Italy has a reputation for its slowly moving bureaucratic machine though, so the issue may be more complex than just looking at the price. This offer would be more attractive for me if it didn't potentially come with hidden strings attached (do you need to work with an institution tasked with preserving old buildings? what are the permitting requirements? will it take ages to get approval to do anything?). People in Italy probably know answers to those questions, but as a foreigner slowly thinking about a place in Europe to settle in, those would be things that'd made me think twice about taking up that offer.