And you're still thinking of buying in Tuscany!!!!

From the Independant Newspaper, England, last week.

Environmentalists and lovers of Tuscany are up in arms over a plan unveiled by municipal officials yesterday to emulate Dubai and build a horseshoe-shaped cement island 1,000m off the pristine coast of Forte dei Marmi, one of the most civilised beach resorts in the province of Lucca.
"There is great interest in this," James Popper, the town's alderman for public works, told the Corriere della Sera newspaper. "We already have had proposals from companies who want to participate." He said an architect, Sergio Pelletti, based the project on pioneering designs used by the United Arab Emirates. "The idea is to build a tourist island like the one in Dubai."
Mr Pelletti envisages moorings for 500 yachts on the island, which would also house a luxury hotel, shops, an aquarium, a conference and exhibition centre and two swimming pools.
At first, small ferries would take tourists from the Forte dei Marmi beach but Corriere quoted sources in the council as saying they also hope to build an underwater tunnel, and use electrically-driven vehicles.
The newspaper said the idea sounded like the brainchild of "a spendfree Russian magnate in love with Tuscany", rather than a serious proposal by elected representatives in an enchanting area of the coast.
The town was born from construction of a fortress in 1788 for the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Leopold I. It has been a haunt of artists and industrialists for generations and hosts an annual Puccini festival.
The Corriere called the plan worthy of the pharaohs, with an estimated cost of at least €100m (£70m). But the potential environmental impact, rather than the expense, provoked protest from Fabio Roggiolani, leader of the Tuscan branch of the environmentalist Verdi (Greens) party.
"It is madness to say they want to imitate Dubai," he said. "Behind Dubai there is the desert but behind Forte dei Marmi there is a cultural heritage to preserve and value. Tossing tons of cement into the sea would mean disturbing the marine panorama and eroding the beach already at risk."
Mr Roggiolani said other environmentally doubtful projects had been proposed on the surrounding Versilia coastline. "Instead of influenza, people have caught the virus of putting cement in the sea," he added.
But Mr Pelletti's team say building the island a kilometre from the beach would guard against erosion, the only likely effect being a 200m-wide girdle of sand on the island.
The plan is also opposed by Forte dei Marmi's influential association of bathing establishments.
"This seems like a Peter Pan island fantasy and I hope it stays like that for ever," the chairman, Umberto Buratti, said. "An eruption of cement in the sea is dangerous. It doesn't take much to upset the delicate natural balance here."

Umbria really is the only unspoiled area left, not under threat, here in central Italy.
Have you seen the co-ownership offer on http://www.propertiesumbria.com/ ...............006 La Preghiera, and 012 Moscatelli? Only 80,000 euro.... .............and for a trial run..............have you looked at http://www.villamoscatelli.com/?

Well here in Umbria the sun is starting to shine again, we’ve twice had lunch out in the garden last week, and I even read a few pages of a book, and snoozed for a minute or two.

You are I’m sure reading doom and gloom on every front page, and seeing it played back minute by minute on the TV screens, but how about the news of the imminent collapse of the US economy?

You’ve missed it, aah, you were watching the sport, or the news from Baghdad, Iran or Afghanistan perhaps.

Did you know that the publication of the US M3 money supply details, (how many billions of greenbacks are being printed each month); the fundamental support of the US economy in fact, which enables foreigners and Americans alike to gauge the value of the dollar in their pockets; is no longer going to be published, and in fact withheld? You didn’t know? Then look at www.safehaven.com, where all is revealed. Frightening isn’t the word. Remember the Weimar Republic?

And, while you’re there, read up on Iran’s proposal to launch the PetroEuro, which seriously would launch the cat amongst the dicky birds, or the whatnot against the fan. Countries have been known to invent wars on shakier pretexts.

Yes, you say, but gold is up, of course it is if everyone is leaving dollars. But perhaps you don’t remember that in the 1980’s gold was trading at over $800 an ounce! So, yes, it is up, from the bottom, but it’s still at only 5/8ths of ist value 25 years ago. Is it up, or what?!?

The Euro is also up and that’s why European property is a much better hedge than British houses with nineteen consecutive months of falling prices. And as for the US housing market and Fanny Mae’s involvement, helped by Freddie Mac, and the billions of dollars in “accounting” errors that have taken place. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac I hear you ask? Huge US government agencies who buy up mortgages where the mortgagee defaults. Someone agrees to buy a house and can’t pay the repayments so the US government steps in to buy up the mortgage. It wouldn’t do to have too many houses flooding onto the market, it might just depress prices, so buy up the houses, keep up the property values and everyone is happy. Oh, and by the way, print more money for this and the two wars, but don’t tell anyone how much you’re printing by concealing the M3 supply. Don’t want to frighten them, do we? Have a look at the article “The United States of Real Estate” by Robert Blumen. www.lewrockwell.com.

Lead soldiers are a pretty good hedge, www.soldierssoldiers.com, and so are Italian postcards, www.cartolinetunstill.com, but only really for smallish amounts of money and only possible after a considerable period of investigation.

So, back to bricks and mortar, but where? England………..mmmmmmmmm!!! USA………mmmmm!!! Roumania, Croatia etc……prices seem to be increasing……as they did in Spain and Portugal for several years, where now they are building so cheaply, and so prettily, that the second-hand units of five and more years ago are becoming abandoned as their resale value falls.

So where then? Why……..Umbria,….. Italy. www.propertiesumbria.com, where prices have increased by fractionally under 10% year on year, on year, since we started selling properties 23 years ago. Have a look, it might just be the sort of tranquil haven that you need for your stressed out body, mind, dollar and pound. You can even buy shares in a portfolio of properties, and become an investor.

And to enable you to relax for a few days try www.lapreghiera.com, a country house set in the green heart of Umbria. Come and visit and we can talk things over.

Best wishes,

John Tunstill

Waiting for Valentine’s Day

Every 14th of February celebration in honour of the Saint take place around the Basilica of Terni, Umbria, central Italy, with the traditional Fair. The entire month of February is dedicated to festivities in honour of St Valentine, Terni's first Bishop, who died in 273 by order of the Roman prefect Placidus Furius during the persecutions executed by the emperor Aurelius.
His life, given to the apostolate and enobled by his matyrdom, induced the citizens of Terni in 1644 to proclaim him the Patron Saint of the City and patron saint of lovers. But the fame of Saint Valentine all over the world is the legend which originated in the anglo-saxon countries. He gave a flower from his own garden to his young visitors. Two of these young people fell in love; and this love resulted in such a happy union that many other couples followed their example, and the Saint dedicated one day of the year to the benediction of love. The present Basilica of Terni was built in 1605 on the ruins of previous temples, and contains works of art of great interest, particularly in the crypt.
Come to La Preghiera, a romantic and intimate hideaway in Umbria, a perfect location to spend Valentine’s Day... See our website, www.lapreghiera.com , for our special offer