Buying and renovating a historic villa in a Tuscan village hasn't always been easy, but I'm still happily settled here and glad I did it.
Graeme Warring
In 2023, after a decade of transatlantic travel for my work in MotoGP, I decided it was time to relocate to Europe.My life in America felt transient. Every couple of weeks, I was back on a plane to a Grand Prix, most of which were in Europe.After many years in Phoenix, I craved the more laid-back lifestyle I'd seen on my many trips to Europe, where work-life balance felt like a priority, and vacation was of utmost importance.I was ready to live somewhere new, preferably quieter and within an hour of an international airport, since my job involves frequent travel.Eventually, I set my sights on Tuscany, a beautiful region where the Italian Motorcycle Grand Prix is held each year, which also has two international airports.After narrowing my search, I landed in the comune of Pistoia, just about a 30-minute drive from the Florence airport. There, I found a beautiful three-story historic villa that had been sitting empty for decades.It had six bedrooms, two kitchens, and a dining room, but it was also severely neglected and in need of a total renovation.
