The Legend of Befana - Italian folklore

In Italian folklore, Befana is an old woman (or friendly old witch) who delivers gifts to children on Epiphany Eve (January 5).

The name Befana is thought to derive from the Feast of Epiphany -  "La Festa dell'Epifania".

According to folklore Befana visits all the children of Italy on the eve of the Feast of the Epiphany to deliver gifts - candy, if they have been good, or coal if they have been bad.

Befana is usually portrayed as an old lady or witch riding a broomstick. She is covered in soot because she enters the children's houses down the chimney.

In Christian legend, Befana was approached by the Three Wise Men a few days before the birth of the Infant Jesus. They asked for directions, as they were following his star in the sky, but she did not know where to send them. Instead she offered them a bed for the night. The next day, as gratitude for her hospitality, they invited her to join them on their journey, but she declined as she had too much housework to do. She later regretted this and set out on her own to find them and the baby Jesus, but was unable to. So to this day, the legend says, she is still searching and travels the night sky on her broomstick, visiting children on the way, delivering gifts, in the hope of finding the baby Jesus

Don't miss the property boat on Lake Como

Today, I am kicking myself big style. Around 10 years ago, I saw an advert in a local newspaper for a really cute 1 bedroom, cottage (seen here)on the lakeside on the eastern shore of Lake Como. It was on the market for 90 million lire . As you know, the lire is now obsolete and when it was replaced with the Euro on January 1, 1999, 1euro was equivalent to 1936.27 old lire, so that would make the asking price 46,000 euro, which with a really good sterling exchange rate back then, would make this lovely lakeside property about 30,000 sterling.

So imagine how I felt when doing some online property searching for a client this morning, I came across the very same property on the market at 650,000 euro - follow the link to verify - http://www.pegasuscasa.com/annuncio.asp?id=136717. Now that's what I call a healthy profit! To say I felt sick to the pit of my stomach is an understatement. I was brought up not to do 'envy' and all that green-eyed stuff, but I just couldn't help myself – I was greener than the jolly green giant. Now that's what I call an investment! Admittedly the 650,00 euro price tag sounds a bit optimistic, given that you can buy a much larger 3 bedroom villa (to renovate) by the lake on the more desirable western shore for between 950,000 and 1.3 million, depending on whether you talk directly to the owner or to one of the greedier local agents.

Nevertheless someone will probably buy it, as lake side properties are very desirable and as rare as the proverbial rocking horse poo. So much so that whereas there is an accepted price per square metre for properties on Lake Como, when it comes to lakeside properties all calculations go out the window and the price is set along the lines of 'what the owner wants to get for it and what somebody is willing to pay for it'. Not quite an exact science then!

That does not mean that property on Lake Como is not still within the reach of us mere mortals. Of course it is! And it still represents excellent value for money, when you compare it with UK prices and prices elsewhere in Europe, even taking into account the less-than-perfect euro to sterling exchange rate. You can still pick up a pied-a-terre (studio apartment) in the centre of Como for under 200,000 (if you know who to ask and where to look) and just last week, I found a great apartment for sale in Laglio (aka Clooney-ville) with lake view, 1 bedroom and a balcony for only 170,000 euro. Of course you won't find these little bargains on the internet. They are private sales. So you just need to be 'in the know'.

The moral of the story is if it looks like a bargain, bag it!