A pair of Italian villages have begun a new plan to revitalise their communities by offering those who would like to move there homes for as little as one euro ($1.10) as long as the buyers devote time to making repairs and renovations.
The village of Zungoli in the province of Naples, and the Sicilian village of Mussomeli are selling dozens of villas, farms and other homes for less than a cup of coffee with authorities int he villages saying their aim is to either attract foreign investment or domestic Italian investment to counter the demographic decline in the region, RTS reports.
The two villages are experiencing what many other rural communities have undergone: rapid ageing of the population due to the fact that many younger people move to more urban environments, rather than staying in the countryside.
The idea of the one-euro houses comes after Italian populist Interior Minister Matteo Salvini called for a similar policy that would see parcels of land being offered to Italian families who had three or more children, in an effort to both increase the country’s birthrate and to repopulate rural areas.