Every country I have written up in this series answers a question. Mexico‘s question was legal: is the scary-sounding restriction on foreigners owning coastal land actually a problem? (It isn’t.) Spain‘s question was regulatory: are the frightening headlines the real risk, or is the quiet tightening of short-term rental rules the thing that will actually cost you money? (The second one.) Italy asks a different question, and it is the one I find hardest to answer honestly as someone who spends most of his time thinking in spreadsheets.

Italy’s question is this: can quality of life itself be a legitimate investment return?