A brand new, eco-friendly collection of luxury apartments in Liguria

Dominio San Sebastiano holiday resort is a brand new, a genuine ecological project and one of the first energy sustainable holiday home developments in Italy in the Bergeggi hills in northern Italy. The resort is an hour drive away from the Prata Necoso ski resort and it takes just under two hours by car to reach Milan and it offers easy access to Northern Europe after a short drive through Italy's countryside, travelers can be in the south of France in a similar time.

All apartments are designed to follow the criteria of Realitalia's Lifestyle Solution Homes, offering beautiful views, outdoor living areas and maximum access for light.

This beautiful holiday home resort is integrating all the housing units into the environmental context of the construction area which is characterized by dense Mediterranean vegetation. Developers have chosen local flora suited to the region's climate, rainwater will be harvested for irrigation of the gardens and large windows allow natural light thus reducing the use of artificial lighting systems.

Apartments have been designed to have low energy loss with brilliant thermal insulation and other technical advances in an Endeavour to achieve Class A+ certification most of these buildings have been designed to consume about 1 cubic meter of methane gas per square meters per year against 19 cubic meters for a house using traditional techniques.

Dominio San Sebastiano is amazing not just because of its eco credentials but because of its wonderful layout, immaculate attention to detail and supreme location. Each apartment can be individually customized and early purchase can result in the combination of several apartments to create larger, personalized homes.

Luca Catalano of Realitalia, the Lifestyle Solution Italian Homes Company working closely with partners Colletta di Castelbianco Srl on this project, says, "Our commitment is not linked to whether it brings an immediate return from a sales point of view but more a desire to do our part in protecting the environment and to do it well. we have been amongst the first members to join the UK Green Building Council. We have also signed the 2016 Commitment to build zero carbon emission homes by 2016, for as it is a priority."

One and two bedroom apartments which can be purchased off plan from circa 300,000 Euro/£ 260,000 approx.

Italy property searches are on the rise

Property market in Italy has received a timely boost with the news that the country's property searches are on the rise.

According to Property portal Pimelocation.com, Italy had improved in the final month of 2009 as it was the sixth most sought-after destination, up from ninth in November. At the same time, the US was unchanged in first place and Spain remained in second. The portal released details of its most popular locations for searches, either by country or by specific home and described Italy as a "rapid climber" in the table last month.

Liam Bailey, chief market analyst at Property Abroad said that as consumer confidence is falling in the wake of the credit crunch established markets like … Italy … are regaining their positions as most popular for overseas property purchasers, noting that investors are choosing to "play it safe" and buy in a country such as Italy, which has a "secure and stable" property market. Locations with a strong tourist market are the best to invest in and southern Italy in particular is still offering lower priced investments.

Commenting on the region, Bernardo Retana, director of IPIN said that it offers attractions such as unspoiled surroundings, easy access and a growing tourist trade. As a result, it could be an ideal market for buy-to-let investors who wish to purchase a property in a rapidly expanding market. He added that the Limits on new building work have been designed to make sure the province retains its natural beauty.