The beautiful Sicilian town of Bivona is the latest destination to offer houses for sale for just over $1, sweetening the deal by offering tax breaks and easing restrictions for anyone wanting to buy a piece of rural Italy.
So many Italian towns are now competing to offload 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.
"In the last 40 years, our population has halved. Today we're down to just 3,800 residents," says Angela Cannizzaro, Bivona's culture councilor. The plan, she adds, is to restore the town to its 16th-century heyday."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.
Other towns, including the Sicilian communities of Mussomeli and Cammarata, have required buyers of homes on the market for $1 to stump up $5,500 as a deposit, refundable if the new owner starts renovations within three years.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Thieves steal more than $1 billion from largest treasure hoard in EuropePerpetrators are believed to have cut the electricity supply to the Green Vault in Dresden, before breaking in by bending the iron bars of a small ground-floor window.
Read more »
SoftBank-backed Paytm raises $1 billion in fresh fundingIndian digital payments company Paytm said on Monday it has raised fresh funds f...
Read more »
India’s Paytm Secures $1 Billion Investment From SoftBank, Ant FinancialThe parent of Indian mobile-payments startup Paytm has secured $1 billion from Japan’s SoftBank Group and China’s Ant Financial Services Group, giving it more firepower in a fast-growing but crowded market.
Read more »
India's Paytm raises $1 billion in fresh fundingIndian digital payments company Paytm said on Monday it has raised fresh funds f...
Read more »
In this fishing tournament, first place could mean a $1-million paydayIn the richest sportfishing contest on the planet, teams compete to catch the largest black and blue marlin.
Read more »
West Virginia charges prisoners 3 cents a minute to read e-books from free library, despite earning less than $1 an hourA contract between the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation and Global Tel Link has brought electronic tablets to 10 West Virginia prisons but it comes at a price.
Read more »