About us

We are Ilja Szymkowiak and Giovanni Beatrice and as many people inspired by the Italian people, culture and sceneries.

Working in the fashion industry over the last 30 years we travelled the world and experienced different luxury accommodations in different countries. After so many years of extensive traveling within a business environment the feeling of settling down in an ambiance surrounded by nature grew upon us. As the origin of Giovanni lies in Italy it was most obvious these longtime friends would visit Italy together lead by their shared passion of riding motorbike. Arriving in Abruzzo with a dream of once owning a property that would enable us to fulfill our need for total independency and freedom we realized almost immediately that this would be the region to realize this dream. We were embraced by the people and culture and surprised by the large variety of nature, mountains and sea. We never could imagine that it would be possible that so many unique sceneries could be represented in 1 region within Italy. Further south, in the region of Molise, we discovered an area with equal charm and, if anything, slightly more off the beaten track. Our growing enthusiasm immediately turned into researching different properties and before the end of our trip we both decided to purchase a property.

Sharing our experiences with our family and friends we realized that many people aspire an enduring getaway. Whether it be a holiday house to enjoy delightful vacations or to fulfill a dream of stepping off the grid into a sustainable lifestyle. These times make people realize more and more that enjoying the moment needs to be on the top of the priority list. Almost immediately our freinds showed interest in buying property in Abruzzo or Molise and it was obvious that we could help them using our experience buying, owning and renovating in Italy. The decision was made to start SecondHomeinItaly.