Cash Out

After the great reckoning on Wednesday morning we have decided not to sell off land and buildings that were distant and derelict. Distance, even when interrupted by a range of hills and a tricky road, no matter how beautiful, is merely an irritation. Dereliction translates into otherwise unobtainable planning permissions to build in protected zones, and the marginality of land is changing its contours, not least because of EU investment availability for irrigation and other improvement often sought by co-operatives of which ownership makes us members.

In the current climate I want to be part of any co-operative and of as many communities as possible. As well, what possible determinations can I make about the worth of cash next week, year, decade...? Furthermore delapidation reaches a point where it doesn't matter any more. Under modern standards and rules of habitability, everything must be restructured anyway, as much for 50 years ago as for 500.

There is one last indicative factor. If you want to buy a podere in Tuscany, there isn't one for sale for love or money. They are worth their weight in gold.