renting a house in Italy

Two other couples want us to make the decision of region and find a cool house for a week this summer. We have decided on either
1-Bologna/Modena
2-Verona/Venice
3-Alba/Milan
We will probably rent cars but trains would be nice. We have visited all these areas before but stayed in hotels.
Does anyone have experience with vacation house rental companies for Italy or any specific house experiences? Thanks in advance.

Worthwhile tips here.

https://lifeinitaly.com/airbnb-scams-house-renting-scams/

.

We use the same company in Paris.

I always try to use local agencies where possible, rather than national / international agencies / aggregators. That’s not to say there aren’t good properties with the latter, but we prefer more money staying local, plus someone on hand locally should anything go wrong.

For Alba, first port of call ought to be the excellent tourist office in alba www.langheroero.it Very professional.

This is a well respected company from Tuscany

If you find yourself in Verona, in need of a great meal, check out Ristorante Antica Torretta. I had the black truffle ricotta gnocchi and it might be the best plate of food I have ever had in my life. https://www.ristoranteanticatorretta.com/en/

Hi Jim
Not a house as such, but would definitely work for a week. Massimago in Mezzane di Sotto, abiot a 20-30 minute drive from Verona, with some good wineries in the village (Roccolo Grassi our favourite), but also in range of other parts of Valpolicella region, as well as Soave. Village is walkable, with 2-3 decent but not fancy restaurants. Also a local olive press.

The accommodation is relatively modest sized 2 person apartments, but they’re clean, modern and each with a serviceable kitchen. That would allow you to be next door neighbours, but also get private time. There might be bigger one’s, but the 2 person ones were what we wanted for ourselves and our friends.

The big selling point though isn’t the apartments themselves. Highlights include:

  • Beautiful grounds, with a lovely pool, sauna, rustic games room, garden seating, fruit trees (esp. figs) plus vineyards to walk through. I’m underselling them really, as they feel very classy.
  • A huge spread for breakfast, delivered to your door to eat outside or I guess inside if it’s wet/windy/cold (it certainly wasn’t for us in September, but be warned the Mozzies were out then)
  • The estate is also a winery, making decent Valpolicella / Amarone