Rifugio in San Quirico d'Orcia
Rifugio in San Quirico d'Orcia. Needs renovation, terrazzo.
What it really costs
Can you move in?
Not before the basics are done
In the listingNeeds renovationMust be done first
- Wiring
See what needs doing and what each job costs
At €80,000 plus an estimated €76,300 renovation, the effective cost is about €1,434/m² versus €646/m² for comparable homes, making this expensive for a renovation project. The panoramic setting and terrace add appeal, but the listing does not say whether bathrooms, utilities, or living systems are present.
More on the house and the area
This has a genuinely beautiful Tuscan setting, with a rustic stone-and-brick house, mature olive groves, panoramic rolling-hill views, and substantial land. The fireplace and furnished room suggest some existing residential use, but the lack of a bathroom and unfinished interiors make it a renovation project rather than a move-in 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€21,000 – €38,000
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 property is explicitly in need of renovation and appears to have no bathroom.
- Several spaces are unfinished agricultural/storage rooms rather than usable living areas.
- Access is via an unpaved rural track; utilities and legal residential status should be verified.
- The extensive olive grove and land will require ongoing maintenance.
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 96/100San Quirico d'Orcia sits in the Val d'Orcia and the surrounding landscape is part of the Val d'Orcia UNESCO World Heritage cultural landscape. The Orcia river runs through the valley near the town. The thermal baths at Bagno Vignoni are a few kilometres away. Pienza, with its Renaissance urban plan and tourist services, is within about 10 km. Montalcino and its Brunello wineries lie within roughly 15 km. Surrounding land use is vineyards (including Brunello production), olive groves and cereal fields. The Strada Statale 2 "Cassia" crosses the Val d'Orcia and provides the main road connection through the area. There are no ski lifts within the immediate 15 km radius; the nearest mountain skiing on Monte Amiata lies beyond 15 km.