These Americans made big investments in Italian property. Here are the rewards and pitfalls

By Maureen Ohare, CNN

(CNN) — In our travel roundup this week: why British Chinese food is baffling to Americans, the couple who bought an Italian mansion sight unseen, plus who’s staying in North Korea’s luxury hotels.

A home in Italy

Vito Andrea Racanelli’s ancestors migrated from Italy to America in the late 1800s. More than a century and a half later, he and his family decided to do it in reverse, choosing Tuscany as their home. Racanelli, a Denver-based attorney, spent more than $1 million on a sprawling farmhouse in Radicondoli.

“Buying real estate in Italy is completely different,” he tells CNN, suggesting that foreign buyers hire help with navigating the process, rather than trying to tackle it all on their own. Read the full story of the renovation for what else he learned.

For CNN subscribers, we have two more tales of property-buying abroad.

Texas couple John Alan and Vicky Ambrose bought the empty shell of a Piedmont mansion for 140,000 euros (around $160,000) without even seeing it.

They then embarked on a three-year renovation, spending a further 150,000 euros to transform the property into a boutique luxury apartment with two panoramic balconies. Here’s what it looks like now.

Mussomeli, in Sicily, is famous as one of the towns around Italy selling off ruined homes for just one euro, or about $1.20. These bargain-basement homes are in need of a complete rebuild, but the project also includes “premium” homes, which need fewer interventions, and are often fully inhabitable, starting from around $12,000.

Around 450 houses have now been sold in the town, transforming the community, where the most popular properties with foreigners are those with hillside views. Here’s what locals, both established and new, say life is like there.

Endless summer

Here’s a reminder this Valentine’s Day that our hit series “Chance Encounters,” about extraordinary travel connections, is available in podcast form.

American Kerri Cunningham fell for Brit Dirk Stevens when they met as teenagers on summer vacation in Europe. They were each other’s first love but lived on opposite sides of the Atlantic. Then almost three decades later, they unexpectedly reunited. Listen here.

Mexico was the scene for yacht captain Bob Parsons and librarian Beverly Carriveau’s summer romance that lasted through the decades. A “thunderbolt” passed between them in Mazatlán in 1968, recalls Carriveau, and their lives were never the same again. Hear it in her own words.

Of course, it’s not just lovers who go the distance on Valentine’s Day. That bouquet of roses you ordered will have made a long and chilly journey to your sweetheart’s door. Here’s where they’ve been.

Destinations less visited

For decades, Somalia’s name has been shorthand for conflict, piracy and danger. Yet, against the odds, the East African nation is now seeing a quiet rise in foreign tourists. That’s despite most Western governments still advising against all travel. Here’s what’s behind the surge in tourism.

Over in South Asia, Bangladesh has tigers, tea plantations and beaches, but it’s never been a mainstream tourist destination. Just 650,000 international visitors arrived in 2024. Here’s what the obstacles are that are holding it back.

Finally, North Korea is busy building luxury hotels, filled with top-class amenities such as outdoor hot tubs and ski-in ski-out lodges – but state media shows few actual guests. With almost no foreign tourists allowed, who’s actually staying in these fancy accommodations? CNN’s Will Ripley breaks it down in this video.

Lunge into funge

Eating funge, a staple of Angolan cuisine, requires dexterity and a willingness to use your fingers. In this video, CNN’s Richard Quest tries his hand at funge for the very first time.

In case you missed it

Are you an international traveler planning or reconsidering a trip to the United States?

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Why British Chinese food is baffling to Americans.

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