Casale in Prignano sulla Secchia
Nella suggestiva frazione di San Pellegrinetto con vista sulla falesia di Sassomorello e Monte Cimone, a metà strada tra Serramazzoni e Prignano, in posizione tranquilla e panoramica, proponiamo in vendita una casa indipendente libera sui quattro lati, ideale per chi cerca un contesto autentico immerso nel verde…
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 €65,000 for 150 sqm, the ask is €433/sqm, but the house is only partly habitable: the ground floor is finished while the upper floors are unfinished, and the roof alone is estimated at about €30,000. Using ~€400/sqm renovation, the effective cost is about €833/sqm, far above the very low local baseline of €290/sqm, though the panoramic setting and extra 80 sqm outbuilding add some value.
More on the house and the area
This has real old-stone Appennine charm: exposed masonry, beams, fireplace, roses on the facade, a balcony view, and a separate rural outbuilding with open mountain scenery. But the wow is held back by condition: only the ground floor looks properly habitable, while the upper levels are unfinished and the main roof needs major work. Dreamy and authentic, yes—but still a serious project rather than an easy move-in country 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.
Our read of the photos, €400/m², falls in this band.
All the services redone, bathrooms, kitchen, windows. The structure is left alone.
Materials only, work you may do yourself€17,000 – €29,000
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.
- Upper floors are still rough/unfinished, so much of the house is not fully ready to use.
- The main house roof reportedly needs redoing, with a significant extra cost.
- Only one bathroom is shown for a large 6-bedroom layout.
- The outbuilding is currently a warehouse and any residential conversion is not guaranteed without checks.
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 70/100The cluster is in the Modenese Apennines, with wooded ridges and valleys on the northern side of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennine chain. The Dragone valley is the local river landscape here, with streams cutting through chestnut and mixed woodland and pasture. Much of this part of the province falls within or beside the Parco regionale del Frignano, the main protected mountain area of the Modena Apennines. The nearest ski area is Fanano-Monte Cimone, roughly 35-45 minutes by road depending on the exact hamlet. Pavullo nel Frignano is the nearest larger town in daily use, with secondary schools, supermarkets and basic hospital services; Modena is the main city for higher-order services. The area is known for mountain villages, chestnut country and the broader Frignano upland landscape.