The dollar is strong against the euro and the pound, and the real estate market in the U.S. is still prohibitively expensive. Those realities have convinced many Americans to consider buying vacation homes in Europe instead of in the United States.

And if you’re dreaming of a vacation home in Europe, it’s hard to imagine a better place than Italy, where the ancient and modern worlds converge. The south of Sicily is less than 100 miles from the coast of Africa, while the north borders Switzerland and Austria in the Alps.