Rustico in Varzi
Antica casa in sasso, completamente da ristrutturare. Camino attualmente murato e antico forno a legna nel locale cucina. La parete tra l'ingresso e la cucina è un tramezzo abbattibile. Piccolo portico di fronte all'abitazione con soletta da rifare, trasformabile in box al piano terra e terrazzo al piano…
What it really costs
Can you move in?
Not before the basics are done
In the listingNeeds renovationSee what needs doing and what each job costs
At €20,000 for 124 sqm, the ask is just €161/sqm versus a €387/sqm baseline, a strong entry discount. But the house is explicitly 'completamente da ristrutturare', so I estimate a heavy restoration budget around €1,100/sqm; that makes it a cheap project rather than an outright bargain.
More on the house and the area
There is some authentic appeal here: an old stone house from 1850 with rustic character, greenery, and clear potential at a very low price. But the current reality is a full renovation project, with rough exterior condition and a ruined adjacent structure, so this reads more as a restoration dream than a usable home today.
All the services redone, bathrooms, kitchen, windows. The structure is left alone.
Turnkey, facade and insulation included.
Our read of the photos, €1,100/m², falls in this band.
Materials only, work you may do yourself€49,000 – €73,000
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.
- Completely to be renovated; not move-in ready
- Adjoining structure is a ruin and affects the setting
- Portico/slab needs rebuilding
- Overgrown exterior and likely unclear/impractical outdoor usability today
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 Staffora Valley in the Oltrepò Pavese, with the Ligurian Apennines close by and ridges rising south toward Monte Chiappo and Monte Penice. The Staffora river runs through the valley. The area is known for mixed wooded hills, small stone villages and the historic market town of Varzi, which has a substantial old centre and is known for Salame di Varzi. The roads over the passes connect toward Bobbio and the Ligurian side of the Apennines. The nearest ski area is at Passo Penice, roughly half an hour to three quarters of an hour by road depending on the exact hamlet.