Rifugio nel Parco delle Foreste Casentinesi
Ci sono luoghi che non hanno bisogno di essere grandi per essere speciali. Immersa nel Parco Nazionale delle Foreste Casentinesi, in una posizione riservata e circondata dalla natura, questa caratteristica proprietà rappresenta una soluzione impossibile da replicare: un autentico rifugio di montagna dove tranquillità,…
What it really costs
Can you move in?
Move in as it is
In the listingNeeds renovationThe photographs say otherwise, and we go by the photographs.
See what needs doing and what each job costs
At €95,000 (€559/m²), the price looks low, but a substantial renovation allowance of about €700/m² brings the effective cost to roughly €1,259/m² versus a €650/m² local benchmark. The national-park setting, private outdoor space and possible parking add appeal, but the remote location and extensive work make this weak value for a 170 m² second home.
More on the house and the area
A highly atmospheric Tuscan mountain home with handsome exposed beams, original stonework, wood floors, a working-style kitchen, and extensive terraced outdoor space surrounded by forest. It is a real, roofed and heated house rather than a ruin, but the dated interiors and signs of damp mean it needs meaningful renovation before becoming a comfortable full-time 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€34,000 – €60,000
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.
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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.
- Listed as needing renovation, with visible wall staining and dated finishes.
- Only one bathroom is reported for a 170 sqm home.
- Access appears rural and partly via a narrow/gravel route; confirm parking, utilities, and year-round access.
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 75/100The Casentino valley lies between the Casentino forested Apennines and the first ridges toward the upper Arno basin. The Arno rises in this area on Monte Falterona, and the valley floor around Bibbiena is crossed by the river and its tributaries. The Parco nazionale delle Foreste Casentinesi, Monte Falterona e Campigna is within the local mountain belt and is one of the main protected forest areas of the northern Apennines. The nearest skiing is the small Mt. Falco area on the Campigna side of the national-park ridge, roughly an hour away by road in winter conditions. Bibbiena is the main service town of the Casentino, with shops, schools, a hospital, and rail connections down the valley toward Arezzo. Poppi, a few kilometres away, has a well-known medieval centre and castle, and is listed among I Borghi più belli d'Italia. The area is known for chestnut woods, forest landscapes, Romanesque parish churches, and the Casentino wool tradition.