Three-star houses for sale
Villa Laura was used as the set for the making of Under the Tuscan Sun, the film adaption of Frances Mayes's best-selling novel of an American in Tuscany. The romantic green-shuttered villa, which is five minutes from Cortona, comes with all the appendages of an historic Italian country residence and is heartstoppingly beautiful - but money needs to be spend on upgrading.
The property consists of the three-storey villa, a garden room annexe, limonaia (a lemon hothouse) and a wonderful deconsecrated chapel to restore.
A crumbling farmhouse in the grounds could convert to apartments for summer rental. The gardens include an ornamental pond, lawns, woodland and a lake. An irrigation and drainage system is in place for the grounds and pond.
Price: €2 million
Casa Tribbiali is set amidst cypresses and terraced olive groves below the town of Lisciano Niccone alto, about 20 minutes' from Cortona and 15 minutes from Umbertide. The farmhouse has been recently restored in traditional style, with four bedrooms, two bathrooms and planning to convert the lower floor. The restoration work includes terracotta floors, beamed ceilings and a covered terrace with working pizza oven. Outside, there is a lawn with planning for a pool.
Price: €675,000
Mulino dello Zoppo is a restored millhouse, surrounded by its own vineyard and gardens, seven minutes' from Castiglione Fiorentino and 15 minutes' from Cortona. It includes a ground floor two-bedroom apartment and a separate three-bed apartment, accessed via an external staircase. Traditional features such as exposed beams, barrel-vaulted kitchen ceiling, hand-made tiles and stone window frames have been preserved. Outside is the beautifully kept millhouse, vineyard, pool and flower gardens.
Price: €995,000
• All these villas are for sale with Cortona-based Italian Property Sales & Restorations, tel 0039 0575 605191. These and other Italian properties will feature in La Dolce Vita, a festival of Italian food, wine, property, travel and culture which takes place in London's Olympia, starting today and running until March 19th
