Rustico in Cortemilia
Affascinante Complesso Rurale nelle Langhe - Opportunità Unica Straordinaria proprietà immersa nel cuore dell'Alta Langa, un complesso di rustici in pietra autentica che rappresenta il fascino senza tempo della tradizione piemontese. L'abitazione principale, costruita in muratura più recente, si integra perfettamente…
What it really costs
Can you move in?
Livable, but something basic is worn out
In the listingNeeds renovationSee what needs doing and what each job costs
The €85,000 purchase price (€170/m²) looks attractive, but renovating this 500 m² 1900 rural complex—including stable, hayloft and outbuildings—could cost about €425,000, bringing the effective cost near €1,020/m² versus €263/m² for comparable properties. The listing does not say how much of the floor area is legally habitable or provide an energy rating, making this a high-risk renovation project rather than a cheap livable home.
More on the house and the area
This is a highly atmospheric Langhe farmhouse complex with authentic stone buildings, two hectares of nature, and a genuinely impressive open hill-and-vineyard panorama. The main three-bedroom house is furnished and functional with a kitchen, bathroom, bedrooms, and traditional terrazzo floors, but it is plainly dated; much of the surrounding historic complex is closer to a major restoration project than a finished 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, €850/m², falls in this band.
Turnkey, facade and insulation included.
Materials only, work you may do yourself€99,000 – €176,000
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.
- The main house appears usable but dated, while the adjoining stone barns and outbuildings need substantial renovation.
- Access is via a rough rural track through woodland.
- The property is very large, so roof, structural, utility, and maintenance costs could be significant.
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 67/100The cluster is in the Langhe, with wooded ridges and vineyard hills around the Bormida valley. The Bormida di Millesimo runs through Cortemilia. This is the Alta Langa zone, known for hazelnuts, mixed woodland and hill agriculture rather than the dense wine landscape of the lower Langhe. Alba is the nearest larger town, with full services and rail links. Parts of the wider Langhe-Roero and Monferrato vineyard landscape are UNESCO-listed, but the core listed vineyard areas are not centered on Cortemilia itself.