Trulli
Trulli. Needs renovation, garage, caminetto, esposizione esterna.
What it really costs
Can you move in?
Not before the basics are done
In the listingNeeds renovationMust be done first
- Damp
- Wiring
- Bathroom
- Kitchen
See what needs doing and what each job costs
At €70,000 (€972/m²), estimated renovation brings the effective cost to about €1,672/m², nearly double the €867/m² local benchmark. The listing has 20 photos and a garage/fireplace, but the very brief description gives no detail on the renovation scope or legal and structural condition.
More on the house and the area
The pair of classic Puglian trulli, stone-cone roofs, arched entrances, mature garden and palm give this property genuine visual character. However, the interiors are largely empty and unfinished, with deteriorated surfaces, basic flooring and a severely dated bathroom, so this is 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€14,000 – €25,000
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.
- Substantial renovation is needed throughout, especially the raw trullo interiors.
- No finished kitchen or usable bedrooms are shown; the bathroom is very dated and needs work.
- Exterior walls and finishes show significant weathering, while utilities and technical condition are not documented.
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 78/100The area lies on the Murge plateau, with karst countryside of dry-stone walls, olive groves and scattered farm buildings. The Grotte di Castellana are in the town’s immediate surroundings. Alberobello, with its UNESCO trulli districts, is nearby and the wider area overlaps the Valle d’Itria landscape known for trulli, masserie and limestone rural settlement.