Silvia Marchetti
(CNN) — His ancestors migrated from Italy to the United States in the late 1800s, and more than two centuries later, Vito Andrea Racanelli decided to do it all in reverse — leaving his home in Denver to return to the country his family left behind.
Unlike many Americans who have been buying bargain homes across Italy, Racanell, an attorney, opted to splash out, spending more than $1 million on an aristocratic farmhouse in Radicondoli, a tiny village in Tuscany.
He made the move in August 2024 with his wife Lynn, a former dental hygienist, and their children Vito, 16, and Carmen, 13, after Italy came “calling.”
The family is currently living in one section of the property, which is thought to date from the 1750s, while work continues on the rest of the estate.
Racanelli says he decided to move his family to Italy to provide them with an active, safer and “adventurous” environment surrounded by greenery, where he could work remotely and live a less hectic life.
“I was tired of spending so much time behind a desk, and my wife and I wanted to spend more time traveling in Europe and simply being outdoors…” Racanelli, 47, tells CNN, adding that he’s been intrigued by Italy since his first visit at the age of 13.
“It began calling later in life once my friends dispersed across the country, my personal interests matured, and my desire to reconnect with my heritage grew.”
‘Warm people’
His family had previously visited Italy together and always loved the landscapes, architecture and “the beautiful spirit of its warm people,” says Racanelli.
After selling their house in Colorado in 2024 and claiming Italian citizenship by descent through Racanelli’s grandmother, who was from the mountainous region of Molise in southern Italy, they took a leap of faith and moved to Tuscany around eight months later.
Racanelli found the property — once a rural estate that functioned as a borgo, or self-sufficient hamlet — after searching online. It is located close to a large nature reserve.
They chose Radicondoli rather than southern Italy due to its proximity to the Tuscan city of Siena, flying in to view the farmhouse, named “Podere Doglio, in 2024.
“We had a beautiful outdoor lunch on the main street in Radicondoli, where we saw children safely and cheerfully playing together without any oversight,” says Racanelli.
After spending time in the medieval village, they felt it was the ideal place for them thanks to its lively vibe, lack of crowds, small size and “unsurpassed” natural surroundings.
“We also noticed that everyone who passed each other on the street stopped to hug and talk — we had never seen a community like that before,” Racanelli says.
He decided to buy the property — which came with a pool and five hectares of land — that same day.
Italian property pitfalls
Although the farmhouse’s purchase price of 945,000 euros — around $1.1 million — was a significant investment, Racanelli considered it reasonable compared with Colorado’s soaring home prices, noting that a similar property near Denver would probably have cost $5 million to $10 million.
After moving to Radicondoli in 2024, the family lived in the farmhouse for about four months while going through the purchase process, which took almost a year.
“Buying real estate in Italy is completely different,” he adds, suggesting that the best way for foreign buyers to avoid “pitfalls” is to hire a real estate attorney, an accountant and a geometra, or architect-surveyor, to help with the process.
According to Racanelli, one of the main drawbacks is that the Italian system appears to heavily protect the seller, meaning due diligence should be completed before making any offer.
He adds that there are typically no legal “opt-out” clauses like those tha