, with basalt cliffs and Mediterranean scrub above the shoreline. Mount Etna is the dominant mountain landscape inland, and the lower eastern slopes begin close to the town. The coast here is rocky rather than sandy, with small lava inlets at Santa Maria la Scala and the Cyclops Riviera around Aci Trezza a little to the south. The nearest ski lifts are on Etna, roughly an hour to Piano Provenzana or Rifugio Sapienza depending on road conditions. Catania is the nearest large city, with the airport, major rail links, a university and full urban services. Acireale itself is known for its Baroque centre and for the Carnival of Acireale.