Last place - and best

Il Chiostro was the last place Skerries couple Ann and Brendan Goldsmith looked at earlier this year when they were hunting for a holiday home in Tuscany.

Local estate agents had shown them villas deep in valleys down bad roads or perched in isolation high on hills. "The last appointment we had on the last day of our holidays was with an agent in Cortona. When we saw Il Chiostro, we liked it right away, and debated all the way back to Pisa. We came back the next weekend - at great expense - to buy it."

They bought a one-bed, with a diningroom area big enough to be converted into a second bedroom, if needed, with a small garden in front and a lovely view into the courtyard from the bedroom window.

Brendan Goldsmith, former president of DIT, had known the area for years, attending conferences in the University of Pisa's Palazzone di Cortona (a distinctive tower building you can see from The Cloisters). He and Ann are both delighted to have a base of their own in the area, and found buying much easier than they'd expected.

"We were afraid of lots of bureaucracy," says Brendan, who'd experienced it briefly during a stint working for a university in Italy. But negotiations with the local notary took a lot less time than anticipated, and the couple are impressed at the protection Italian law gives to buyers.

They've found the closest supermarket a five-minute walk away ("it's good, has fresh meat and a great delicatessen"), good local restaurants and have become regular Mass-goers to the small historic church. Although both are still working, their five children are pretty much grown and they hope to visit their holiday home at least six times a year.