There is an Italy that sits outside the usual mass-tourism circuit: Apennine villages, quiet countryside, lesser-known lakes and stretches of coast where getting onto the beach does not mean joining a queue. This is also the Italy that a growing number of foreign buyers are choosing when it comes to purchasing a home.
Data compiled by Gate-away.com for the first half of 2026 points to international demand following a different path from major tourist flows. It is more spread out, more curious and more deeply drawn to everyday Italy.
Overtourism in Italy: the figures
According to figures from Italy’s Ministry of Tourism, international visitor numbers are concentrated in just 4% of the country’s territory: a handful of art cities, several well-known beaches and the most photographed lakes. Once the idea shifts from a holiday to buying a home, though, the map of interest broadens considerably.
When travel turns into a property purchase
One figure in particular stands out among the data published by Gate-away.com: 7.4% of property enquiries are submitted by foreign users while they are already in Italy.
They are not at home or looking at a screen in an anonymous office in London or New York, but are already on Italian soil, perhaps during a walk through a village, over dinner at an agriturismo — a rural farm stay — or while taking in the view through a bed and breakfast window.
People arrive for a holiday and begin seeing the country differently. At some point, the idea takes hold: a home, an alternative life project or a second residence to use for months at a time. First-hand experience of an area therefore becomes the strongest catalyst for deciding to buy.
The most searched regions and municipalities
At regional level, Tuscany remains comfortably in first place with 14.33% of preferences, followed by Sicily with 11.05%, Lombardy with 9.28%, Puglia with 8.74% and Liguria with 7.70%.
Piedmont, Calabria, Abruzzo, Umbria and Lazio also appear among the leading regions, confirming an interest that cannot be confined to a small number of predictable destinations.
The real surprise appears in the ranking of the 20 most sought-after municipalities during the first half of 2026. Alongside names already familiar to international visitors, such as Ostuni, Noto, Rome, Tropea, Sanremo, Lucca and Syracuse, are places most passing tourists may never have considered:
- Tortora in Calabria
- Castiglione del Lago in Umbria
- Fivizzano in Lunigiana
- Bagni di Lucca
- Nizza Monferrato in Piedmont
- Terricciola in Valdera
- Carovigno and Ceglie Messapica in Puglia
- Parghelia in Calabria
- Tiny San Siro on Lake Como
- Scalea on the Tyrrhenian coast
- Caltagirone in inland Sicily
The list paints a picture of a lesser-seen Italy, though not one with a lesser quality of life. Foreign buyers have been drawn to it for what it provides beyond the postcard image.
Not on the coast, but close to it
The geographical distribution of demand by distance from the coast provides another useful perspective. Some 54.84% of enquiries concern homes within ten kilometres of the coast, but only 19.06% look for a property less than one kilometre from the sea.
The preference, in other words, is not necessarily to wake up with sand at your feet. It is to be able to reach the sea within a few minutes while choosing the quiet of an inland village, the cooler air of a hillside setting, more manageable prices and a more genuine everyday life.
Who is looking, and how much are they spending?
International interest in Italian property is led by buyers from the United States, followed by the UK and Germany:
- United States: 21.71% of enquiries
- United Kingdom: 14.24%
- Germany: 9.59%
- France: 5.36%
- Netherlands: 4.33%
- Sweden: 3.74%
- Belgium: 3.10%
- Canada: 2.70%
- Switzerland: 2.47%
In financial terms, the average budget for the property being sought is €396,807, though almost 70% of demand falls below the €250,000 mark.
Foreign buyers are also searching for affordability, which can be difficult to find in the better-established destinations. Less congested areas tend to have more homes available and prices that still reflect local realities rather than speculative pressure.
Flats, villas and detached houses are the most requested property types, while 60.45% of buyers are looking for homes that have already been renovated or are ready to move into.
Demand that comes before tourism
Overall, the figures point to an international buyer looking for more than a second home: they are looking for a way into a different way of life.
“International buyers are showing increasing interest in Italy as a whole and, above all, in the possibility of living a more authentic Italian life,” explains Simone Rossi, co-founder of Gate-away.com.
According to Rossi, the typical journey often begins with a holiday in one of the better-known destinations, then gradually widens through spontaneous trips, chance discoveries, and villages found along a back road. It is in those moments that the idea of buying a home begins.
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