Poor project management, and the studio's own report confirms the defects
We bought a newly built house in Menfi from a private seller. We had no contract of our own with Studio Agnello: the studio was the seller's appointed architect and was responsible for the construction. Arch. Angelica Agnello designed the project and, according to the contract, was the site director (direttore dei lavori) for the works the seller had committed to complete before the sale. Throughout the entire construction period, from December 2024 to August 2025, we never met her on site. All contact and all management of the works were handled by Riccardo Agnello. Only once the dispute had arisen, in September 2025, did she take part in a meeting with the lawyers and an inspection of the house. This is our documented experience as buyers.
- The schedule was not met. Under the preliminary contract of November 2024, the works were to be completed within 90 working days and the sale finalised by 31 May 2025. In August 2025 the works were still ongoing. We repeatedly asked for a written schedule from November 2024 onward, but never received one.
- Drainage: In July 2025 the studio wrote that there was no rainwater drainage problem. In its own technical report of September 2025, the studio acknowledged that there is "un effettivo allagamento" (an actual flooding).
- Sewage: In the same report, the studio acknowledges that the septic system's dispersal pipe "non è stata realizzata secondo quanto previsto nel progetto" (was not built as specified in the project). We had reported odours and standing water since April 2025.
- Veranda roof: In June 2025 the studio wrote that water was coming through "in un paio di punti e sarà sistemata" (in a couple of places and will be fixed). In the report three months later, the same leaks are described as "non un difetto" (not a defect).
- The pool, according to the studio's report, has settled by about 2 cm in clay soil.
- Costs: An addition quoted at a meeting in November 2024 at around €200–300 was later invoiced at €1,300.
The studio was usually easy to reach and responded quickly. But verbal assurances took the place of written planning, and defects the studio itself later acknowledged were denied or postponed for months. Based on our experience, we cannot recommend this studio as project manager.