Italian Real Estate Lawyers for Foreign Buyers | GOVONI LAW
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Buy in Italy
with the law
on your side.

We are Italian real estate lawyers for foreign buyers. Based in Sardinia, we assist clients across the country, from coastal homes in the South to city apartments and historic buildings in the North.

We work mostly for buyers, not for sellers or agents.

We verify properties, contracts and land registry before you sign or transfer any money.

We started in Sardinia, and now protect international buyers throughout Italy.

Buying without legal verification is not an investment. It is a gamble.

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Not just due diligence. HNWI & Off-market, too.

Most of our work is buyer-side. But in Porto Cervo and Costa Smeralda, we also
assist on the sale of trophy assets: quietly, for owners who’d rather skip the public market.

No listing, no wide circulation, no noise. When that’s the mandate, we run it
end to end.

Looking to diversify into Sardinia’s luxury real estate? We have off-market
villas and estates in Porto Cervo that never reach the open market.

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Not just Sardinia. Italy.

Our legal expertise started in Sardinia, where we built one of the most focused buyer‑protection practices for international clients in the Mediterranean. Over time, the demand grew, and so did we. Today we assist buyers across the Italian peninsula – from coastal luxury villas in the South (Puglia, Calabria, Sicily) to historic buildings in Tuscany, urban apartments in the North, and everything in between.

What stays constant wherever we work is the method: a legal‑first approach that puts the buyer’s interests, rights and money at the centre of every transaction. We read what agents skip, check what notaries do not investigate on your behalf, and give you one clear answer before any commitment is made.

Italian property law is not buyer-friendly by default.

The bank has its lawyers. The seller has an agent. The Italian State has the Agenzia delle Entrate. You, in that room, usually have no one. That asymmetry is not a detail, it is the entire reason legal due diligence exists.

A very high proportion of properties across Italy carry irregularities, planning non-compliance, undisclosed encumbrances, inheritance disputes, third-party claims, that are invisible to the untrained eye and perfectly legal to hide behind a standard agency contract.

In Italy, the notary is neutral and focused on the validity of the deed, not on protecting you specifically. The agent is working to close the deal.

Nobody in the room is officially on your side. That is where we come in.

Legal due diligence is not an optional extra: it is the only way to know whether what you are buying is what you think it is, at the price and on the terms you have been told.

Rome knew this problem.

In 242 BC, long before there were notaries to solve it, Roman law created a dedicated office, the Praetor Peregrinus, with one task only: to protect foreigners navigating a legal system that was not built for them, against parties who knew its rules by birth.

We are not claiming the title.
We are pointing at the principle, the role, because it has not aged a day: when you stand outside a system, you don’t need someone neutral. You need someone on your side.

[read more about The Praetor Peregrinus: Our Origin]

Choose the level of legal protection that matches your stage of purchase

From a first written legal brief to full due diligence and long-term ownership protection, each service is designed for foreign buyers and owners who want clarity before committing money or signing documents.

All services are provided in writing, in English, and exclusively on buyer’s side: not the seller’s, not the agent’s, and not the notary’s.

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Brief Legal Review
€650 + taxes

A small upfront legal cost can prevent a much larger mistake later in the transaction.

For buyers who want a first legal reading of the situation before moving further.

Best for: a listing, draft contract, seller documents, or an early-stage doubt.

You receive: a written legal brief identifying the main risks, missing documents, and whether the matter justifies deeper investigation.

Outcome: proceed, pause, request documents, or escalate to due diligence.

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Get a Brief
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Light Due Diligence
Starting from €650 + taxes

This is the right level when you need more than a quick opinion, but not yet the full investigation across every legal track.

For buyers who are becoming serious about a property and need an initial legal risk check before making commitments.

Best for: pre-offer or pre-preliminary stage.

Includes: first title review, initial document check, core red flags on ownership, planning or contractual exposure, and written guidance on the next safe step.

Outcome: understand whether the property looks clean enough to proceed to full due diligence or renegotiation.

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Get a Light DD
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Full Legal Due Diligence
Starting from €1.500 + taxes

This is the full service for buyers who want to know what is really there before they become legally or financially bound.

For buyers who want the property investigated properly before signing, paying a deposit, or relying on the seller’s version of the file.

Best for: serious acquisitions, high-value properties, rural land, coastal assets, inheritance histories, or any transaction where hidden issues could become expensive later.

Includes: title investigation, encumbrances, planning history, cadastral conformity, land restrictions, contractual review, and a structured written report in English.

Outcome: proceed, renegotiate with protection clauses and price adjustment, or walk away.

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Get a Full DD

A few hundred euros now, or years in court later. You choose the maths.

Some clients begin with a brief legal review and then move to a fuller level of due diligence when the file shows signs that more protection is needed. That progression is often in the client’s best interest: a relatively small investment early on can help avoid far larger costs, delays, and disputes later. In Italian property transactions, the cheapest step is not always the safest one. The safest step is the one that gives you clarity before you become committed.

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No calls, no pressure. Just law, in writing. Always.

You did not get where you are by sitting through meetings you didn’t need. Neither do we. What you get instead is a document: precise, dated, and yours to keep, not an impression you have to reconstruct from memory when it matters most, three months later, at the notary’s table.

We work exclusively by email. No calls, no meetings, no verbal exchanges that leave room for misunderstanding. Every piece of advice, every risk flagged, every recommendation we make arrives in writing, clear, dated, and yours to keep.

Your time is the most precious currency you’ll ever own.

Over time, this simple structure has done more than make our work transparent. It has removed the pressure many people feel when they have to speak with lawyers, the uncertainty, the hesitation, and the stress of having to explain things verbally.

With us, there are no rushed conversations or lost details. Everything stays in writing, and you remain in full control of the dialogue and the decisions that follow.

This matters more than it might seem.

Italian property transactions involve multiple parties, multiple stages and months of back-and-forth. Having a documented legal record at every step means you can revisit our analysis before signing the preliminary contract, use our written findings in negotiations with the seller, share our assessments with your notary, accountant or surveyor, and go back to the original reasoning if something changes three months into the process.

It also means we can assist buyers anywhere in Italy, at the same level of precision, without geography ever being a limitation.

International Clients, Professional Standards, Clear Communication

We regularly assist clients from the United States, the United Kingdom, Northern Europe and other international markets who are seeking a reliable and competent partner in Italy. All assistance is provided in English, with documentation explained in clear, practical terms. Our professional standards are shaped by international expectations, discretion and accountability.

Italian properties often come with long ownership histories, inheritances, partial renovations and informal arrangements that can generate problems if they are not checked properly before signing.

Our role is not to push a purchase, but to tell you when an opportunity is solid and when it is better to walk away.

Beyond the purchase, we support clients with post-acquisition matters such as compliance issues and long-term planning. Many of our clients view Govoni Law not only as a service provider, but as a long-term legal and real estate advisor in Italy.

Because buying in another country requires more than trust. It requires structure.

How we approach each matter

Every serious property purchase starts with one question: what is really being bought, and what legal risks are hidden beneath the surface? We begin with fact-finding, title and document analysis, planning and cadastral checks, and a structured review of the contractual position before any binding step is taken.

From there, we define the safest route forward: proceed, renegotiate with protection clauses, require corrective action, or walk away. Where needed, we coordinate with notaries, surveyors, accountants and public offices so the legal position remains protected from first review to completion.

What They Say About Us

Clients we’ve assisted have come from the United Kingdom, Germany, Scandinavia, the United States, and Eastern Europe — different legal cultures, the same underlying need: someone who reads what they cannot read themselves, before they sign what they cannot unsign.

We work in writing, so our clients rarely need to explain what happened: the record speaks for itself. What they do tell us, afterward, is what it felt like to be on the other side of the table for once.

“They handled our estate matter from abroad with real clarity – we were kept informed at every stage, in a language we could actually understand legally, not just linguistically.”
— Giovanna M., UK, estate and inheritance matter

“We engaged them for due diligence before buying. The report went further than we expected — including a direct visit to the local municipal office to verify what the seller hadn’t disclosed.”
— D. Bolduc, pre-purchase due diligence

“Bilingual, responsive, and precise from the first exchange. Our purchase in Sardinia closed cleanly, without the complications we’d been warned about.”
— J. Arrowsmith, property purchase, Sardinia

“With only basic Italian, finding a firm we could actually rely on was essential. Govoni Law was the right choice.”
— G.C.M., residential property purchase in Alghero

Ultra Prime Property Market in Porto Cervo & Costa Smeralda

The range where we work in Porto Cervo and Costa Smeralda is €1M — €35M+. Off-market,
confidential, for family offices, wealth managers and private buyers who
don’t need a public listing to know what they want. Not just due diligence. Off-market, too.

Alongside buyer-side due diligence, we handle off-market sales directly –
quietly, for owners who’d rather skip the public market entirely, and
discreetly for the family offices, wealth managers and private investors
who acquire what we place.

A €35M property here can look expensive in isolation. Set against
comparable trophy assets elsewhere in the Mediterranean, it’s often the
better deal — sometimes genuinely undervalued. Few markets combine that
with this level of privacy.

Same rules as everywhere else on this site: no calls, no verbal promises.
Every step (access, terms, timing) comes to you in writing.

We work alongside our partner agency, Agenzia Immobiliare Sarda, on the
search and placement side — so when we say we run it end to end, we mean
the property, not just the paperwork.

DM THE CO-FOUNDER EMMANUELE GOVONI ON LINKEDIN

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Disclaimer

The information on this website is provided for general, illustrative, and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice, a legal opinion, or any form of professional recommendation. No content on this site is intended to create, and its consultation does not create, any lawyer–client relationship between the reader and Govoni Law or any of its lawyers or collaborators.

​The legal information and examples described – including references to cases, strategies, services and areas of practice – are necessarily generic and may not be complete, updated or applicable to your specific situation. Any decision that may have legal, financial or practical consequences should not be taken on the basis of the content of this website without first obtaining tailored advice from a qualified lawyer.

Visitors are expressly invited to contact Govoni Law to receive clear, precise and up‑to‑date information on their specific case, including the kind of assistance that can be offered, the applicable risks and the available options. Only after a direct exchange and a formal engagement can the firm assess the facts, verify documents and provide advice suitable for the concrete circumstances.