“The Italian government is pushing money into the region to encourage regeneration and tourism, road links have been improved, and

there is an international airport at Lamezia Terme that has flights from Germany, Holland, Switzerland and the UK. I believe property

prices in this region have a good chance of increasing significantly over the next few years. Tourism and holiday housing is a prime target for growth as prices are still lower than in many comparable locations. You could expect double digit growth.”

SUNDAY TIMES.

“Calabria’s coastline is among the most unspoilt and affordable in Europe”

Laura Latan, THE INDEPENDENT.

VFI Brochure:Soverato

Soverato is situated in the Calabrian province of Catanzaro in Southern Italy.

It is one of the most known and beautiful tourist resorts on the Ionian coast, having been referred to as ‘The Gem of Ionian Sea’. The region offers mild and pleasant weather all year round, due to the microclimate that engulfs the area. The seas are crystal clear and the region is blessed by many beautiful beaches and hidden coves that attract various water-sports and diving enthusiasts. The fishing port of Soverato is one of the best known and most active ports in southern Italy, ensuring that great seafood is always on the menu with its many many varieties cheesees, pasta and peppers of the many restaurants in the region.

Nightlife in Soverato is mixed and varied, ranging from the lively beachside bars and
restaurants to the picturesque narrow streets and quaint restaurants that litter the
old town. Every summer, the town attracts many American Italians returning to their
homeland as well as Italians from the North who visit on holidays. During the summer months, a nightly funfair takes place on the beach which attracts the young and the old alike to party till the early hours of the morning.

Soverato is 15 minutes away from the town of Catanzaro.

VFI Italian History Links

Here are some great links to find out more about Calabria and Its unique history.

Calabria
History of Calabria starting from palaeolithic age. Not too long and well written

The Complete History Of Calabria
Calabria From Prehistoric to Modern Day.

THE ROMANS Ancient, Medieval and Modern
For the real history buff. Page after page, of Roman and medevil history, pictures and text.

MEDITERRANEAN ARCHAEOLOGY RESOURCES
This site contains some of the best Archeology links on the internet.

Maps of Italy (It)
Here you will find city maps as well as regional and provincia... On Line!

Historical Map Web Sites
Access hundreds of Historical maps on line. Here too, are some great ancient Italian maps.
Italy Maps

The Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection The University of Texas at Austin and produced by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, unless otherwise indicated.

VFI Brochure: Italian Travel Advice.

Visitors

Travel insurance for visitors to Italy should include personal liability and repatriation expenses. If your travel insurance expires while you’re visiting Italy, you can buy further insurance from a local insurance agent, although this won’t include repatriation expenses. Flight and comprehensive travel insurance are available from insurance desks at most airports, including travel accident, personal accident, world-wide medical expenses and in-transit baggage.

Cost

The cost of travel insurance varies considerably according to where you buy it, how long you intend to stay in Italy and your age. Generally the longer the period covered, the cheaper the daily cost, although the maximum period covered is usually limited, e.g. to six months. With some policies, an excess must be paid for each claim; with others, the excess applies only to certain items, such as luggage, money and medical expenses. As a rough guide, travel insurance for Italy (and most other European countries) costs from around €35 for one week, €50 for two weeks and €80 for a month for a family of four (two adults and two children under 16). Premiums may be higher for those aged over 65 or 70.

Annual Policies

For people who travel abroad frequently, whether on business or pleasure, an annual travel policy usually provides the best value, but carefully check exactly what it includes. Many insurance companies offer annual travel policies for around €150 to €250 per year for an individual (the equivalent of around two to three months’ insurance with a standard travel insurance policy), which are excellent value for frequent travellers. Some insurance companies also offer an ‘emergency travel policy’ for holiday homeowners who need to travel abroad at short notice to inspect a property, e.g. after a severe storm or burglary. The cost of an annual policy may depend on the area covered, e.g. Europe, world-wide (excluding North America) and world-wide (including North America), although it doesn’t usually cover travel within your country of residence. There’s also a limit on the number of trips per year and the duration of each trip, e.g. 90 or 120 days. An annual policy is usually a good choice for owners of a holiday home in Italy who travel there frequently for relatively short periods.

Carefully check exactly what’s covered (or omitted), as an annual holiday and travel insurance policy may not provide adequate cover.

Claims

If you need to make a claim, you should provide as much documentary evidence as possible to support it. Travel insurance companies gladly take your money, but they aren’t always so keen to pay claims and you may need to persevere before they pay up. Always be persistent and make a claim irrespective of any small print, as this may be unreasonable and therefore invalid in law. Insurance companies usually require you to report a loss (or any incident for which you intend to make a claim) to the local police or carriers within 24 hours and obtain a written report. Failure to do so may mean that a claim won’t be considered.

VFI Brochure: Italian Travel Advice. Health Cover

Health Cover

Medical expenses are an important aspect of travel insurance and you shouldn’t rely on insurance provided by reciprocal health arrangements, charge and credit card companies, household policies or private medical insurance (unless it’s an international policy), none of which usually provide adequate cover, although you should take advantage of what they offer. The minimum medical insurance recommended by experts is €400,000 for Italy and the rest of Europe and €1.5 million for the rest of the world (many policies have limits of between €2.25 million and €7.5 million). If applicable, check whether pregnancy-related claims are covered and whether there are any restrictions for those over a certain age, e.g. 65 or 70 (travel insurance is becoming increasingly expensive for those aged over 65, although they don’t usually need to worry about pregnancy – particularly the men!).

VFI Brochure: Italian Travel Advice.

Holiday and travel insurance (assicurazione sul viaggio) are recommended for all who don’t wish to risk having their holiday or travel ruined by financial problems or to arrive home broke. As you probably know, anything can and often does go wrong with a holiday, sometimes before you even get started (particularly when you don’t have insurance). The following information applies equally to residents and non-residents, whether you’re travelling to or from Italy or within Italy. Nobody should visit Italy without travel (and health) insurance.

Travel insurance is available from many sources, including travel agents, insurance companies and brokers, banks, motoring organisations and transport companies (airline, rail and bus). Package holiday companies and tour operators also offer insurance policies, some of which are compulsory, overpriced and don’t provide adequate cover. You can also buy 24-hour accident and flight insurance at major airports, although it’s expensive and doesn’t offer the best cover. Before taking out travel insurance, you should carefully consider the range and level of cover you require and compare policies. Short-term holiday and travel insurance policies may include cover for holiday cancellation or interruption, missed flights, departure delay at both the start and end of a holiday (a common occurrence), delayed, lost or damaged baggage, lost belongings and money, medical expenses and accidents (including evacuation home), personal liability and legal expenses, and default or bankruptcy, e.g. a tour operator or airline going bust. You may also need cover for transport strikes in Italy!

Always check any exclusion clauses in contracts by obtaining a copy of the full policy document, as all relevant information won’t be included in an insurance leaflet. High risk sports and pursuits should be specifically covered and listed in a policy (there’s usually an additional premium). Special winter sports policies are available and more expensive than normal holiday insurance (‘dangerous’ sports are excluded from most standard policies). Third party liability cover should be €3 million in North America and €1.5 million in the rest of the world. However, this doesn’t usually cover you when you’re driving a car or other mechanically propelled vehicle.

VFI News: Southern Italy Investments defy Credit Crunch

Property in Italy is holding up in the credit crunch with experts predicting modest growth in many areas. Locations with a strong tourist market are the best to invest in and southern Italy in particular is still offering lower priced investments...

Italy hasn't experienced the same problems as the UK and Spanish property markets and the risk of a downturn is considerably lower, according to a new report from Cluttons Italy.

One reason is a significant shift in the Italian market in recent years. 'Until 10 to 15 years ago the majority of foreign buyers were middle class people looking for their storybook villa in culturally rich areas like Tuscany and the Amalfi coast,' the report says.

'Now the arrival of low cost airlines has made southern Italy much more accessible, steering a wider range of buyers to lower cost resort properties in southern regions like Puglia and Calabria.'.

Fashionable areas like Capri and the Amalfi coast are likely to see property prices continuing to rise. Cluttons predicts around 10% this year.

But Calabria in Southern Italy where prices are cheaper is set to become one of the most popular destinations in Europe, and the next Mediterranean property investment success story.

'Property prices are comparatively cheaper than other similar areas in Europe. Also the area will not be overdeveloped due to strict government planning controls. This will ensure that demand remains high for rental accommodation and resale properties,' said Roger Coombes of Cluttons Italy.

'When an area like Calabria begins to attract increasing international attention, it is all but a foregone conclusion that property prices will see sustained and rapid growth of at least 10-15 percent per year,' predicted Liam Bailey of David Stanley Redfern.

And Chris Sawyer, GEM Estates' Italy expert is also backing the area, 'It's largely the southernmost region of Calabria that's fuelling this heightened interest. As soon as the British buying public realized that chic Italy had a hidden corner which was both aesthetically stunning and highly affordable, the rush was on,' he said.

'Calabria is now jostling for attention alongside the established Côtes and Costas and ticks boxes for both lifestyle buyers after a pleasant climate and attractive coastline and investors with an eye for a profit.'
Reprinted courtesy of Propertywire.com

Incalabria Forum removes slanderous posts.

Incalabria forum slanders VFI in an attempt to descredit the company. Forum moderators on the incalabria forum have posted a a malicous articles about mafia involvement and arrests.This is the excuse for an apology that was posted after the removal of the offending article. Isnt it about time that the authorities closed this forum down?
Dear all,

Further to Mr Giambrone and Brendan's posts, I would like to reassure everyone that the Calabria Homes Forum always has been and always will be open, honest and truthful and this is the reason why I took steps at 12.14pm today to remove Gerace's post.

This in fact was done before the post received by a certain law firm so I hope everyone is reasured that we will not and cannot tolerate libelous/slanderous/defamatory remarks. I am NOT a legal expert but I am, like all of you, buying a home in Calabria and do not want to be misled by unsubstantiated rumour or malicious gossip.

The Forum is open to everyone and I really hope Brendan and any other legal professionals who would like to join us will be warmly welcomed by everyone. It can only be for the good of us all to have access to their knowledge and experience.
Dear all,

With regard to the post made by Gerace regarding A certain developer, I have had to put my moderator's 'hat' on this morning :wink: and have temporarily removed the message until the details can be verified.

Dennis from InCalabria Ltd is going to be making contact with the CEO of A certain developer later today to try and clarify what is/is not happening.

I can understand people's concerns regarding the rumours that are flying around but we want our reputation to remain intact as a Forum that is fair, honest and truthful. We certainly don't want to run the risk of supporting or being seen to endorse information that we cannot substantiate or, worse still, proves libelous!

Hoping you understand and appreciate why this is being done.

Kind regards

Sam

VFI incalabria

For many years the Italians from the northern cities of Milan , Florence and Rome have been trooping down to Calabria for their holidays. They call it the “real Italian Riviera” and love it for its unspoilt character, good value for money, 800 kilometres of beaches and crystal blue sea. The costal towns have a distinctive charm about them and can only benefit from the 1.2 billion euro in which the Italian government and the EU is investing in improving roads and infrastructure. “You can see Calabria growing by the day,” says Harry Fitzsimons, CEO of VFI Overseas Property. And land prices are growing too. “I bought the first plot of land 18 months ago and prices have gone up since by 25 to 35 per cent.

The local government is also determined to ensure that Calabria does not go the way of the Costa del Sol or the Algarve . Regulations prohibit building within 300 metres of the beach however Jewel of the Sea has a plot that is right on the beach, probably one of the last remaining developments in a location like this. This was possible because the site had received planning permission in the early 1990s. Local government has also stipulated that a development has to be low density and low rise. There is also a good Italian rental market and with tour operators such as Thomas Cook and Club Med now operating there, the developers suggest that a two bed roomed apartment could achieve around €1000 a week in the high season. “We reckon that if someone had a 70 per cent mortgage on their property, they need only let it for 12 weeks of the year to cover the costs,” says Antonio Velardo of VFI.

VFI Overseas Developers

VFI Overseas Developers are an Irish/Italian Development company. In this project the best kept Italian secret has been exposed in the most exciting new emerging market with massive potential for capital appreciation.

Most emerging markets however, do not have the same security and infrastructure that this Major European country offers.

The biggest dream an investor could have is to find a developed country where prices are still low, and still has all the protections, infrastructures etc. of modern Europe in place. Now is the time to live that dream in the most beautiful part of Italy from as little as €75,000 for one bed apartments.

Reggio De Calabria is the regional capital. A University city overlooking the straits of Messina where hydrofoils and ferries cross to Sicily every fifteen minutes. The city is a transport hub with an international airport and main Railway line up through Naples to Rome through panoramic landscapes.

VFI INCALABRIA

Tourism in Calabria has increased over the years. The main tourist draws in Calabria are the coastline and the mountains. The coastline alternates between rugged cliffs and sandy beaches, and is sparsely interrupted by development when compared to other European seaside destinations. The sea around Calabria is clear, and there is a good level of tourist accommodation. The poet Gabriele D'Annunzio called the coast facing Sicily near Reggio Calabria "...the most beautiful kilometer in Italy" (il più bel chilometro d'Italia). The primary mountain tourist draws are Aspromonte and La Sila, with its national park and lakes. Some other prominent destinations include:

• Reggio Calabria, on the strait between the mainland and Sicily, the largest and oldest city in Calabria, renowned for its fabulous panoramic seaside with botanical gardens between the art nouveau buildings and the beautiful beaches, and its 3,000 years of history with the old Aragonian Castle and the great National Museum of Magna Grecia where the famous Riace Warriors (Bronzi di Riace) are located.
• Cosenza, seat of the Cosentian Academy, is renowned for its cultural institutions, the old quarter, a Romanesque Cathedral and a Swabian Castle.
• Sybaris, on the Ionian sea, is a village situated near the excavation of ancient Sybaris, a Greek colony of the VII century B.C.
• Scilla, on the Tyrrhenian Sea, "pearl" of the "Violet Coast", has delightful panorama, important religious traditions, and is the site of some of Homer's tales.
• Tropea, on the Tyrrhenian Sea coast, is a beautiful town, with a drammatic seaside beach, and the Santa Maria dell'Isola sanctuary. It is also renowned for its sweet red onions (mainly produced in Ricadi).
• Capo Vaticano on the Tyrrhenian Sea, is a very famous wide bathing place near Tropea.
• Siderno on the Ionian Sea coast.
• Gerace, near Locri, is a beautiful medieval city with a Norman castle and an ancient cathedral.
• Squillace, a seaside resort and important archeological site
• Stilo, the home of Tommaso Campanella, with its Norman castle and beautiful Byzantine church, the Cattolica.
• Pizzo, on the Tyrrhenian Sea coast, known for its ice cream called "Tartufo". Interesting places in Pizzo are Piazza Repubblica and the Aragonian castle where Murat was murdered.
• Soverato on the Ionian Sea, Also known as the "Pearl" of the Ionian Sea. Especially renown for its beaches, boardwalk and nightlife.
• Nicotera on the Tyrrhenian Sea, is a beautiful little medieval Town with an ancient Ruffo's castle.