'There is always a better way to live. For me, this may be it.'
For the same price as a house in Goulburn I bought this
Ever since I first visited Italy in the seventies I had a longing.
I wanted to buy a house and live there.
But I was turned off by the tsunami of 'buy cheap and ruin' reality TV shows; crap renovations, swimming pools and the army of British wankers destroying the joint.
It begins with the quality of the soil
I know about soil.
I've put nearly 40 years of research and passion into producing the perfect potato.
I have been working with a South Australian company, the Mitolo Group.
The Mitolo family from South Australia has a proud 38-year history of working in the potato and onion business.
I love farmers. I love people who grow things. From my window in my house in Italy I can see local farmers preparing their crops.
On a sunny afternoon in Arezzo
Okay, you spend your weekends lining up at the carwash, binging on iView, watching the footy or the cricket.
You can spend your life thinking about your mortgage, planning ways to reduce your credit card debt or what to do with you Self Managed Super Fund.
You can spend your weekends playing golf and being seen in cafes.
Or you can do something different.
It started here ... nearly 40 years ago
For nearly 40 years, I have run Willow Vale Mill in Laggan in the Southern Tablelands of NSW.
It has been a guest house, function centre and on Saturday night has hosted locals and others for a four-course feast.
Like Don Quixote, many have seen me as tilting as windmills.
Art and soul ...
From the sublime to the perfect
Dating from the year 1000, Sansepolcro (called 'Borgo' by locals) reached its current size in the 15th century and was walled in the 16th century. Its historic centre is littered with palazzi and churches squirrelling away Renaissance works of art or bejewelled with exquisite terracotta Andrea della Robbia medallions. I often spend a day wandering from dimly lit church to church, following in the footsteps of Sansepolcro's greatest son, Renaissance artist Piero della Francesca.
It's the (local) people who make it possible
According to the Financial Times, Italy is the only country in the EU where house prices continue to fall.
In a recent report, the FT said prices have dropped 23 per cent since 2007.
I believe - as do my local friends - that prices have reached their base.
So I used this situation to fulfil a lifelong dream.
I bought a house in Tuscany.
It wasn't hard. In fact, it was surprisingly easy.
I achieved this with the help of the right people.
Let me introduce you.
