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The number of aristocrats becoming involved in property development continues to grow. In Italy, a rural resort community is being created by a count, while in France, a countess is transforming her chateau into a luxurious spa retreat.
They are the latest European aristocrats to turn developers. The Duke of Westminster sits on a multibillion-pound property empire and other British nobles such as the Duke of Northumberland have dabbled in property development.
In Italy, Conte Antonio Bolza is turning 50 deserted farmhouses into holiday homes at his 1,200-hectare Castello di Reschio estate in Umbria. Its castle will be turned into a luxury hotel and 25 flats.
Services available to residents include housekeeping and chauffeuring. Sport facilities, such as a horse-riding centre, and a restaurant will complete the set-up when construction work ends in 2018.
Prices for the freehold houses, which are from two to eight bedrooms in size and come with 1.2 hectares  of land, start from Euro3.5million (HK$41.9 million).
So far, 22 have been sold and four are available for rent.
Conte Bolza said his estate offered the same level of exclusivity and tranquillity as the island of Mustique, which was turned into a celebrity holiday haven by  Lord Glenconner.
The Bolza family's efforts will revive a district blighted by agricultural decline and depopulation.
'If you divide the acreage by the number of homes, you see how much space there is,' Conte Bolza said. 'Because of planning laws we cannot build new constructions, only renovate what is already there.
'We are not developing something so much as bringing life back into the estate.'
In France, Countess Dominique d'Artois has teamed up with developer Garriage Investissements to turn her 18th century chateau in Languedoc into a residential and spa complex. Four penthouses will be created in the Chateau de la Redorte in the village of Minervois.
Residents' facilities in the chateau include bar, library and restaurant. In the grounds, 19 units in two residential blocks and a spa are being built. The homes are sold as leaseback properties, so buyers can avoid paying value-added tax. A maximum gross rental return of 4.6 per cent for 20 years is guaranteed provided residents do not stay in their properties.
Alternatively, they can take a lower return and use the homes for up to six months of the year.
Prices start at Euro258,000 for a one-bed unit. Completion is scheduled for early 2010.
Paddy Dring, the head of international residential sales at estate agency Knight Frank, said the trend for aristocrats to become property developers was growing because they wanted to move into the burgeoning tourism sector to replace declining farming incomes.
Mr Dring said homes on aristocratic estates made good investments. '[The aristocrat's] interests are very aligned with those of prospective purchasers in many different aspects, including the density of development, particularly if they are also living on the estate.'
Italian job
Conte Antonio Bolza's freehold houses on 1.2 hectares of land start at: Euro3.5m



More aristocrats in Europe try hand at property development