Have you heard about the villages in Italy offering homes for €1 — yes 1 euro, or about USD 1.22?
You may have seen the headlines. Houses in Italy are on sale for the bargain-basement price of 1 whole euro. Let's talk about a bit of history and then assess the opportunity.
The History
To many, Italy is a part of the Old World, a nation with an ancient history dating back to the first Roman Republic. But the nation we know as Italy only unified in a process that started in 1848 and was finally completed in 1871.
Since the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the fourth and fifth centuries, the peninsula of Italy has existed throughout history as a fragmented group of city-states. Kings, queens, popes, and invaders would trade territory back and forth.
The famous cities of the North like Florence, Milan, and Rome experienced a series of economic renaissances starting with — well, The Renaissance.
The south of Italy, including the island of Sicily, has always existed in the shadow of the economic powerhouse that is the North.
During the 20th century, many people left southern Italy for the Northern cities and North America, seeking economic opportunity.
The Situation
Villages in southern Italy, often with beautiful views and proximity to wine country, rolling vistas, and stunning Italian landscapes have experienced the population-brain-drain for decades now. Houses in villages — often hundreds of years old — sit abandoned. These towns, where the abandoned houses are often the de facto responsibility of the municipality want to welcome people back.
Now let's be sober-eyed about this. There's a reason that they a being sold for a single euro. These houses need work. Almost anything that is one euro will be in bad shape.
But people are still taking the plunge — people like Lorraine Bracco from Goodfellas (Karen Hill) and The Sopranos (Dr. Melfi).
And this is not just one random town — dozens of towns are participating in programs to offer up houses for one euro.
🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹 Here's how to explore further 🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹
Read about 11 towns that are offering the program.
Check out Travel and Leisure's list of tips from someone who did it.
Watch Business Insider's video on The Truth About One Euro Homes
Take a deep dive with CNN on Mussomeli, a Sicilian town that's open for business.
Take note of the caveats at italymammamia.com
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