Some professional stories become closely intertwined with the history of a place. Ours is one of them.
For more than thirty years, we have been working in the Langhe, Roero and Monferrato, witnessing how profoundly this area has changed. We have seen the first international buyers arrive, old farmhouses transformed into country homes, the wines of the Langhe become known throughout the world and, above all, the growing desire to live here.
Langhe Real Estate was born from this meeting between a remarkable territory and the people who, coming from far away, decided to become part of it.
The Beginning: The Langhe in the 1990s
At the beginning of the 1990s, when the internet did not yet exist as a commercial tool and the Langhe were far less known internationally than they are today, Riccardo Mondino began working with clients mainly from Switzerland and Germany.
The way to reach them was very different from today: advertisements in Swiss and German newspapers and real-estate magazines.
Their requests were also very different from those we receive today. They were mainly looking for old farmhouses and country properties to renovate.
On the local market, these properties were often considered difficult to sell, as they required substantial renovation work. To a foreign buyer, however, they represented something completely different: the possibility of creating a new life in Italy.
Some of these first clients eventually moved permanently to Italy. For others, their property in the Langhe became a second home, a place to spend the warmer months of the year.
Why Foreign Buyers Fell in Love with the Langhe
The house itself was only part of the attraction.
What fascinated these first international buyers was above all the Italian way of life: good food, wine, beautiful landscapes and the opportunity to live in an authentic area, far from the pace of large cities.
Interestingly, more than thirty years later, this aspect has not changed.
The properties people are looking for have changed, their requirements have evolved and the countries they come from have become much more diverse. But the desire to experience Italy through its hills, cuisine, wines and way of life remains one of the main reasons why people choose the Langhe.
Luca Arrives and a New Idea Takes Shape
About 23 years ago, my own story with Langhe Real Estate began.
I am Luca Stroppiana, and I came from a background in web development, webmaster services and marketing.
My original idea was actually quite different. I wanted to create a real-estate portal that would bring together property listings from different agencies throughout the Langhe.
The internet was radically changing the way people communicated, and it seemed natural to use this new opportunity to introduce the area and its properties to a much wider audience.
Then I met Riccardo Mondino.
As I got to know the way he worked, his professionalism and, above all, his profound knowledge of the area and the people who live here, I realised that the project could become something different.
Instead of simply creating a portal collecting properties from many agencies, I decided to work with Riccardo.
Around 23 years have passed since then. In the meantime, we have become business partners, but above all, we have become close friends.
The Internet Changes the Way Properties Are Sold in the Langhe
The Langhe Real Estate website began producing excellent results almost immediately.
One of the stories we still remember today concerns a historic house in La Morra. It was a very particular property and not an easy one to sell on the local market.
We published it on the website and a potential buyer got in touch.
The property was sold at the very first viewing.
For us, this was an important sign. We realised that the internet could connect a very special property with exactly the right person, even if that person did not live in the Langhe and might never have discovered the property through traditional local channels.
It was the beginning of a transformation that would become increasingly evident over the following years.
From Switzerland and Germany to the Rest of the World
Our international clientele quickly became much more diverse.
The Langhe were becoming known around the world, and enquiries began arriving from Denmark, Norway and many other Northern European countries, as well as from the United States.
The area was becoming international, and we were experiencing this transformation directly through the people we met every day.
Over the years, we have welcomed families, entrepreneurs, professionals, couples and people simply looking for a special place to live.
Each with a different story, but often with the same underlying idea: to find in the Langhe something they could no longer find elsewhere.
From Renovation Projects to Prestigious Properties
The real-estate market has changed as well.
While in the 1990s the demand was mainly for farmhouses requiring renovation, today our focus is primarily on prestigious country homes, historic residences, villas, properties with land and vineyards, wineries and wine estates, bed & breakfasts and agriturismi.
It is no longer simply about buying a house.
Increasingly, people who come to the Langhe are looking for a project: a new life, a second home, an investment, or a business connected with hospitality or wine.
For this reason, we look for properties that have something special to offer: a remarkable location, a panoramic view, a history, architectural character, vineyards, an established business or genuine potential for transformation.
A Special Moment: The Wall Street Journal Discovers the Langhe
From Our Local Story to the International Press
In 2022, one of the most significant moments in our more than thirty years of activity took place.
The Wall Street Journal published an article about the growing interest of American buyers in Piedmont and, in particular, in the hills of the Langhe, Monferrato and Roero.
For us, it was not simply about being mentioned by an important international newspaper.
The article told, through the story of an American family who had purchased a property in the Langhe, a phenomenon that we had been witnessing first-hand for many years: the area had become an international destination not only for holidays, but also for people looking to buy a home, a vineyard and a new way of life.
Luca Stroppiana was interviewed by journalist J. S. Marcus to discuss this market and the growing interest of American buyers.
The Wall Street Journal Article
The article also told the story of an American family who purchased a country home with a vineyard through Langhe Real Estate.
The vineyard was particularly significant. For many international buyers, looking for a property in the Langhe was no longer simply about finding a house. It was also about living among the vineyards and landscapes they had discovered and come to appreciate through the wines of Piedmont.
When the Langhe Became an International Dream
The publication of the Wall Street Journal article was a symbolic moment for us.
When Riccardo Mondino started working in the 1990s, our clients mainly came from Switzerland and Germany and were looking for old farmhouses to renovate.
Thirty years later, an American journalist was calling us to understand why people from the other side of the Atlantic were choosing these hills as a place to buy a home.
The market had changed. The clients had changed. And, in the meantime, the Langhe had changed too.
35 Years of Relationships and Local Knowledge
An important part of our work, particularly with international clients, is understanding not only the properties themselves but everything surrounding a property purchase.
Over more than thirty years, we have built strong relationships with professionals working in the different fields involved in a real-estate transaction: surveyors, architects, lawyers, accountants, notaries, agronomists and professionals working in the agricultural and wine sectors.
This is particularly important when dealing with complex properties, agricultural land, vineyards, wineries, wine estates or hospitality businesses.
A planning, agricultural, tax or legal issue can completely change the way a property needs to be assessed.
Our strength also comes from knowing who to contact.
After so many years, a phone call is often enough to speak directly with the right professional and obtain a precise answer to a question or a particular issue.
It is a network built over time through personal and professional relationships, and it is something we value enormously.
More Than Properties: People
In the end, however, the most rewarding part of this profession is the people.
It is wonderful to work with clients from all over the world.
Generally speaking, people who come to the Langhe to buy a home are people who are trying to make a dream come true.
Perhaps for this reason, in our experience, they are often friendly, open-minded and genuinely interested in discovering the area.
For many of them, the relationship does not end at the notary's office.
Over the years, some clients have become friends. We meet again for dinner, are invited to their homes and celebrations, and continue to stay in touch many years after the completion of the purchase.
These are relationships that cannot be planned and cannot be put into a brochure.
But they are probably the most valuable part of these 35 years.
35 Years Later, We Are Still Discovering the Langhe
The market has changed, the internet has transformed the way people search for and sell properties, and the Langhe have become known throughout the world.
But some things have remained the same.
Knowledge of the area.
The search for special properties.
Direct relationships with owners.
Attention to those who come from far away.
And above all, the belief that buying a home in the Langhe is not simply about buying a property.
Very often, it means choosing a different way of life.
More than thirty years after it all began, we continue to do this work with the same curiosity: discovering houses, meeting people and telling those who come from far away why, even today, it is so easy to fall in love with the Langhe.