Buy a house in the gorgeous Italian countryside for just £1: Village homes being 'given away' to stop blight of ghost towns (but you'll need to promise £18,000 to do them up)
By Silvia Marchetti For Mailonline 11:33 GMT 15 May 2015, updated 12:43 GMT 15 May 2015
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- Three Italian towns are selling decaying homes at bargain basement price
- Their mayors hope it will attract more people to their dying communities
- Buyers could get views of Mount Etna, unpolluted air or even vast forests
- But beware: the homes come with an £18,000 catch - the cost of renovation
It sounds too good to be true: a historic home in one of Italy's gorgeous villages on sale for an unbelievable one euro - less than the cost of an espresso.
But the price tag is genuine, part of a plan to attract people to three towns which are at dire risk of dying out if they don't expand their population. Some properties are even being offered for free.
As always, there is one catch: you'll need a spare £18,000 (€25,000) to spend transforming what could be little more than a pile of stones into your dream home.
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Because those who snap up these bargains shouldn't expect castles of Renaissance villas.
These are crumbling, fascinating houses set in superb locations which have been abandoned and are now at risk of crashing to the ground.
WHAT YOU COULD END UP WITH.
Don't be put off by the crumbling ruins you see today, however.
Properly renovated properties can see their value increased by 300 per cent - and the stunning 'before' and 'after' pictures of some of those towns which have gone before should be inspiration enough.
Just look at what Swedish-Italian millionaire Daniele Kihlgren achieved with several abandoned hermit caves in Matera and crushed farmer dwellings in Santo Stefano di Sessanio into luxury resorts.
He may have spent more than £1,400 pounds per square metre (2,000 euros), but it looks as if every penny was worthwhile.
Indeed, it has been suggested a similar feel could be achieved spending half that.
They are set in villages which are just a hairs-breadth away from becoming one of Italy's fabled 'ghost towns' - places where natural disaster, lack of jobs and even pirates have driven locals from their homes in search of a better life.
It is a fate the townsfolk of Gangi, in Sicily, Carrega Ligure, in Piedmont, and Lecce nei Marsi, in Abruzzi, are determined to avoid - and so are putting their all into luring people back so their villages don't fall into oblivion.
The mayor of Gangi in Sicily is so desperate to save his beautiful town, he's not just getting rid of 100 houses at a euro each, he's also donating others for free.
So those in search of year-round sunshine less than a three hour flight away from the UK had better hurry up.
The houses on offer are dubbed 'pagliarole' in the local dialect: two-floor stone buildings boasting as much 1,000 square ft of space which, when they were built in the 1800s, housed animals below and peasant families above.
All have two entrances: one facing the hilltop, the other downhill, typical of Sicily's so-called 'beehive-style hamlets' rising on different layers.
Gangi, which was used as a set in 2009's Baarìa, which was nominated for best foreign film at the Golden Globes, is far more than a pretty village with a view of Mount Etna.
The village is one of only two places in Europe where the Holy Spirit is said to have appeared.
But despite its beauty, spirituality and long history - it can date its roots back to the Greeks - people have been leaving in their droves.
'Since the early 1900s more than 9,000 people have migrated to Argentina,' complained mayor Giuseppe Ferrarello.
'I want to repopulate it no matter what it takes.'
Carrega Ligure, Piedmont
Those who prefer the fresh mountain air should look to Carrega Ligure, in Piedmont, where a host of crumbling buildings once home to farmers and shepherds are going for a song.
Dating back to the 11th century, the homes are scattered across five valleys in 11 mountain districts, at an average height of 5,250 feet (1,600 metres).
The area prospered in the Middle Ages as a trade centre along the salt routes, and later the monks and hermits arrived to meditate and build monasteries.
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Nowadays, it is far quieter - and for good reason.
It probably isn't for the fainthearted: among the villages is Reneuzzi, which has been totally uninhabited since the 1970s after residents became fed up of the cold winters and harsh living conditions.
But there are definite advantages.
'All you'll find here is peace, breathtaking views and zero pollution,' mayor Guido Gozzano assured.
The two-storey ruins have thick stone walls and small windows to keep warm - once restyled of course.
And there's plenty of space to play with, ranging between 430 and 753 square feet (40 to 70 square metres) inside, with the additional bonus of a piece of land outside - an estate agent would call the gardens natural, most people would say overgrown.
Lecce nei Marsi, Abruzzi
Those wanting to impress their friends with the history of their new holiday home should really look no further than the bargains on offer in Lecce nei Marsi.
After all, how many people can claim to own a former bandit lair in the middle of the forest?
Lecce nei Marsi is selling off dwellings - complete with their own small gardens - which once housed shepherds, cattle breeders, miners, woodmen and even outlaws.
But when a terrible quake rocked the region in 1915, they all started running for their lives - marking the beginning of the end for the village.
'I want to avoid that the historical center crumbles to pieces, there are no public funds for maintenance and I'd like young couples to return,' explained mayor Gianluca de Angelis.
It would be a pity if the village died out: set in the Abruzzi Natural Park, it is surrounded by a 600-year-old beechwood forest that might soon be a UNESCO World Heritage site.
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