An Italian town is selling off hundreds of its homes, all for just one euro each.
The Sicilian town of Castiglione di Sicilia is offering up the 900 abandoned houses in a bid to breathe new life into the area.
The town lies on the slopes of Mount Etna and near to the beaches of Sicily’s picturesque east coast.
Officials are hoping to sell off hundreds of homes in the town that have been abandoned.
About half of them are ruined and many be will be sold off for a symbolic price of just one Euro. The rest are in a better condition and will be sold off for low prices.
According to CNN Mayor Antonino Camarda has undertaken an ambitious project to breathe new life into his village where the population has shrunk from 14,000 in the early 1900s to barely 3,000 today.
(Image: Getty Images)
He said: “We have a huge architectural heritage to rescue, packed with history. Over time, too many people have left, leaving behind a bunch of old, picturesque houses, many even dating back to the Renaissance.
“We’ve carried out an in-depth study cataloguing each property based on maps and land registry data. According to their conditions buildings will be sold at different prices, starting from €1”.
If there’s a lot of interest in the same property, an auction will be held.
(Image: Michele La Rosa/Comune Castiglione)
As part of the project buyers will have to complete renovations within three years, but unlike other schemes no deposit is payable as a guarantee for the works.
But owners will have to take out an insurance policy from a bank worth €4,000.
More information on the scheme can be found by visiting the website.
