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Sicilian Town Is Selling Homes For Less Than £1

Sicilian Town Is Selling Homes For Less Than £1

Sambuca di Sicilia, in Sicily, is advertising the homes to attract foreign residents after the town suffered a period of depopulation.

Harvey Day

Harvey Day

A town in southern Italy is offering adventurous potential homeowners the chance to buy and renovate an entire house for just €1 (about 88p).

Sambuca di Sicilia, on the beautiful island of Sicily, is advertising the dilapidated homes to attract foreign residents after the town suffered a long-term period of depopulation, with local Italians moving away to bigger cities.

The town, with a population of around 5,000, is located about 70km southwest of the well-known city of Palermo.

Two of the homes on offer.
Comune di Sambuca di Sicilia

"As opposed to other towns that have merely done this for propaganda, this city hall owns all €1 houses on sale," Giuseppe Cacioppo, Sambuca's deputy mayor and tourist councillor, told CNN.

"We're not intermediaries who liaise between old and new owners. You want that house, you'll get it no time."

Sicily is home to Mount Etna, an active volcano.
PA Images

"Sambuca is known as the City of Splendor," he adds. "This fertile patch of land is dubbed the Earthly Paradise. We're located inside a natural reserve, packed with history. Gorgeous beaches, woods and mountains surround us. It's silent and peaceful, an idyllic retreat for a detox stay."

Sicily, the largest Mediterranean island, is famous for being the home of Mount Etna, for its beautiful beaches and for its delicious cuisine, including cannoli, biancomangiare (an almond milk pudding) and braccilatte (a Sicilian version of doughnuts).

A similar amount of money can buy you a garage in London.
Pixabay

Prospective buyers should note, however, that there are a couple of catches: new owners must commit to investing €15,000 (£13,200) to renovate the properties within three years.

They will also need to provide a €5,000 security deposit that will be returned once the restyle is complete.

Meanwhile, if you were to invest a similar amount of money in the UK, you could (almost) afford a garage near Ealing Broadway, London, or a tiny 'student pod' in Manchester. We know where we'd rather live!

If you've got the renovation bug and fancy moving to Italy, you can contact the town's officials at [email protected]

Featured Image Credit: Comune di Sambuca di Sicilia

Topics: Life News, Home