We are looking for a retired, active couple for a long term house sit at our beautiful villa in southern Italy. Due to last minute changes, we need someone ideally from 4th January onwards (or as close to this date as possible). House sitters should be in a position to stay until the end of April/begninning of May. The house sits on its own private 9 acre hill plot and consists of a 225 sq m villa with private 40ft infinity pool. The house was built as our retirement home but we have still not managed to relocate full time to Italy so require a reliable house sitting couple to live in the property when we are not in residence to ensure it is looked after and not stood empty. We work on a NO FEE either side, but we would kindly request that the house sitters are responsible for their own utility usage, ie gas, electricity and water. We have meters on all utilities so this is easy to manage. We of course will pay for all electricity connected with the pool and all other house charges. General house and garden maintenance and any necessary DIY. If you are an avid gardener that would be a bonus. We have a vegetable plot and are happy for the house sitters to potter! If necessary, organising technicans as appropriate if anything serious requires fixing. The masseria was only built 3 years ago so there should not need to be much to attend to in this respect. We have no pets or animals which require looking after but we are looking for a few small jobs (mostly outside) to be carried out whilst we are away as exchange for the use of our home. These include things like painting gates; preparing and planting pots and and vegetable beds; shubbery landscaping.
Situated on the edge of a National Park and only 15 minutes drive from the historic city of Matera, this is an unspoilt part of Italy whereby you will get the opportunity to explore and experience the "real" Italy. It is an extremely friendly part of the country. The locals are all lovely people. The area is fascinating with amazing landscapes. If you enjoy walking; painting; reading; food and wine this is the ideal location for you. The nearest town for local shopping is Montescaglio which is about an 8 minute drive away. Here you find an abundance of supermarkets, bars, cafes, restaurants and all the usual shops such as a hairdresser, beauty salon, holistic massage centre. There is a weekly fresh produce market and many of the locals sell their home grown produce daily from their door steps. It's like going back in time and is a delightful town to wander around. There is no tourism which is one of the reasons we choose to live here. You will be staying in a luxury property which is extremely highly speced. With this in mind, we are looking for a deserning couple who are familiar with looking after such a property. Sky TV, Bose Docking system for Ipod and satellite internet is available at the house. There are also numerous WIFI zones in both Montescagliosco (8 mins away) and Matera (15 minutes away). Plenty of books, CD's and DVD's at the house.