Rustico in Cantagallo
Cantagallo Nella verde e tranquilla zona di Cantagallo, vi offriamo un quadrilocale di 120 mq. Attraverso un'ampia resede pavimentata, arriviamo all'entrata, dove varcato l'ingresso ci troviamo in un luminoso soggiorno, collegato ad un ampia e luminosa cucina affiancata da un ripostiglio. Salendo le scale troviamo un…
What it really costs
Can you move in?
Livable, but something basic is worn out
In the listingHabitableSee what needs doing and what each job costs
At €79,000 for 120 sqm, the asking price is €658/sqm; assuming habitable condition, the effective cost is about €858/sqm including ~€200/sqm in updates. That sits well above the Toscana farmhouse baseline of €507/sqm, though the large garden, garage, and 33,500 sqm of woodland add some value.
More on the house and the area
This looks like a real, usable home now: furnished, heated, with kitchen, bathroom and decent everyday livability. The little enclosed courtyard with greenery adds some charm, but the house is visually modest and quite dated rather than dreamy. At the price, the amount of space is appealing, yet this feels more practical than wow.
Decoration, tired fittings, a bathroom or a kitchen. The house is liveable as it stands.
Our read of the photos is €200/m². There is no published price band below €350/m², so the range is that figure widened by the spread of the lightest band.
Materials only, work you may do yourself€8,000 – €13,000
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.
- Exterior and courtyard are quite plain rather than picturesque.
- Interiors are dated and need cosmetic updating.
- Only one bathroom shown, and it is small/old-fashioned.
- No view or standout Tuscan character visible in the photos.
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 68/100The cluster is in the northern Prato Apennines, on the Tuscan-Emilian Apennine ridge. The Bisenzio valley runs through the area, with wooded slopes, small upland hamlets and the reservoir of Lago di Santa Maria just to the north near Vernio. Part of this mountain area falls in the Monteferrato and Calvana protected system to the south-east, while the higher ridge toward Montepiano and Monte Tavianella is the everyday landscape here. The nearest ski area is Doganaccia above Cutigliano, roughly an hour or more by road depending on the hamlet. Prato is the nearest city of size, with full services, rail links and a substantial historic centre; Bologna is also practical via the Apennine road and rail corridor. The area is known for chestnut woods, sandstone villages and the old Apennine routes between Tuscany and Emilia.