For many people dreaming of la dolce vita, the idea of buying a house in Italy feels like the perfect shortcut to a new, sun-soaked lifestyle. Between gorgeous villages, affordable prices (at least on paper), and irresistible online listings, it’s easy to understand why so many imagine settling into their own Italian home as the beginning of a beautiful new chapter. But once you scratch beneath the surface, the reality of buying property in Italy can be far more complicated -