Why property in Italy investors are hooked on Umbria

Tuscany without the tourists is one description often applied to the stunning Italian region of Umbria. Like Cumbria in England without the C goes another play on words.

There is some truth to the first maxim comparing it with Tuscany, albeit much less to the second one. Notwithstanding the similarities, Umbria boasts a character and style of its own, a subtle, serene allure where Tuscany is perhaps more nakedly populist.

Like its more famous neighbour across the border, Umbria is marked by scenic villages and hilltowns and villages, interspersed with olive groves, pinewoods and magnificent rolling hillsides.

It is barely half the size of Tuscany yet many a proud Umbrian will tell you it has twice the allure. The green heart of Italy, the publicity leaflets proclaim. It is a boast Umbria lives up to.

The landlocked region lies in the very heart of Italy. It has seven sprawling national parks, Mount Cucco and Mount Subasio to the east being arguably two of the best known. To the west lies Lake Trasimeno, while the Tiber and its tributaries elegantly wind their way through Umbria’s valleys and ravines.

Another bonus is that it is markedly less crowded than Tuscany, both in terms of visitors and inhabitants. Its mere 800,000 inhabitants mean it is more sparsely populated than all bar three of Italy’s 20 regions.

Perugia is its Umbria's administrative capital but its artistic and spiritual heart and soul lie in Assisi, one of the world's leading pilgrimage sites. This beautiful hilltown was in the late 12th century the birthplace of one Giovanni di Bernardone –nicknamed Francesco because of his French mother and who would later become Italy’s patron saint, St Francis of Assisi.

He died in 1226 aged 44 and was canonised two years later. The day after he was made a saint, construction started in earnest on the majestic church that today bears his name and houses his remains. It is huge and ornate – in contrast to the stark simplicity with which the saint lived– and is actually made up of two basilicas, a lower church and an upper one.

Umbria boasts several other small charming hilltowns, Spoleto, Todi, Orvieto, Spello and Gubbio to name a few. As if to underline Umbria's understated qualities, Spello has barely 8,000 inhabitants while Perugia, the only Umbrian city of any significant size, is home to just 152,000.

With large parts of Tuscany overpriced – notwithstanding the worldwide economic downturn – a growing number of property in Italy investors have been heading over the border to Umbria. They have not been disappointed. This is a trend that accelerated after an international airport was set up in Perugia in 2006.

The region's proximity to pricy Tuscany has had an effect on real estate values. Yet there are bargains if you know where to look. For example, expect to pay around Euro250,000 for a two-bedroom apartment in Cortona, Tuscany – where Frances Mayes’ hit novel Under The Tuscan Sun triggered a boom. A few miles across the border in a hilltop town such as Piegaro, however, and the price of an identical property drops by up to Euro100,000.

Villas and apartments close to Lake Trasimeno, south of Cortona, are always in demand. For example, in Tuoro sul Trasimeno, on the northern shore, Euro100,000 can buy a one-bedroom apartment, Euro120,000 a new-build two-bedroom apartment and Euro220,000 and a new-build three-bedroom house.

On the lake's opposite bank, Citta della Pieve is redolent of a Tuscan town but without the prices. Here, a two-bedroom apartment with garden can start from just Euro150,000.

Overall, a Euro275,000 budget tends to be sufficient for a large proportion of purchasers looking to buy a holiday property in Umbria. If you're prepared to take on a restoration project, you can cut that budget in half and still find a decently-sized farmhouse in areas such as San Giovanni del Pantano, between Umbertide and Perugia.

Head to Umbria’s more southern areas and prices fall even further, often by anything up to 50 per cent. In towns such as Amelia, expect to pay Euro120,000 for a three-bedroom apartment while in nearby Narni a two-bedroom house will typically cost from Euro150,000.