Hi MaryAnn,
Where was your family from in Italy originally? That is how we ended up buying in Carrufo. We went for the first time in 2005 to visit the villages where my grandparents were born and ended up buying a house the next year as it turns out I am related one way or another to just about everyone in Carrufo and Ofena.
Having a house built is certainly a good option. We have been told it is about the same cost as doing a complete renovation of a "ruin". The prices we were told is 800-1500 euro/sq.meter.
Barry