It sounds very interesting, so I have become a follower. I can see that it is a disease... you see a ruin and you start to wander what you could do with it.

In any case, good luck and keep on posting.

Hi Godzillavilla - I've signed up too.  We're going to be undertaking a renovation in Liguria soon too - I love your blog layout - very simple and clean (sometimes they're too messy for me to be bothered to work my way through)  was it easy to set up through Word Press? - I've never blogged but like the idea, I've looked in to it a couple of times and intend to start next year but would love to get everything up and ready to go for January - any suggestions/advice would be greatfully appreciated!

It is a disease! Even though I have one I still look at others and think about what could be done. I just hate to see beautiful places falling into disuse. Thank you for the support!

I use Wordpress and it's not difficult to master (compared to something like tumblr) but my learning curve was steep. I had some geek friends help me out. The greater challenge is the writing itself, to come up with relevant posts that people want to read - and to keep them coming. A lot of people start out OK then run out of good content. 

Thanks for signing up! 

I have signed up! Our house is a restored, 3 stories watch tower, originally build 1780 - built and enlarged in much the same way as yours. So I will follow you progress with great interest.

Good for you!  Wish we had the courage...and the knowledge

Look forward to reading your posts.

La Dolce Vita, if you want inspiration here is an excellent blog also on Wordpress:

http://bagnidilucca.wordpress.com/

The stories are great, the photos are superb and there are many followers and fans (including myself) who are totally sold on it. To me it was very important, as it deals with my area in Italy. Last May, I met the two ladies who share it and it happened that we had many friends in common. We correspond a lot nowadays. It is a lot of work, as one of them practically has a new post everyday and she needs to get material to do this; however, it is amazing how something simple like the flowers you plant in a balcony can become a very interesting topic. But the photos are most important. They bring life to the blog. Also, you have to post regularly. Otherwise, people tend to forget about you. And it is important to involve the readers. Their comments are important and can even give you more ideas to follow.

Anyway, you are doing well Godzillavilla (I love the name!) and I am sure that we all look forward to reading more chapters.

Good luck!

Thanks! Was yours already fixed up when you bought? Often I think that would have been MUCH wiser, although this is a heck of an adventure.

What knowledge??? Really were making this up as we go along - but are fortunate to have a great bunch of local people to rely on. Mostly we just try to have a very flexible view of our expectations on everything.

Thanks for your support.

That's a great site, thanks for bringing it to my attention. It's true this blogging thing is a lot of work, but I'm enjoying it. 

I'm another who will be following your progress!  Good luck.  Joy

Thanks Gala re the recommendation - will sign up to follow it.

How am I going to fit work in between reading blogs/blogging/planning my move etc - LOL :)

Hi:

We are in Vancouver, Canada (originally from Czech) and planning to also purchase a Ligurian house/ruin and start renovation. Ideally we would like to turn a ruin into B & B - vinery. What about you? Are you planning to live or rent out your house or establish B & B? Paul

That's a very good question! Originally we were living in Italy and thought to create a B&B. But life changes faster than the house progresses...now that we're back in Canada, my first thought is simply to complete the house. I'm thinking of it more as a rental than a B&B at the moment. Theoretically these decisions would affect how we build it, but because all the interior walls are massive stone we can't actually change that much. The bottom level would make a great B&B space but to be 'in code' these days we'd have to dig up the cement floor, excavate, and create a new floor with space under it  - which also means creating a new steel collar all around the base to make sure the place doesn't collapse when we do all that digging around the pitifully shallow foundations. 

All this to say - making it livable first, then we'll worry about the rest. Be prepared to spend way more than you intended! But it's a really fun adventure.

Hi Italy2012 and welcome - we're also moving to Liguria shortly - by the end of 2012 dependant on selling our house here in the UK (it went up on the market this week) and completion of our house there.

Whereabouts in Liguria are you looking to move to - our ruin is in Dolceacqua.

We've been visiting the area now for 7 years and know the area from Imperia to Ventimiglia fairly well - if you're looking for a solicitor and or an architect etc I can share my experiences of who to use and who NOT to use.

I'm not sure what you know about the regulations in Italy re B & B's etc they can be very complex and bureacratic - there are several threads here and on other boards that will fill you in.  As Godzillavilla has mentioned renting can be more straightforward and therefore more lucrative

Good luck

Quite honestly italy2012, don't do it. getting an Italian b&b is reminiscent of the Brits that had ill thought out dreams of buying a bar in Spain.

Italy at the moment is an economic disaster area along with the likes of Spain and Greece and getting worse by the day. Tourism (foreigners and locals) is way down and has been going down for a while. B&B's here are struggling.

Trying to get things done here is a nightmare, workers that don't turn up or take months to do simple things..Very expensive, both for builders, and Bureaucracy,
Planning permission has to go through a the local commune that only meets once every few months which is then passed on to another authority which promptly passes it onto another authority.
Although last winter was mild in general the winters are not that good, so a B&B is seasonal.

Taxes, taxes on businesses and prices are rocketing here and corruption is rampant. There are new property taxes and new taxes across the board to come.

Even now, with my monster project, I see other ruins and can't resist fantasizing about them. So much potential beauty mouldering away in the Italian hills!

Whereabouts in Liguria? Wordpress is an easy platform to set up - although I did have some help from a techie friend at the beginning. Tumblr is good if you're planning more of a photo blog rather than words. Lots of people blogging about Italy and renos - check out comments on my blog and you'll find a lot of them. Makes for a lovely community.