After working as a teacher for 20 years, she longed for peace and quiet. Amelia Butler of the United States says buying an Italian bargain home gave it to her.
The 57-year-old now spends half of the year in Latronico, a rural village in the deep southern region of Basilicata, Italy, and the rest in her hometown of Philadelphia.
It loves the remoteness of an idyllic village surrounded by mountains, and ultimately says that it “relaxes and enjoys life and people.”
“I love the beauty of the country. I love walking a lot of villages and country roads. It’s very calm,” Butler, who currently works as a life and education consultant, tells CNN.
This former teacher bought an Italian bargain home two years ago
The former high school teacher in English and mathematics has decided to pursue his dream of moving abroad after becoming increasingly stressed at work and hoping for change.
“I was gaining weight, my blood pressure was high and I wanted to retire,” she said, adding that she had been thinking about leaving the US for several years.
Butler has several destinations in mind, looking at the property of various countries, including Costa Rica, the UK, Honduras and more. However, she loved visiting and there was one place she always returned to. It’s Italy.
When she learned of bargain housing plans in the Italian town of Latronico, authorities have been selling and renting low-cost properties since 2021 to revive the close village.
She was fascinated by the quiet location surrounded by mountains and affordable property prices.
“I wanted a place where I could be in and around nature,” Butler said. “I didn’t want to live in a big city like Rome.”
Butler checked out the online platform and was drawn to photos of properties in Latronico’s historic neighborhood.
“I knew it was mine,” Butler says, explaining the “unobstructed” view from the Shinni Valley home, with the Shinni River running.
“When I saw the photo of the view from the window, I literally shed tears in my eyes. It was so beautiful that I felt peaceful.”
She later bought a one-bedroom house. This also has a low-level storage area.
“I didn’t want anything that was a complete gut job where I had to start over everything. What I liked was that this property was basically ‘turnkey’. ”
The purchase price was originally 14,000 euros ($16,240), but Butler signed a contract with the owner, with a balcony overlooking the valleys and mountains in the area, overlooking the valleys and mountains.
The founder of the housing platform, Latronico’s local Vincenzo Castellano and his partner Mariang Guerra Tortorera were on hand to guide the purchasing process that took about three to four months.
“They handled all communications between the property owner and the notary, and took care of the collection and preparation of the documents needed to sign,” she says.
“It all became very simple and there was no need to travel to Italy.”
Butler says the process was “smooth,” but she sometimes asked herself questions, “Am I doing the right thing?… is this crazy?”
In May 2023, Butler headed to Latronico for the first time and brought her daughter, who lives in the United States with her.
Upon her arrival in town, Butler was instantly fascinated by the old cobblestone alleys and the quiet corners of the old district of Latronico.
“I love the way I have to go alleys, through quiet, alleys,” she says. “It was everything I wanted in a European home.”
According to Butler, the “soberizing” area had a healing effect on her, and she felt better after just a few days.
She was particularly struck by the tranquility of Latronico, realizing that she didn’t seem to have children around.
“We didn’t look at the kids for a few days and we were like, ‘What’s going on?’ I think they were at school the time we walked around,” Butler says.
The village has a population of about 4,000 people, which consists primarily of older or middle-aged residents.
“It was one of the adjustments because no matter where I go, I always look at people,” she says.
“It was a bit creepy at first, ‘Oh, where are you guys?’ I asked myself.
Butler’s arrival at Latronico was not noticed. She jokingly recalled “The Sathes” from residents, and when another customer walked in she overheard the shopkeeper saying, “Oh, the Americans just left.”
Butler loves the vibe of the village community, explaining that “welcome” residents go out for their morning coffee and hang out at Piazza together in the evening.
When it comes to food, she appreciates the freshness and lightness of the various dishes and ingredients, but she doesn’t like the popular Crusco Peppers, which can be eaten in a variety of ways with Basilicata.
“I had to adjust a bit to the food,” Butler says. “I made my own food and never had the dried peppers they (locals) had.
Butler is currently eating pasta more regularly than before, but you won’t get used to having it twice a day, as many locals do.
“I like the taste of Latronico pasta in the United States, where pasta in stores is processed and made to stay on shelves forever,” she says.
After extensive travel to countries including Portugal, Japan and Costa Rica in the past, Butler says that she was extremely adaptable and had no major “cultural shocks” or challenges in living in the deep south of Italy.
One of her biggest adjustments is the short opening hours of local stores.
“In (Philadelphia), our market is open from 10am to 11pm,” Butler says. “So whenever you need something from the store, there is a 24-hour place to get something.
“It was one of the big adjustments: knowing you can’t get up in the middle of the night and pick up a bottle of wine from the market.”
Butler has a digital nomadic visa that allows highly skilled non-EU remote workers to live and work in Italy.
Latronico’s peaceful atmosphere allowed her to concentrate without the regular distractions in Philadelphia, and she currently writes books about her experiences and works remotely.
She has not yet begun to learn Italian, but Butler can get it regardless and will be taking lessons in the future.
In the meantime, she was busy renovating her property, completing mainly aesthetic and functional tasks, including upgrading electrical systems, repainting walls, and adding laundry facilities.
The renovation, which includes giving a transformation to both the bathroom and kitchen, has cost a total of $18,000 so far. Butler is also working to reopen the space downstairs at the facility.
She is happy to divide her time between America and Italy for now, but she hopes to retire to Latronico completely in the future.
When in Italy, Butler spends much of his time walking, hiking, interacting with local people, visiting different parts of the country and other European destinations.
The annual trip from Philadelphia to Latronico takes about 24 hours, including a five-hour bus ride from Rome, but Butler sees this as another part of the slow life she has longed for.
“What touches me most is the simplicity of life at Latronico,” she says.
“In my professional life, I did it and did a lot of things. It’s great to be able to relax, enjoy life and people, just breathe,” she says. “The only thing I can change is that I’m doing it faster.”
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