Italy

Hi

I have not invested in Calabria, however I was there 18 months ago visiting relatives.

I was staying at a town called Foca near the Ionian Sea coast in the province of Regio Calabria (southern most province) which has some of the best beaches in Italy.  I noticed there was quite a lot of appartments being developed along the coast in places like Rochella Ionica.

It seems a popular place during the warmer months of the year (ie:July-Sep) as northern Italians flock down to soak up the sun.  However, according to my relatives its a lot quieter during the winter months. Agriculture is still the most important industry in the entire Calabrian region, however I got the impression that the tourism is becomming increasingly important to the area. Many locals left of the region after world war 2  to pursue employment  in the industrial north part  of Italy due to a lack of employment opportunites in the industries other than agriculture. As a far as I could gather, this is still an issue. 

In terms of your proposed investment, if you are looking for long-term capital growth then you would want to look at population trends and also look for evidence any emerging industries that are going to stimulate and sustain the local economy.
If your buying near the coast then renting out the property during the summer should not be difficult, however this may be a concern during the remainder of the year.  

At the end of the day, like any investment you'll need to do your due dilligence. Hope this helps.

Regards
Frank