Italian town selling homes for only $1
Thousands of young people have been leaving Sicily for the mainland and Bivona now joins the villages of Sambuca and Mussomeli on the island in offering homes for a euro this year
Italy's town Bivona is easing restrictions and offering tax bonuses to anyone who wants to pay just over a dollar to buy one of a dozen empty and dilapidated properties.
Bivona, a small town deep in the heart of the southern island of Sicily which has a population of 3,800 and offering old houses for less than the price of an espresso that some are trying to sweeten the deal further to lure buyers away from their rivals, reports CNN.
The local authorities are asking for a deposit of £2,100 and a period of four years for owners to bring their houses up to scratch, said Angela Cannizzaro, Bivona's culture councilor.
"The plan is to restore the town to its 16th-century heyday," she added.
Thousands of young people have been leaving Sicily for the mainland and Bivona now joins the villages of Sambuca and Mussomeli on the island in offering homes for a euro this year.
"We want to recover the lost grandeur of our greatest time in history, back in the Renaissance, when 8,000 people lived in Bivona and it was a flourishing feudal duchy blessed by Emperor Charles V," she said.
As is usual with these deals, buyers are expected to invest in repairing and restoring the property. Bivona's tax incentives are for buyers who choose to also take up residency.
