The shortlist / Italy / Church and convent above the Niccone valley
Photo: Casa Tuscany. Click the large photograph to see it full size.
~580 years old
Church and convent above the Niccone valley
Near Umbertide, Perugia, Umbria, Italy
A 15th-century parish church with its convent round a courtyard, alone on a hilltop between the upper Tiber and Niccone valleys, with 4 hectares and an olive grove. The agent calls it well preserved. The photographs show roofs down on two ranges and no doors or windows.
Our verdict
Five hundred and fifty thousand euros for a hilltop, four hectares of olives and a medieval church and convent with nobody near. The price is for the position. The buildings are a shell.
“Well-preserved” is the agent’s word and I would not use it. Budget three times the purchase price and go and find out what the church is called.
What is wrong with it
- One low wing has lost the middle of its roof, and one range has no roof at all.
- A crack runs down the full height of one corner of the main block.
- There are no windows or doors in any opening in the photographs.
- No photograph shows the inside of the church.
- The advert does not name the church, the hamlet or the owner.
- Stacks of salvaged tiles and bricks stand on pallets near the buildings. Ask who took them down and from where.
- A track of 1.5 km is yours to keep passable.
The story
We could not identify this church. The agent gives a century, the two valleys and distances to four places, and no name. From those it stands in the hills west of Umbertide towards the Tuscan border. The diocese of Città di Castello or of Gubbio will know which suppressed parish this was. Until someone asks, there is no history to print.
What it needs, and what it might cost
- Safe and dry
- €46,000 to €102,000
- Everything on the list
- €1,366,000 to €2,402,000
- Each year after that
- €4,000 to €8,000
This is a ruin of 1,150 square metres. Italian rates for restoring a rural stone building run from about €1,500 to €2,500 a square metre, which is where the total comes from.
What the photographs show
- The buildings stand on a bare hilltop with scrub and young woodland round them and no neighbour in sight.
- The main block is three storeys of coursed stone with brick round the openings. Its roof is on, with plants growing along the ridge and eaves.
- The church front is a plain stone gable with a wide brick-arched doorway holding old plank doors, and a single window high up.
- A low wing has lost the centre of its tile roof. Rafters hang into the gap.
- One range is roofless. Its walls stand to the eaves and ivy and elder grow inside.
- A vertical crack runs down one corner of the tall block from eaves to ground, with brick patching beside it.
- A free-standing corner pier in stone and brick is all that remains of one section.
- No opening has a window. Several are blocked in brick.
- Two pallets of stacked tiles and bricks stand in the grass, grown over with moss.
The work, line by line
| Now: safe and dry | Rough cost | Based on |
|---|---|---|
| Measured survey and report by a structural engineer and a conservation architect | €6,000 to €12,000 | Our assumption |
| Cut out the vegetation, prop the cracked corner and the walls of the roofless ranges, and sheet the open roofs | €40,000 to €90,000 | Seen in the photographs |
| Next: fabric and glass | Rough cost | Based on |
|---|---|---|
| Structural consolidation to seismic rules and new roofs on old lines, about 700 square metres of roof | €350,000 to €600,000 | Seen in the photographs |
| Repoint and repair the stone walls, rebuild floors | €250,000 to €450,000 | Seen in the photographs |
| Remake the 1.5 km track | €20,000 to €50,000 | From the listing |
| Later: interior and services | Rough cost | Based on |
|---|---|---|
| Bring in power and water or go off the grid, drains, heating, windows, doors and the fitting out of 1,150 square metres | €700,000 to €1,200,000 | Our assumption |
Yearly upkeep, €4,000 to €8,000. Insurance, property tax, the track, the olive grove and keeping the scrub off the walls.
Grants. None should be assumed.
Condition, as the listing describes it
| General | "Requiring restoration but well-preserved." | From the listing |
| Openings | All original openings remain, with the main doors and the stone stair from the courtyard to the upper floors. | From the listing |
| Services | A well. Nothing is said about mains water, electricity or drains. | Unknown |
| Energy rating | G. | From the listing |
These are our rough estimates and not quotes. Nobody from this site has been inside the building. We measured from the listing, looked at its photographs, applied published local rates for 2025 and 2026, and raised them for scaffolding, height and heritage rules. Figures are for works only, before architect's fees of 10 to 15% and VAT. Rot, structural movement and asbestos do not show in a photograph. How we estimate.
The seller
Not stated. The listing does not say who owns it. Ask the agent.
What you may do with it
Convertible. The listing mentions no protection and sells it as a restoration project of ten bedrooms. Much of it is a shell. A 15th-century church in open Umbrian country will still fall under landscape rules, and may be protected without the advert saying so.
Sacred status
| Consecration | Called an old parish church. Nothing is said about deconsecration. | Unknown |
| Dedication | Not given. | Unknown |
Heritage status
| Protection | None mentioned in the listing. | Unknown |
| What to check | In Italy a building more than 70 years old that belongs to a Church body is treated as protected until the Soprintendenza has checked it and said otherwise. Ask who the owner is, and ask for the result of that check, the "verifica dell'interesse culturale", before you offer. | Unknown |
What comes with it
| Floor area | About 1,150 square metres, plus a courtyard of about 60. | From the listing |
| Layout | Convent with country church round a courtyard. Animals and stores below, living rooms above. | From the listing |
| Land | About 4 hectares with an olive grove and a well. | From the listing |
The dead
| Burials | Not mentioned. | Unknown |
Getting there
| Road | At the end of a 1.5 km unpaved track that needs work. The nearest town is about 6 km away. Città di Castello is 15 km, Lake Trasimeno 15 km, the Tuscan border at Mercatale di Cortona 10 km. | From the listing |
| Air | An airport within an hour. | From the listing |
People to call
- Selling agent: Casa Tuscany, +39 366 3048 914 (reference V3187AB)
- Heritage authority: Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio dell'Umbria
"From the listing" means the seller's agent says so. "Checked by us" means we confirmed it against a public record, linked where possible. "Unknown" is a question to put to the agent before you visit.