From Coventry to the Heart of Umbria: Our Property Management Story

Antonio Umbria Villa Services has provided trusted property management in Umbria for overseas homeowners for more than 20 years. We are Andrea and Tony Camerota, and this is the story of how a young family from Coventry built a new life, established a successful property management business, and found a home in the heart of Italy. As experienced property managers in Umbria, we help overseas homeowners protect, maintain and manage their villas and second homes throughout the year.

Building a Life and Business in Italy

Our story began in Coventry, where we met through a mutual friend. We married in 1997 and, a few years later, welcomed our twin daughters.

Although Tony grew up in Coventry, Italian was his first language. It was spoken at home with his parents, while English was learned naturally through school, friends and everyday life. Today, that unique background allows him to communicate effortlessly with overseas homeowners while working confidently alongside local Italian contractors, suppliers and service providers throughout Umbria.

More than twenty years ago, we made the life-changing decision to leave Coventry and begin a new chapter in Umbria with our twin daughters, who were just two and a half years old. It was a leap of faith that would shape not only our family life but also the business we would eventually build together.

Like many families, we were searching for something different. We wanted a slower pace of life, a stronger sense of community, and the opportunity to raise our children surrounded by beautiful countryside, historic towns and traditional Italian values. Looking back, it was one of the best decisions we ever made.

Working Together, Every Step of the Way

From the very beginning, we worked as a team.

While Tony established himself in Umbria, Andrea focused on raising our daughters and creating a happy family home. Living in Italy also meant ensuring they enjoyed the best of both cultures.

Helping our daughters become truly bilingual was never left to chance. English remained a natural part of everyday family life, allowing them to grow up feeling equally at home in both England and Italy. Today, they speak both languages naturally and confidently, something we’re incredibly proud of.

As the business has grown, Andrea has taken on responsibility for the administration, client communication, accounts, marketing, website and digital presence, working alongside Tony to ensure every client receives the personal service is what Our business is known for.

One of the things we’re most proud of is that we built our business around our family, rather than building our family around our business. Sharing breakfast, lunch and dinner together most days wasn’t something we took for granted, it became one of the greatest rewards of the life we chose.

---

TONY’S JOURNEY

Tony’s first work in Umbria came through a local estate agent, carrying out painting, gardening, property clearances and general maintenance. His reliability and strong work ethic quickly earned him an excellent reputation.

That reputation led to an opportunity to work alongside one of the area’s respected local builders, where he learnt traditional Italian building techniques, including plastering, mixing cement, site preparation and building dry stone walls. Those early years gave him an invaluable understanding of how Umbrian properties are built and maintained.

During the traditional August shutdown, when much of the Italian building industry comes to a halt, Tony began taking on small gardening and property maintenance jobs independently to help support our young family. By September, recommendations had grown to the point where he had enough work to establish his own business full-time.

Tony also worked on selected projects with an experienced British landscape gardener, gaining valuable experience maintaining large private gardens and estates. As his own client base grew, he gradually focused entirely on looking after his regular customers.

One of the villas Tony cared for had its swimming pool maintained by a local pool company. As they had no other clients in that area, they suggested training Tony to carry out the routine pool cleaning and water testing, while they continued to handle the seasonal opening and winter closing. This practical training enabled Tony to maintain the pools at the villas he managed alongside his gardening and property maintenance work.

Those years of hands-on experience gave Tony a practical understanding of Umbrian properties that continues to benefit our clients today. From traditional stone farmhouses to modern villas, he understands how local homes are built, maintained and cared for.

---

Why Our Experience Matters

Tony’s years of practical, hands-on experience mean he sees things many people simply wouldn’t notice.

He understands how Italian homes are built.

He knows what to look for during every inspection.

He recognises when something doesn’t look quite right.

Most importantly, he understands that the smallest issues, if left unnoticed, often become the most expensive repairs.

Today, rather than carrying out every physical task himself, Tony focuses on regular property inspections, identifying potential problems early and coordinating trusted local contractors to ensure every property receives the attention it deserves.

That practical knowledge allows us to provide a level of oversight that simply can’t be learnt from behind a desk.

Supporting Overseas Homeowners

As overseas property owners ourselves, we understand the challenges of looking after a home from another country.

Whether you’re in the UK, USA, Europe or elsewhere, owning a property in Italy shouldn’t mean worrying about unexpected maintenance issues, organising local contractors or trying to overcome language barriers.

That’s why we created Antonio Umbria Villa Services, to provide trusted, local property management for overseas homeowners who want complete peace of mind.

Today, Antonio Umbria Villa Services specialises in caring for privately owned villas, country homes and second homes. If you’re unsure whether we cover your location, please visit our Areas We Cover page.

Many of our clients visit only a few times each year. They need more than someone to hold a set of keys. They want a trusted local professional who regularly inspects their property, keeps an eye on things while they’re away and communicates clearly in English.

Owning a home in Italy doesn’t mean you need to speak Italian.

We deal directly with local contractors, suppliers and service providers, so you don’t have to. Through years of living and working in the region, we’ve built trusted relationships with reliable plumbers, electricians, gardeners, pool specialists, cleaners and other local professionals who share our high standards.

We act as your trusted local representative, ensuring your property receives the care, attention and oversight it deserves while you’re away.

We don’t just respond when something goes wrong. Through regular inspections and proactive property management, we help identify potential issues before they become costly problems.

OUR VALUES

Everything we do today is built on the same values that guided us when we first arrived in Umbria more than twenty years ago:

• Integrity and honesty.
• Clear communication.
• Attention to detail.
• Preventative property care.
• Long-term relationships built on trust.
• Taking responsibility and seeing every job through.

Looking back, we didn’t simply build a business, we built a life in Umbria. Every experience, every challenge and every relationship has shaped who we are today. We remain committed to providing the same honest, reliable and professional property care that has been at the heart of our business from the very beginning.

Learn more about our core Management services