EU Observer. Silvia Marchetti. 31 December 2021.
In recent years, dozens of depopulating rural towns across Italy – from the Alps to Sicily – have started selling crumbly old properties for just one euro, less than the cost of an espresso.
The goal is to breathe new life into their dying communities and revamp the local economy.
As villagers flee in search of a brighter future elsewhere there is a reverse incoming trend of foreign buyers eager to replace them and help revive these sleepy places.
Roughly 60 towns and villages have launched the alluring one-euro-home scheme, and even though there is no official national data on how many houses have been sold, at local level mayors involved in the project say it has been a success.
