1 euro houses in Italy: here's where to buy them

From Graffignano to Borgomezzavalle, from Fabbriche di Vergemoli to Monte Urano, from Altavilla Silentina to Zugoli, from Ollolai to Valguarnera Caropepe. No, this is not the list from the show on “The Most Beautiful Villages in Italy” (although it could be): these are some of the many municipalities that are offering houses for sale for 1 euro. Yes, you read that right: one euro, unbelievable but true. So much so that on April 21 in Laurenzana in the province of Potenza there was the first deed of 2023 to buy a house for 1 euro in the small Lucanian village. It is the italic idea to avoid the ongoing depopulation of rural or mountain villages in favor of urban agglomerations: in fact, it is trying to bring back new residents on the back of slow tourism and the pandemic that has made smart working rampant as an ordinary way of working. You don’t have to stand in city traffic to get to the office, and you can work from home or any other place surrounded by tranquility. And that’s what these many municipalities are offering that are also putting houses up for sale to be used as accommodations or widespread hotels. there’s even a website that collects all these municipalities with their notices and regulations, just to show how much small municipalities are investing in it.

Do you want to spend your retirement in the countryside or in the mountains? Do you want to work in a setting that allows you to reflect and relax? Then now is the time to take a look at the offers out there; many municipalities will roll out the red carpet for having you as their fellow citizen. This is because very often among the requirements you need to take up residency, but no matter what, you will certainly fall in love with many places.

However, there is no illusion that they will give you a cottage that is all up to code and already furnished, mind you. Often they are old houses that the owners got from grandparents or relatives that need to be completely renovated, but in these places the cost of living is lower and they will welcome you as if at a party, as happened in Laurenzana: “An appointment that crowns the commitment strongly desired,” explains the municipal administration, “to try to stem the worrying phenomenon of depopulation and, at the same time, to be able to urbanistically redevelop the town center.” The project aims to “refurbish” the existing area, bringing it back to life with occupied apartments, vacation homes, and then in prospects new stores and stores.

There are about fifty municipalities and, sure, you won’t find the Colosseum or the Brera Art Gallery there, but they are still that part of the territory that forms the backbone of our country, which may be populated only in winter or summer but has year-round potential. The price is symbolic as are the historic centers that made Italy before the great migrations to the cities, now is the time to rediscover them for those who are going looking for a bit of tranquility, and it is also the time to do something useful for those who perhaps inherited a block of flats from their grandfather but do not know what to do with it and would not sell it to anyone. A win-win country solution!

In the ranking of the regions with the most municipalities that have joined this formula of repopulating their towns (according to the locations reported on the site Case a 1 euro) we have Sicily with almost 30 locations, from Bivona to Cammarata, from the mythical Canicattì to Serradifalco. In Sardinia, the municipality of Montresta, 400 inhabitants 80 kilometers from the capital Oristano, also grants non-repayable contributions for the purchase and renovation of first homes, to the extent of 50 percent of the expenditure up to 15 thousand euros within the town. In short, it’s serious business. So much so that a house in Salemi (the first town to launch this initiative) was purchased by a British television program production company (Voltage TV) and the BBC also reported on it.

Some municipalities as a requirement have determined to sell only to young couples or large families , but in the variety of offers there is everything. Even Sassari or populous Taranto, for example, have 50 houses for 1 euro in the historic center that have been left abandoned for years. While a village just above the Cinque Terre (Pignone) in 2021 received 2,500 requests from all over the world.

In short, the experiment can work, and here is the list of municipalities where there is such a project: Albugnano (Piedmont), Borgomezzavalle (Piedmont), Carrega Ligure (Piedmont), Oyace (Valle d’Aosta), Milan (Lombardy), Pignone (Liguria), Triora (Liguria), Fabbriche di Vergemoli (Tuscany), Montieri (Tuscany), Cantiano (Marche), Monte Urbano (Marche), Maenza (Lazio), Patrica (Lazio), Santi Cosma e Damiano (Lazio), Graffignano (Lazio), Casoli (Abruzzo), Lecce nei Marsi (Abruzzo), Penne (Abruzzo), Pratola Peligna (Abruzzo), Santo Stefano di Sassanio (Abruzzo), Castropignano (Molise), Candela (Puglia), Biccari (Puglia), Caprarica di Lecce (Puglia), Taranto (Puglia), Laurenzana (Basilicata), Acerenza (Basilicata), Chiaromonte (Basilicata), Ripacandida (Basilicata), Altavilla Salentina (Campania), Bisaccia (Campania), Pietramelara (Campania), Teora (Campania), Zungoli (Campania), Albidona (Calabria), Belcastro (Calabria), Bisignano (Calabria), Cinquefrondi (Calabria), Maida (Calabria), Rose (Calabria). In Sardinia there are 5 localities: Bonnanaro, Ollolai, Romana, Montresta, Nulvi. In Sicily as many as 29: Augusta, Bivona, Calatafimi Segesta,Caltagirone, Cammarata, Canicattì, Castel di Lucio, Castiglione di Sicilia, Corleone, Gangi, Grotte, Itala, Leonfronte, Mussomeli, Palma di Montechiaro, Petralia Soprana, Pettineo, Piazza Armerina, Racalmuto, Regalbuto ,Salemi, Sambuca di Sicilia, San Biagio Platani, San Cataldo, San Piero Patti, Saponara, Serradifalco, Termini Imerese, Troina and Valguarnera Caropepe.

Image: view of Pignone. Photo: Davide Papalini

1 euro houses in Italy: here's where to buy them

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