Renovating a house on southern Lake Garda — in Sirmione, Desenzano, Lonato, Peschiera or the villages of the Valtenesi — is a journey made of precise stages. Skipping one always has a price, in time or in money. This guide describes the method we apply in the studio’s commissions: seven stages, from document analysis to closing the file, for anyone who wants to understand how a well-managed renovation really works.
Stage 1 · Document checks
Even before the survey, you verify what is actually authorised: access to the municipal records (accesso agli atti), building titles, cadastral floor plans, deeds of provenance, restrictions. In southern Lake Garda this stage almost always includes checking for the landscape restriction and, in the historic centres, for the special rules of the local plan.
If irregularities emerge — as they often do, especially in buildings with decades of history — they must be resolved or framed before the new application is filed: the designer has to certify the legally authorised state (stato legittimo), and an unmanaged violation blocks everything. We cover this in detail in our guide to Salva Casa and building regularisation.
Stage 2 · Survey and diagnosis
The survey returns the building as it is: dimensions, levels, thicknesses, orientation, but also the condition of the structure, damp, the existing systems and the starting energy performance. It is the basis of every later decision — and the moment when the project’s real margins come to light: where you can open up, what is worth keeping, what is beyond recovery.
From this comes a first diagnosis with the priorities: safety, envelope, systems, spaces. Not everything has to be done at once; much can be planned in phases, if the budget requires it.
Stage 3 · The design
The design develops by degrees: the concept explores layouts and possibilities; the developed design (progetto definitivo) fixes spaces, materials and façades and is the basis for the permits; the construction design (progetto esecutivo) goes down into the building details the contractor will follow. The more decisions are taken on paper, the fewer are improvised on site — where they cost ten times as much.
This is the stage where interiors, bespoke furniture, lighting design and any energy upgrade are integrated, and where renderings and 3D views help you choose by seeing the result before it is built.
Stage 4 · Building titles and authorisations
The title depends on the works: a CILA (certified notice for minor works) for many internal jobs, a SCIA (certified notice of commencement of works) for renovation proper, a building permit (Permesso di Costruire) for the most substantial interventions. In protected areas the landscape authorisation is added, and should be planned first in the programme.
A complete, well-documented application is the best insurance against stoppages: consistent drawings, correct certifications, fees and charges calculated without surprises.
Stage 5 · Quotations, contractor and contract
The correct way to choose a contractor is to have them compete on the same items: the bill of quantities (computo metrico estimativo) lists works and quantities neutrally, making quotations genuinely comparable. Prefer the most complete quotation to the lowest one outright: the differences hide in what is missing.
The relationship should then be governed by a works contract with a specification: deadlines, penalties, payment by progress statements, handling of variations. It is the document that protects both parties when something does not go to plan.
Stage 6 · The site and construction management
On site the client is represented by the construction manager (direttore dei lavori): they verify conformity with the design and the titles, check materials and workmanship, manage the day-to-day details and decisions, and certify progress before the payments. Where more than one contractor is at work, the safety coordinator also comes into play.
Regular site visits and a documented flow of communication — minutes, photographs, site instructions — keep the project on course and the relationships serene.
Stage 7 · Completion, fitness for use and the Land Registry
Closure is a stage in its own right, often underestimated: the end-of-works notice, the certified notice of fitness for use (segnalazione certificata di agibilità) where due, the cadastral update to align the floor plans with what was built, the collection of certificates and declarations of conformity for the systems, and the updating of the APE, the energy performance certificate.
An orderly final file is worth a great deal in later years too: at the next sale, the property will have consistent documents and no surprises.
Tip · If the works qualify for tax relief, the formalities for the deductions (the dedicated “bonifico parlante” bank transfers, ENEA filings, sworn statements) must be set up from the very start: recovering them afterwards is difficult and sometimes impossible. You will find the up-to-date picture in our guide to Italian building bonuses.
Discuss it with the studio
Every property has its own administrative and technical history: this guide offers a general picture, but decisions must be taken on the specific case. The studio receives clients in Sirmione and follows projects across southern Lake Garda.
Contact the studio or write to studiovolpipiccoli@gmail.com.