Half an hour from us is the Adriatic and the uncrowded beaches of Fossacesia Marina

The Low Point In our search for a suitable property in Abruzzo to develop into a permanent home for us and provide rental villas offering holidays for two, we've now seen 36 houses. You've seen them too. Actually, we saw loads more. We just took pictures of 36. And we saw one house twice. Worryingly, I didn't recognise it. More worryingly, it took quite some time before I did –

All (All ?) we were looking for was a property that’d be our new permanent home in Italy and have the space and scope for our plan to open a small-scale villa rental business providing holidays for two.

Italy is the world’s biggest wine producer and Italian wines are a real treasure trove

And here’s the property we DID buy. Then we knocked it down…

More to this place than met the eye and for a while a real possibility. But the owner messed us around so much, in the end we gave up

Pasta. Tomatoes. Parmesan. Basil. Four simple ingredients – and the basis for a perfect Italian meal

The dessert platter at the Agriturismo del Sole. As sinful and delicious as it looks. (More so, actually…)

The Adriatic coast is lined with fish restaurants. Here’s a typical mixed seafood antipasto to start your meal

An Abruzzo holiday’s not complete without at least one pizza. A wood-fired oven is a must for that authentic taste of Italy