the city is now gearing up for its third round of cheap home sales “We just want to make it clear that by numbering these batches more sales will likely follow in coming years,” Giuseppe Cacioppo Many have been abandoned since roughly 1969 when a earthquake struck the surrounding Belice Valley and locals fled “Rome’s government back then approved a specific law for Sambuca’s revival that granted the town hall ownership of the abandoned homes and there are no middle agencies,” Cacioppo explained Sambuca di Sicilia is located in the Province of Agrigento Like many towns that have offered similar deals Sambuca di Sicilia is using the inexpensive real estate to incentivize new residents in an attempt to revitalize the economy of the area Since the local government owns most of the abandoned properties in the area it can easily off-load them to buyers without having to act as a middleman between long-gone owners and eager new tenants this has made the city more successful than others in attracting buyers According to Cacioppo this has brought in around $21.8 million “The two batches of houses owned by the town hall revitalized the private real estate sector,” he explained Many who weren’t able to secure a one- or two-euro home in the original auctions ended up buying a different residence in the town for a relatively low sum which according to the terms of the scheme While total amounts vary depending on the condition of the property CNN estimates the renovation costs are between $32,000 to about $220,000 The residences have attracted people from all over the world; however many of the buyers are from the United States prompting the emergence of a “Little America.” Indeed a self-employed financial advisor from Chicago bought one of the abandoned homes in a previous auction and ended up paying around $446,000 to renovate the home as well its next door neighbor which she bought separately for about $23,000 Not a subscriber? 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Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon The best of Time Out straight to your inbox We help you navigate a myriad of possibilities Sign up for our newsletter for the best of the city By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news Sign up for our email to enjoy your city without spending a thing (as well as some options when you’re feeling flush) By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions. Worldwide and now Sambuca di Sicilia is putting its third batch of budget houses up for sale and the trend sees no signs of wavering. Sambuca di Sicilia, a tiny commune near the eastern tip of Sicily, has just put another batch of about 12 unbelievably cheap homes up for sale They’re currently under the ownership of the town hall which took possession after residents fled after an earthquake back in 1969 The scheme has been super successful so far and the sale of 250 homes is thought to have brought €20 million to the local economy such as through turnover from new B&Bs the town hall is hoping to attract even more buyers. ‘The timing [of the sale announcement] is perfect,’ says newly elected mayor Giuseppe Cacioppo to CNN ‘Tourists and interested buyers currently travelling to Italy and those planning a trip in spring and summer can come take a look.’ The homes are in the town’s old Saracen district Some have ‘gram-worthy iron-wrought balconies overlooking tiny cobbled lanes and others have lemon tree-filed courtyards decorated with old-fashioned tiles the likelihood is it’ll end up costing you more than that so if you’re interested you’ll be competing with other bidders Those taking part also need to pay a €5,000 deposit guarantee (which will be returned if your bid is unsuccessful) homes are usually sold for between €5,000-€10,000. which must be completed within three years of the sale. Doing up one of these properties can cost anywhere between €30,000 and €200,000. So, if you’re after a home reno project in the Sicilian hills and you’ve got some cash to invest, you can find photos and descriptions of the homes, plus application forms, on the town hall’s website here. Did you see that you could be fined for wearing these clothing items in Spain this summer Plus: Athens has closed the Acropolis as Greece is hit with a 43C heatwave Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out Travel newsletter for all the latest travel news and best stuff happening across the world Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon! tiktok facebook twitter youtube About us Contact us Latest UpdatesCountries Why Join?IL Magazine Free Daily E-Letter Video Our Experts Testimonials FAQsTopics They called this place "Little America," saying that a "wave of mostly Americans" have rolled into town Here in Sambuca di Sicilia on the island of Sicily the Italians are still very much in the majority in two days I haven't seen an American flag or heard a single American accent And beer is still served in stemmed glasses I came here to investigate CNN's claim Ever since the hilltop town of Sambuca started giving away homes for €1 the program has rarely been out of the news for long in 2019 Sambuca made the unusual decision to start selling houses at this nominal cut rate price The idea was to attract fresh blood to the town which has been suffering from depopulation for years as young residents move to bigger cities The homes on offer for €1 sit in the town's historic center and have been unoccupied for years Many are in a state of extreme dereliction and require extensive renovations Those who take the offer are required to spend a minimum of €15,000 on refurbishments within a few years of their purchase They also need to cough up a €5,000 security deposit that will be returned once work is complete The buyers get a cheap home in an ancient Italian town Not only did they sell the original 16 houses on offer They ran a second round of the program (this time the homes cost €2) and it was another sell out perhaps the bigger gain for the town has been the sales they've made since the €1 offer finished Many folks who came because of the media coverage of the cheap homes were so bowled over by the place that they bought a home on the regular market—which are still extremely cheap and arguably better value who told me they have sold 150 homes so far Maybe with the hope of claiming a €1 home for yourself You're taken in by the beauty of the town The narrow alleys and sandstone homes of the Arab Quarter…the arches and ribbed vaults the small doors and streets embellished with Mediterranean colors You drink in the green valley views from the Terrazzo Belvedere where olive groves and vineyards create a mesmerizing patchwork over the undulating hills… You stretch your waist on seafood and pasta at Pane e Radici a Sambucan pastry made to resemble the local hills and filled with cream Italy in 2016." class="size-full wp-image-721223" src="https://internationalliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Sambuca-di-Sicilia-won-the-title-of-the-most-beautiful-village-in-Italy-in-2016.jpg" alt="Sambuca di Sicilia won the title of the most beautiful village in Italy in 2016" width="600" height="400" /> Restaurants will serve it by the liter for €5 one of the best of the many local wineries that surround Sambuca It's set on the side of Mount Genuardo and run by two brothers By now you're sold on the idea of owning a home here you can buy a historic home on the regular market for as little as €40,000 Learn more about Italy and other countries in our daily postcard e-letter Simply enter your email address below and we’ll send you a FREE report – Italy: Europe’s Most Seductive Country one of Italy's main real estate listings websites shows a historic four-bedroom home in the Arab quarter listing for €25,000… A completely renovated two-bedroom apartment off the main street for €60,000 And a five-bedroom apartment in need of some freshening up for €40,000 The thing about these €1 homes is that you'll be spending almost as much as the price of a home in order to renovate them Better to buy something on the regular market and avoid the extra work—as so many have done in Sambuca I shot some video of the town to give you an idea of what it's like: Click to watch a brief tour around the town of Sambuca di Sicilia my observation is that few of the folks who came and bought here have made Sambuca their permanent home A number of buildings I saw look like renovations had progressed and then stopped—I suspect suspended due to the pandemic There is a certain impracticality to these homes Most of the local services run around the perimeter of the town which can't cater to a high volume of traffic And there aren't enough restaurants or cafes in the town to feed you with variety Sambuca is unquestionably a great regional jumping off point which has been gaining a strong reputation in recent years Just last night I dined with a couple of British wine connoisseurs who's winery itinerary had brought them through And Sambuca is just 30 minutes' drive to some incredible beaches a hugely popular bay with creamy soft sand and a boardwalk lined with seafood restaurants and cafes But drive down the coast a little and you'll reach Le Solette a quieter sandy beach set among sand dunes The main roads through Sicily are acceptable but get off the beaten track and "roads" becomes a matter of interpretation stick to main routes and take Google maps directions with a pinch of salt… I don't think we've seen the last of the €1 (or €2) home offer in Sambuca There are still a lot of historic buildings throughout town that look abandoned I suspect that once press coverage dies down we'll see more released I'm more interested in the homes that have already been renovated or are semi-renovated and unfinished some may well decide to sell on the project For the shrewd buyer it could make a good opportunity to swoop in and pick up a ready-renovated historic home for a bargain This might not be "Little America," but what you're getting here is arguably better where you can immerse yourself in the Italian lifestyle in a historical village on a very modest budget It was a family of three generations sitting next to me at dinner They compared Chicago style deep-dish pizza to the Italian woodfired style And the kid speculated that one day their house in Sambuca would be his… Charming Italian Real Estate and Property Move to Italy and Enjoy La Dolce Vita (the Sweet Life) Two Beautiful Small Towns to Live in Italy The latest European town enticing new residents with dirt-cheap real estate is none other than Italy’s Sambuca di Sicilia (again) Having enjoyed success with previous sell-offs — injecting €20 million into the local economy — the Agrigento municipality is now preparing to auction its third batch of abandoned homes This time the prices start from just €3 ($4.90) RELATED: Experience Euro Summer With These All-Inclusive Supercar Driving Toursgoogletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-ArticlesPOS3'); }); “The two batches of houses, owned by the town hall, revitalised the private real estate sector,” Giuseppe Cacioppo, the newly-elected mayor of Sambuca di Sicilia, told CNN “People rushing to grab one at auction but didn’t make the final cut bought a cheap house instead more sales will likely follow in coming years.” googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-ArticlesPOS4'); }); Tourists and interested buyers currently travelling to Italy and those planning a trip in spring and summer can come to take a look.” Sambuca di Sicilia’s mayor reassured the public that the pads up for grabs are as “structurally stable as those so far sold,” while noting they were still in dire need of some TLC depending on the condition of the property a “restyle” generally starts at €30,000 ($48,500) for something simple but can rise all the way to over €200,000 (roughly ($325,000) for a more extensive makeover.googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-ArticlesPOS5'); }); RELATED: What $1 Million Can Buy You In Real Estate Around The World Assuming you opt for a revamp on the more basic end of the spectrum that’s still far cheaper than what you’ll find here on Australia’s east coast Sambuca di Sicilia is located approximately 68 kilometres southwest of Palermo and roughly 89 kilometres northwest of Agrigento; it has previously been named one of I Borghi più belli d’Italia (“most beautiful villages of Italy”) Find out more about this storied slice of paradise below Signup to the Boss Hunting Friday Newsletter Italy's rural towns just don't have enough people in them That's why so many of them have launched last-ditch schemes in a bid to resuscitate their economies Most recently, the entire region of Molise offered visitors €25,000 ($27,500) to move there provided they set up a business in one of the towns with less than 2,000 residents has been offering abandoned homes for as little as one euro ($1.11) Read more: Meet the Americans, Brits, and Europeans flocking to Italy's rural ghost towns to buy abandoned, dilapidated homes for $1 of course — the homes have often been left untouched for years and are in a dilapidated state and you must commit to spending a certain amount on renovations I traveled to Sicily to visit some of the towns that had employed these schemes to see what they were really like In particular, I stayed in Sambuca, a charming town that has received the most widespread media coverage after CNN Travel happened upon it in January. While the town was even quieter than I anticipated I was bowled over by the hospitality of its inhabitants who treated me like royalty Its remaining residents are fiercely loyal to their hometown — "I was born here After stopping for an espresso in the shade of the orange trees on the Strada Provinciale in the middle of town it was easy for me to see why Cacioppo feels so strongly about his town but I already felt welcomed into the fabric of local life by the inhabitants It wasn't exactly the kind of reception you get on a city break There's a tranquility to Sambuca that's almost unearthly The pace of life here is not just slower — it's practically stationary what happens if you actually take up the offer a financial advisor from Chicago in the US decided she was ready to take on the adventure of a lifetime and purchased an abandoned €1 house in Sambuca di Sicilia with the goal of transforming it into a European escape Ms Tabbone said she discovered that Sambuca di Sicilia was selling off abandoned buildings for less than the price of a coffee back in 2019 “CNN published an article about the program and my friend forwarded it to me,” Ms Tabbone told Love Property. “I realised when reading the piece that the town holding the auction was the same one my great-grandfather was from.” She said she found out about the silent auction that officials in Sambuca di Sicilia were holding and placed her bid. “It was a very straightforward process,” she said “I submitted a €5,000 (AUD$8225) deposit to the bank that was listed on the auction site and sent in a one-page form via UPS bid amount and the property address.” Her plan was to not only purchase one property but multiple and convert them into one larger home “I purchased five properties in total but there are seven homes within those buildings,” she said “The most I spent on any of them was €35,000 (AUD$57,575) the primary residence measures roughly 251sq m her father was architect and she was able to use her knowledge to come up with a plan to restore the buildings that had been built around the 1600s “I had a primary team of four; a quantity surveyor a stone mason and an electrician,” she said “But in total I worked with about 20 different professionals throughout the five years of the project.” Meredith and her team did a walk-through of the entire property and established a general plan. She communicated with the team via What’sApp which wasn’t easy given the language barrier She said she didn’t face any unforeseen costs “We spent significantly more than we originally estimated but that was because the project kept growing not because something happened that was out of my control,” she said “I decided to make every single element of the home custom and that was a substantial investment “I ended up spending around €475,000 (AUD$781,375) on the renovation. “It was an extremely collaborative process and my team flawlessly executed my plan.” The project took five years in total due to the scale of the renovation and Covid delays. She now splits her time between Chicago and Italy, spending about four months a year in Sicily The main thing she learnt during the project is that when it comes to renovating “Jump in and don’t wait for everything to be perfect or well-defined or you will never get started,” she said. “This is how we approached the renovation. very carefully figuring out the pieces of the puzzle to make my home beautiful News Sitemap Sambuca di Sicilia has got homes for sale for as little as €2 ($2.36). It has been two years since the program first kicked off, and, considering it a great success, local authorities are now putting up 20 more abandoned homes that will need some love, CNN reports Said houses cost less than an airport water bottle so you should have enough cash to throw into your fixer-upper ShutterstockThe abandoned homes are all adjacent to each other "We had a lot of interest in these open spaces from Middle Eastern buyers it gives people more room for creation and inspiration to shape how they want," the town's deputy mayor Giuseppe Cacioppo told CNN All homes are located in the Saracen neighborhood of Sambuca's historical center, and many were left behind following a massive earthquake in 1968. The homes are available for bidding starting at that €2, but you'll have to fill out an application directly on the site first. Applications will close on November 5th before the public auction goes down. while some homes in the first round two years ago went for as much as €25,000 the vast majority fell in the €5,000 and €10,000 range post-auction So while you might not get away with spending just a few bucks on your new home Airbnb is on the search for the ideal candidate to live rent-free for a year and host from a decayed-turned-designer Italian heritage home With a newfound flexibility to live and work remotely one person will be given the opportunity to relocate to Sicily with their family or friend and move into this uniquely restored house. The picturesque three-story traditional home is located in Sambuca which was made famous thanks to its recent “1 Euro House” campaign Sambuca is suffering from a declining population so it launched the “1 Euro House” campaign in 2019 to promote cultural heritage encourage international investment and appeal to a younger demographic to restore the charm of the once bustling village. “The beauty of this campaign is that it gives a second chance not just to an abandoned heritage home in the heart of our village – it’s also a second chance to the person who moves into it We see it as a designer makeover for the house and the Host We’re looking for someone who wants to live with the local population and participate in all the important moments of the community from the grape harvest to olive picking and we can’t wait to welcome whoever gets selected!” Ideal candidates should be committed to hosting and contributing to village life Their Sambuca residence will take place over a one year period beginning June 30th with the successful applicant retaining all earnings from hosting on Airbnb What is truly special about this “1 Euro House” is that it has been given a total designer makeover Airbnb worked with the Italian architectural firm Studio Didea to transform the home using materials and colors in harmony with the local landscape Blending contemporary design with hand-made and local artisanal elements the structure is typical of Sicily’s charming architecture. with plenty of room to work remotely and host on Airbnb. The successful applicant gets first dibs on the bedroom that best suits their needs with the second bedroom to be listed on Airbnb. Sambuca is a small rural village of about 6,000 inhabitants in Sicily characterized by a unique blend of Italian and North African cultures and architectural styles Thanks to the “1 Euro House” campaign the successful applicant will join a growing international community of millennials moving from bigger cities to rural villages in pursuit of a slower pace of life. To apply, visit airbnb.com/1eurohouse and complete the application form carefully read the Selection Terms available on the website. available to move to Sambuca for at least 3 consecutive months starting from June 30th and be able to speak conversational English (Italian a plus!) The selected participant will be given the opportunity to take part in a mentorship program: learning Italian and attending Italian cooking classes Candidates will need to demonstrate a commitment to hosting one room in the house for a minimum of 9 months. The successful participant may bring their partner friend or family (maximum of two adults and two children in total) The successful participant will live rent-free and will retain all Airbnb Host earnings over the course of their residence. Airbnb encourages safe and responsible travel Local and international travel requirements The selected participant and their guests will be required to follow COVID-19 rules applicable at the national and local level * Report by Oxford Economics, November 2021. You can access the full report here The "1 Euro House" initiative aims to boost tourism and bring new temporary residents to the Italian village of Sambuca in Sicily as part of a wider commitment by Airbnb to support rural communities encourage international investment and appeal to a younger demographic The successful applicant will get to choose which bedroom they would like for themselves Their Sambuca residence will take place over a one year period from June 30 with the successful applicant retaining all earnings from hosting stays on Airbnb for at least nine months In Q3 2019 just four Italian cities accounted for over 26 per cent of all travel: Rome those same four cities accounted for under 17 per cent of travel and one of the top visited areas in Italy was Sicily Airbnb aims to support this demand by working with villages like Sambuca to help restore them to their former glory Blessed with artistic talent and fancy spending a month immersed in the beauty of Italy – all expenses paid? You’re in luck. A quaint town in western Sicily is offering two lucky artists luxury accommodation free food and spending money to fulfill all their creative desires. Yes, you read that right. The town in question is Sambuca Di Sicilia, which might already be on your radar as one of Sicily’s many towns that are auctioning off homes for €1. The town is now opening its arms to applications from all kinds of artists. The lucky winners will live it up as neighbours in two gorgeous residences living room and balcony overlooking the stunning lake and ancient Arab fortress That’s on top of the free food and guidance from local staff. Mayor Giuseppe Cacioppo explains that the artists must use the time to create a piece of work to donate to the town. But with a setting so stunning and a town so steeped in history the town is nicknamed ‘Sicily’s Barn’ for its history of grain production and old millstones still churn out pasta and bread to this day With its majestic architecture and mountainous surroundings it sounds like there’s plenty to inspire. ‘This is an open call for all sorts of artists,’ the Mayor said to the i newspaper ‘They can create whatever inspires them as long as it’s then installed in the alleys as part of the urban landscape paintings and sculptures would be the best fit for Sambuca as the Mayor is after artwork to ‘embellish’ the town – but other art forms Sound like the ideal way to spend your October? Submit your application form Did you see that this iconic attraction in Vietnam is at risk of collapse Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out Travel newsletter for all the latest travel news We’re not normally ones to question a good thing but could it be that there are too many incredibly beautiful Sicilian hilltop towns selling houses for €1 In fact, this is the third time Sambuca has made the offer available. From early 2019, it put 17 houses on the market at €1 each. Unsurprisingly, the municipality had thousands of enquiries about the properties from all over the world – including from Sopranos and ‘Goodfellas’ actress Lorraine Bracco who made a TV show about her renovation of one of the houses There was a catch: the €1 figure was a minimum price. As with other similar sales, the houses are sold at auction. The most expensive in Sambuca went for €25,000, according to CTV. Buyers also had to spend a minimum of €15,000 renovating each property and post a €5,000 deposit until renovations were complete described her house thus: ‘There was a dirt floor no electricity…’ Sounds like a bit of a fixer-upper However, now that the €1 house market is getting more competitive, some towns have started offering generous subsidies and bonuses to buyers to help them get the renovations done Despite being drop-dead gorgeous and handily close to Palermo Sambuca might have some serious competition a house in Italy for less than €45,000 upfront (that’s £40,000 or $55,000)? We’ll admit it doesn’t sound like a terrible idea right now And if you’re looking for a new life somewhere less remote, these are officially the best cities to move to in 2021 Airbnb is looking for a host for this restored house in Sambuca Airbnb is on the hunt for a candidate willing to live rent-free in a refurbished house in the Italian village of Sambuca in Sicily. The winning applicant will relocate to Sicily with family or friends for a year, keeping all earnings from their time hosting on Airbnb and Zucchetti make a modern foil for original design accents which have been repurposed elsewhere in the house The opportunity is part of Sambuca’s ‘1 Euro House campaign’ created in 2018 to address concerns over the declining population by promoting cultural heritage and appealing to a younger demographic The winning applicant is encouraged to get involved in local community life and will be offered the chance to attend a mentorship programme which will teach Italian and uncover the country’s cultural heritage Those applying must be keen to host a room in the house for at least a nine-month period ‘The beauty of this campaign is that it gives a second chance not just to an abandoned heritage home in the heart of our village – it’s also a second chance to the person who moves into it,’ says mayor of Sambuca di Sicilia ‘We see it as a designer makeover for the house and the host We’re looking for someone who wants to live with the local population and participate in all the important moments of the community and we can’t wait to welcome whoever gets selected.’ Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox. Hannah Silver is the Art Watches & Jewellery Editor of Wallpaper* she has overseen offbeat design trends and in-depth profiles and written extensively across the worlds of culture and luxury. She enjoys meeting artists and designers viewing exhibitions and conducting interviews on her frequent travels. The Local Europe ABVästmannagatan 43113 25 StockholmSweden Over the last decade, Italy’s famous one-euro home offers have been making headlines internationally - and they show no sign of stopping Perhaps no town in Italy has been quite as successful at selling them as Sambuca di Sicilia first came into the spotlight five years ago for being among the first to offer abandoned houses for one euro READ MORE: Can you still buy Italy's one-euro homes in 2024? The mayor reported a "property stampede" at the time as his council was inundated with enquiries from around the world It repeated the process two years later in 2021 The village is now on its third batch of sales and is upping the starting price again - this time to three euros The cheap home offers had been "a hit so far" among foreign buyers, and the town had timed the latest sale to coincide with the tourist season, he told CNN “Tourists and interested buyers currently travelling to Italy and those planning a trip in spring and summer MAP: Where in Italy can you buy homes for one euro? Cacioppo told The Local in 2022 that cheap property sales had boosted the local economy by €100 million in two years Cacioppo first announced the latest round of sales in November, telling Sicilian regional press: “We continue to believe that the one-euro house project is the right way to create development." As with all of Italy's famous cheap home offers the true cost involved is slightly more than the symbolic price of €3 but in Sambuca's case this is just the starting bid in an auction process with houses in previous years being sold for anything between one and 25,000 euros READ ALSO: Six things to know about Italy’s one-euro homes Those taking part in the auction are required to pay a deposit of 5,000 euros and must commit to renovating the property within three years Anyone interested must submit their application by 1pm on August 5th in a sealed envelope containing a bank transfer receipt for the €5,000 deposit and a photocopy of an identification document, according to the town council's instructions More information about the offer is available on the council's website Please note The Local is unable to help you purchase a one- (or three-) euro home in Italy Although please let us know if you decide to make an offer Please log in to leave a comment Mussomeli is roughly 60 miles from Palermo located about an hour’s drive south of the Sicilian capital Stroll its perimeter on a late afternoon in winter Order the town’s signature minni di virgini—breast-shaped cakes filled with cream and squash jam—and a hush silences the chatter in the local bakery By the time I walk into a small restaurant that first evening seeking dinner my self-consciousness has reached an uncomfortable peak After the waiter and I stumble through my order impeded by his poor English and my worse Italian I pull out a book to hide my awkwardness while I wait for the food But when the first course arrives—a heap of ocher-tinted pasta topped with crimson shrimp and shards of pistachios—I am so clearly delighted by the dish that the waiter then decides we are friends and when two women with their children enter the restaurant he seats them next to me and introduces them as well stepping out from the kitchen to kiss his wife aloft on a wave of bonhomie and sturdy Sicilian wine I’m not the only person to arrive at that revelation I had come to Sicily to investigate a program that has attracted thousands with the same notion although they may not have the financial wherewithal to go full-bore Tuscan-villa-with-frescoed-ceilings-and-private-vineyard to nevertheless live a different version of the dream A program that promises them a house for a single euro large numbers of villagers in the poorer parts of Italy have migrated to more prosperous regions and countries populations have shrunk so dramatically that there are no longer enough patients to keep the local doctor in business Young people who moved away to study or work didn’t want to return the village of Salemi in western Sicily was one of the first towns to come up with an idea: What if you could fill them again by offering the properties for sale at a ridiculously low price But I wanted to know if the program worked Though the rumors I’d heard about driving in Sicily gave me pause—highways that suddenly turn into rutted cow paths; drivers whose chosen passing method involves achieving the closest possible proximity to the fender of the car in front of them—I decided to set out in a rental car through villages in various stages of implementing the initiative Were once-sepulchral towns reinvigorated by newcomers eager to put down roots Were the new residents integrating into small-town life or was an influx of new blood bringing unintended side effects And did a town that drew enough newcomers lose the qualities that had attracted said newcomers in the first place From left: The population of Sambuca di Sicilia has declined because of a low birth rate but the town gained media attention after The Sopranos actress Lorraine Bracco bought a home there; The Valley of the Temples has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1997 The morning after my dinner in Sambuca di Sicilia I leave my home base to see my first one-euro house the valley preserves the remains of a Greek colony founded in the 6th century B.C.E on land inhabited by the indigenous Sicani the original temples to Hercules and Hera survive but so does evidence of Carthaginian rampage and Roman reconstruction Those peoples would in time be followed by Vandals from northern Europe and Muslims from Africa looking at the gold-colored columns of once-grand temples set against the sparkling sea and flowering almond trees have been making their homes here for a long time a steep jumble of a village whose mountains are dusted with snow In the 15 minutes I spend standing in front of a very sleepy-looking town hall where I’ve arranged to meet architect Martina Giracello The members of StreetTo want to rejuvenate Cammarata Many moved to neighboring San Giovanni Gemini where the gentler topography allows for larger buildings and better conveniences “the one real estate agency in the area doesn’t even handle houses in the historic center.” moved away for university and to start their professional careers But as they approached the end of their 20s “We studied other towns with one-euro programs and they don’t have a relation to the people there,” she tells me They banded together with other professionals to form a volunteer association called StreetTo which convinces the owners of abandoned properties to sell then helps foreigners find their houses and navigate the inspections and gatherings for townspeople old and new Driven by their desire to revive the Cammarata they love StreetTo’s members offer these services free of charge but what we want is to also bring Cammarata’s citizens back just as Gianluca and I have come back,” Giracello says.) Their town gets something in the way of revitalization As we slowly make our way up Cammarata’s steep streets the silence gives way to the sound of hammers and saws where Giracello introduces me to the reality of what one euro buys you: not much more vertically challenged shed than house has what real estate ads might call “significant structural issues” and what I might call “a massive hole in the roof.” and the battered sink and laminate countertops make it look like the kitchen was outfitted sometime around World War II But the floor is adorned with beautiful geometric tiles and a view of the valley spills through the windows “We try to find houses in not really good condition,” Giracello says “Because the purpose of the project is to help the town get better.” StreetTo has helped negotiate the sale of 18 houses so far but contract negotiations and renovations are still in progress and none of the buyers have been able to move into their homes yet But Giracello is confident it won’t be long before her village swells with new life She pulls out her phone to show me a video “When a German nurse and her husband bought a place a local couple were so happy to see new people that they held a dinner for them “Even though the Germans didn’t speak Italian and the Italians didn’t speak German Santa Caterina d’Alessandria was home to nuns from 1311 to 2014 located nearly in the center of the island which drape themselves seductively across a ridge the craggy volcanic outcroppings that rise from the valley below have trapped pools of mist making the town appear to be floating on clouds The illusion doesn’t last: With a population of nearly 11,000 people Mussomeli is large enough to support a Carrefour supermarket and even a mini traffic jam and views from its tangled streets of that mystical valley and a hilltop with the ruins of a 14th-century castle and ask the elderly man behind the counter what he thinks about the foreigners moving to town “But in summer they buy a lot of focaccia.” more than 200 inexpensive homes have been bought by foreigners in the past few years Australian Danny McCubbin owns one of them Ready for a quieter life after 17 years of working in London for the chef Jamie Oliver McCubbin was recruited by producers late in 2019 for a television show that planned to follow people on their one-euro adventures in Mussomeli The pandemic intervened and the show was never finished he had decided to move permanently to Mussomeli and turn his home into a community kitchen to help people with inadequate access to food From left: The Good Kitchen rescues surplus food from supermarkets to provide for people in need; Australian Danny McCubbin moved to Mussomeli in 2020 He’d just served lunch to local residents and Ukrainian children welcomed by the town after fleeing the war the Good Kitchen also supplies weekly meals for the elderly and has taught some of Mussomeli’s youth to cook A clutch of older men use the space as an afternoon hangout and there’s also a free Sunday afternoon lunch (The only requirement for those with means is that they bring something to share.) Not long ago Mussomeli’s mayor told McCubbin that he had planted a seed and that more in Mussomeli were now thinking about social projects “My whole way of living is so simple and joyful now,” McCubbin says “I don’t know where else I could have done this.” Rubia Andrade Daniels has also adjusted her expectations she fell in love with a vibe that reminds her of the Brazil where she was born and spent her childhood but that also seems open to the kind of diversity she’s found in California I couldn’t figure out why people here were being so nice to me,” she says with a laugh “Then I realized they’re like that to everyone.” loved the town so much she purchased three one-euro houses on her first visit in 2019 but her timetable has shifted: The kitchen in the house where she plans on living part time once she retires wasn’t finished until August 2023 and progress on the other two—an art gallery and a wellness center—has been pushed to an undetermined future in part due to the pandemic and the delays in its wake “You can’t have American expectations,” she says I think about that pace each day when I return to my base in Sambuca di Sicilia there’s been such demand for the listed houses that one euro is no longer the final sale cost but rather the opening bid in an auction that could see prices rise into the thousands the campaign was so popular that the municipality launched a second round in 2021 with an increase in the starting price—to two euros who has been summering in Sambuca since childhood and eventually settled here full time about 20 years ago says that “99 percent” of Sambucans welcome the newcomers “They worry they have been invaded by Americans,” says Licata who works for a real estate agency in town “If Sambuca one day has a thousand outsiders living here But it will maybe mean the young [people] can find a job and not go somewhere else it’s possible that Sambuca could become transfigured by take-out coffee joints and big-box stores and other supposed comforts that the town’s new residents like some Americans have complained about the local teenagers who cruise the streets on their motorbikes at night And imported class divisions are also emerging: Among the more free-spirited DIYers who have purchased homes rumors circulate that some of the wealthier buyers want to build an exclusive From left: Margherita Licata has lived in Sambuca for roughly 20 years; Pasticceria Enrico Pendola is one of few bakeries in the small town there’s little evidence of a non-Sicilian presence in Sambuca and it remains difficult to find anyone who speaks English What I did find was an archaeology museum where and marched me at breakneck speed through the antiquities on display while barking descriptions of them at me in Italian I also found a market that popped up alongside the traffic circle where the fishmonger told me how to cook the sardines I bought from the back of his van as well as a café whose arancini made me finally understand why anyone would want to eat fried balls of rice and where the elderly man who glared at me as I drank my breakfast cappuccino turned out not to be annoyed with the foreigner invading his morning sanctuary but justwaiting for the opportunity to ask me if I knew his cousins in New Jersey I’d arrived in Sicily wondering if the one-euro initiative would ruin the towns that adopted it replacing their traditional culture with more consumerist ones and destroying their lifestyle and easy sociability And when that turned out not to be the case I also wondered if it wasn’t simply a matter of time: Perhaps the pandemic had slowed an already slower way of doing business But as I sat again in that same restaurant from the first night it seemed to me that Sicily would be just fine Maybe the slower pace was not a flaw that would eventually be overcome but instead a feature that would ensure Sicily remains alluringly and unequivocally itself different peoples have been arriving on these shores for millennia They may leave an imprint; they may shape the culture But it’s clear that a distinctively Sicilian spirit still dominates From left: Mussomeli is one of the most popular towns in Sicily for one-euro home programs; Sambuca di Sicilia was a prominent trading hub centuries ago but this time for reasons slightly more personal Because I had seen enough one-euro homes to know that my powers of imagination were no match for their state of decrepitude As soon as she pushed open the doors to the arched courtyard The rooms were rundown and furnished with old-fashioned chandeliers and faded wallpaper with intact walls and floors covered with gorgeous patterned tiles there was an attached space that would make a perfect rental apartment two rooftop terraces offered views of the town center in one direction “Fifty thousand euros,” Licata told me with a wink “But that’s just what the owner’s asking.” The money in my bank account had not magically grown during my time in Sicily AFAR participates in affiliate marketing programs which means we may earn a commission if you purchase an item featured on our site.© 2025 AFAR LLC “There is a new estate agent, restaurant, café and food shop, while two ceramics workshops have opened,” Giuseppe Cacioppo said. “And there’s the €20 million we think people will spend doing up their new homes.” It has been three years since Sambuca, a hilltop town south of Palermo on the west of Sicily, announced that it was selling empty houses cheap to reverse years of emigration that reduced the population from 9,000 to about 5,000. The winding alleys of the old town have attracted people from around the worldALAMYMany of the homes needed renovation and repair after an earthquake in 1968. But officials hoped that the winding alleys The Sunday TimesFinding an unknown corner in one of our favourite countries is the holy grail for tourists For locals seeking to attract visitors it’s a different matter Which is why the hilltop town of Sambuca di Sicilia a little over an hour’s drive south of Palermo but far off the radar for most holidaymakers is trying to whip up some enthusiasm and put itself on the map First of all it offered abandoned homes for sale at €1 a pop – the Sopranos actor Lorraine Bracco was among those who took advantage snapping up a 200-year-old house with no electricity or running water which has its own newly renovated €1 house in Sambuca Last month it ran a dream-job competition: the winner will live rent-free in the house for a year on the condition they let out the spare bedroom for nine months (they get to keep all of the rental income) Inside Airbnb’s slickly renovated €1 house in SambucaAIRBNBHigh unemployment in Sicily’s rural core has driven many young Sicilians away to the mainland’s prosperous cities says: “We’re looking for someone who wants to live with the local population and participate in all the important moments of the community We can’t wait to welcome whoever gets selected.” but I visited to find out what hope there is for tourism in the area My first impression was how gorgeous it all was — the countryside is an unspoilt patchwork of olive groves while Sambuca is filled with beautiful baroque churches and its Arab quarter is a maze of stone streets dating back to the 9th century The Airbnb house is a few steps from a little ceramic shop a restaurant and the spectacular panorama at Terrazzo Belvedere an observation deck at the highest point in the town from where my partner and I enjoyed a picnic in pindrop silence Sambuca is bigger than I thought it would be: 6,000 people live here and everyone I passed in the street smiled warmly I was the first to stay in Airbnb’s new dilapidated-to-designer home two-bedroom house has been transformed with help from Studio Didea I liked the mix of new and old; vaulted ceilings exposed stone and original floor tiles contrasting with a contemporary crimson staircase and poured concrete floors Designer flourishes include Marset lighting and CC-Tapis rugs plus fixtures and fittings in the kitchen and three bathrooms by Kos The quayside in SciaccaALAMYDo not expect high-end hotel vibes; this is deep countryside after all and 21st-century Sambuca is a work in progress Some of the roads had been dug up and there was plumbing we strolled along the sun-soaked streets lined with orange trees for a pick-me-up at Bar Caruso: espresso and Sambuca’s most famous dessert minni di virgini – pastries in the shape of breasts A clutch of locals gathered around outside for a gossip who showed us some old snaps of himself performing as a drummer In Sambuca’s centre we took a look around Palazzo Panitteri a stately 17th-century building once owned by a noble family which became municipality property after the ravages of the 1968 Belice earthquake One of the palazzo’s wings houses an archaeological museum displaying Greek-Punic finds from the ancient city of Adranon — on the top of nearby Monte Adranone The €1 house has contemporary interiorsAIRBNBThe palazzo is also the headquarters of La Strada del Vino Terre Sicane a wine route heading towards Sciacca on the coast that encompasses Sambuca and the pretty towns and villages of Contessa Entellina led us on a tour and tasting at the Ulmo estate around Lago Arancio The Planeta family has owned this land for more than three centuries including the locally grown chardonnay that made the winemaker a household name in the 1990s while demolishing platters of sfincione (cloudlike Sicilian pizza) local nocellara del Belice olives and deep-fried artichokes You can borrow bikes for a leisurely cycle around the 222-acre estate while April to June are the best months for treks in the surrounding hills we ate Alessia Pasini’s still-warm ricotta an artisan cheesemaker in the hills surrounding Sambuca We were offered a glass of breakfast wine (we opted for freshly squeezed Sicilian orange juice instead) and were plied with primosale and stravecchio di pecora cheeses homemade caponata (a stewed vegetable medley with fried aubergine as the star) and the best ricotta-filled cannoli I’ve ever eaten The bucolic views (complete with cockerels crowing in the background) were almost never-ending a volcanic island 37 miles from the Tunisian coast Sicilians love Pasini’s ricotta — as we grazed a steady stream of people popped by to pick up their daily helping and ask us how we were enjoying Sicily — and we felt enmeshed in the Sambucan community when we spotted her in the town the next day and gave her a wave The ricotta-filled cannoli Victoria tried in SambucaVICTORIA BRZEZINSKISciacca (pronounced “shack-a”) is a pretty port town about 30 minutes’ drive from Sambuca It is home to Sicily’s second-largest fishing fleet so there are plenty of great seafood restaurants serving up the daily catch At Hostaria del Vicolo we sampled raw prawns and local fish plus a pasta dish with a palpable Arabic influence — tagliatelle with red mullet Two of Sciacca’s best (and relatively uncrowded) beaches are at San Marco and Contrada Sobareto or take a short drive west for more unspoilt stretches of sand around Menfi I found the town vibey and fun; our Sciacca tour guides were Desiree and Anna volunteers with an infectious energy from the Museo Diffuso dei 5 Sensi a sort of open-air museum offering cultural experiences across the whole town with a smattering of history We had a go at making jewellery from Sciacca coral a submerged volcanic island about halfway between Sciacca’s coast and Pantelleria Desiree and Anna took us on a visit to the Dedalo caves which according to local legend was the home of Kronos For centuries the vaporous caves have been revered for their healing properties The steamy heat was like stepping into the bowels of the Earth It was one of the many highlights of our trip bounteous food and wine and a splendid coastline to explore this patch of southwest Sicily might be secret now the historic Mayfield Road in Cleveland and many more But something rather fascinating has happened: across the Atlantic Italy’s first “Little America” is taking shape Sambuca di Sicilia located about 40 miles southwest of Palermo gained a reputation as one of the first places in the country to sell off old houses for next to nothing The city’s leaders and residents have welcomed a wave of mostly Americans who moved in to snap up bargain properties within the comune, CNN Travel reports Sambuca has attracted many who were inspired to buy because they wanted to revive an aging town that is steeped in history several other Italian towns and villages have followed suit and the buy-for-cheap concept is paying off perhaps there will be many more Little Americas to visit Read more on the story here Make a pledge and become a member of Italian Sons and Daughters of America today. The Telegraph spotlights 21 places most of us don't even think of when it comes to Italian destinations enjoy the peaceful relaxation of this modern beach setting from the romantic hauntings of a garden-rich hotels and restaurants in the untapped region ISDA has kept its strong sense of community alive and thriving to become one of the largest and most financially successful Italian American organizations in the country We now unite Italian Americans across states nationwide to celebrate our culture and preserve the traditions our ancestors brought with them from Italy Share your email address with us Italian Sons & Daughters of America 419 Wood St. © 2025 Italian Sons & Daughters of America The Bordeaux couple, Eva and Mathieu, were selected from almost 100,000 applications to relocate to Sicily, become part of the community and welcome guests into their bookable home With the newfound flexibility to live and work remotely Mathiue also plans to continue with his job in finance in the idyllic Italian village while Eva wants to organize yoga classes for the local community Speaking during a welcoming event organized by the local community Mayor Leonardo Ciaccio explained what the arrival of the French family means for the village “It gives me great joy to see how this campaign We are so proud of the restored home – it’s a gem of a building in the center of our village And seeing a young family move into it personifies the renaissance of Sambuca We are sure you will be amazing hosts and neighbors.” an Airbnb Superhost explained: “This really is a dream come true and we couldn’t believe it when we heard we’d been selected To get this incredible welcome from the local community makes things extra special and we can’t wait to settle into the beautiful restored home and get to know everyone in Sambuca properly We’re also really excited to share our enthusiasm for this magical village with our first guests.” The three-story traditional home is located in Sambuca which was made famous thanks to its recent “1 Euro House” campaign Sambuca is suffering from a declining population so it launched the “1 Euro House” campaign in 2019 to promote cultural heritage The spacious building spans three floors, with plenty of room to work remotely and to host. Airbnb guests will be made comfortable in the luxuriously appointed master bedroom with private bathroom during their stays and Mattie and Eva. They have already received their first booking for the home with stays taking place beginning August 1. Anyone wishing to book a stay with the family can do so here Do you dream of riding a vintage bicycle around cobbled streets Of going to the market to pick up burrata and fresh tomatoes for lunch Of stopping for an espresso with the vecchi signori in the Mediterranean sunshine and you could do them for as little as a dollar The Sicilian town of Sambuca is selling off houses for just 1 euro ($1.14) to encourage people to move there and provide a boom to its economy Sambuca isn't the first commune in Italy to encourage repopulation this way as residents continue to move to urban areas In January 2018 the Sardinian town of Ollolai announced that it was selling 200 houses for 1 euro to attract new residents the town's population has declined to just 1,300 people from 2,250 Read more: An Italian village is selling homes for $1.25 so it doesn't become a ghost town Sambuca says they're doing things differently "As opposed to other towns that have merely done this for propaganda, this city hall owns all 1-euro houses on sale," Giuseppe Cacioppo, Sambuca's deputy mayor and tourist councilor, told CNN "We're not intermediaries who liaise between old and new owners which range from 40 square meters to 150 square meters (430 square feet to 1,614 square feet) and you have to commit to spending at least 15,000 euros (about $17,200) on renovations within three years of purchase You'll also need to fork out a 5,000-euro ($5,700) security deposit which will be returned once the renovation is complete Cacioppo said this is a small price to pay for a property in the "City of Splendor." "This fertile patch of land is dubbed the Earthly Paradise," he told CNN Cacioppo told CNN that the town has already received plenty of interest from buyers flabbergasted by all this beauty," he said "Some 10 houses have already been sold," he said "Dozens of others are available but badly in need of a makeover We've been contacted by people from Switzerland and Spain and are receiving many requests." email: case1euro@comune.sambucadisicilia.ag.it Not if the town mayor has anything to say about it Read more: A picturesque town in Sicily is selling off homes for $1 to anyone willing to renovate them which ranged from 40 square meters to 150 square meters (430 square feet to 1,600 square feet) and buyers had to commit to spending at least €15,000 (about $17,200) on improvements within three years of purchase this seemed like a small price to pay for the foreigners who flocked to Palermo this week for the auction of the first 16 houses owned by the municipality According to The Guardian's Italy correspondent Lorenzo Tondo the cheapest property was sold for €1,000 ($1,120) the most expensive went for €25,000 ($28,080) and the rest averaged between €5,000 and €10,000 ($5,620-$11,230) Cacioppo added that a further 50 houses had been sold privately to foreign buyers "Between private homes and houses owned by the municipality we have received investments totalling €1 million [$1.2 million] It is a real treasure for a small city like ours," the deputy mayor told Tondo One of the homes was even purchased by the Discovery Channel who intend to document renovations on the property and life in Sambuca The show will be presented by the actor Lorraine Bracco Cacioppo told the Thomson Reuters Foundation that the influx of foreign investment was "an invasion — but a positive one!" Nicknamed "The City of Splendor," Sambuca boasts an enviable vicinity to the coast Sambuca isn't the first or last commune in Italy to encourage repopulation this way as residents continue to move to urban areas the Sardinian town of Ollolai announced that it was selling 200 houses for €1 to attract new residents Locana, in northern Italy went a step further and actually offered to pay people €9,000 ($10,200) to move there — as long as they had a child and a salary Most recently, Zungoli in the Campania region, and Mussomeli, in Sicily also announced they would be selling homes for just $1 — as long as residents committed to refurbishing their properties Italy's rural housing sale could be a model for the rest of the world to follow '+n.escapeExpression("function"==typeof(o=null!=(o=r(e,"eyebrowText")||(null!=l?r(l,"eyebrowText"):l))?o:n.hooks.helperMissing)?o.call(null!=l?l:n.nullContext||{},{name:"eyebrowText",hash:{},data:t,loc:{start:{line:28,column:63},end:{line:28,column:78}}}):o)+" \n '+(null!=(o=c(e,"if").call(r,null!=l?c(l,"cta2PreText"):l,{name:"if",hash:{},fn:n.program(32,t,0),inverse:n.noop,data:t,loc:{start:{line:63,column:20},end:{line:63,column:61}}}))?o:"")+"\n"+(null!=(o=(c(e,"ifAll")||l&&c(l,"ifAll")||n.hooks.helperMissing).call(r,null!=l?c(l,"cta2Text"):l,null!=l?c(l,"cta2Link"):l,{name:"ifAll",hash:{},fn:n.program(34,t,0),inverse:n.noop,data:t,loc:{start:{line:64,column:20},end:{line:70,column:30}}}))?o:"")+" has realised that simply offering dream homes for the price of an espresso no longer works: as many 16 other towns have already signed up for the scheme so we have decided to throw in tax cuts as well,” said Milko Cinà The auction there inspired the hamlet of Bivona to follow suitLO BIANCO/REX FEATURESNestling inside a natural rocky amphitheatre at the heart of a protected rural area threaded by streams and only a 40-minute drive from beaches Bivona is topped by a castle and a warren of alleys dating from the Arab occupation a thousand years ago Lorraine Bracco purchased an abandoned home in Sambuca di Sicilia She chronicles her renovation efforts in My Big Italian Adventure on HGTV An American actor buys a 200-year-old Italian home for 1 euro Lorraine Bracco is best known for her roles in The Sopranos and Goodfellas. In her new HGTV show, My Big Italian Adventure Bracco renovates — really renovates — the abandoned house she bought in Sicily The home she purchased was one of a handful of properties in Sambuca di Sicilia offered for a single euro — with the requirement that the new owners would spend a boatload of money fixing up the dilapidated homes Many of these homes fell into disrepair after the 1968 Belice earthquake were either abandoned in 1968 because of the earthquake and/or .. the family just didn't have any more family to pass it down to." She says her children were unfazed: "When I told them that I wanted to do this it's not crazier than anything else you've ever wanted to do Bracco says she's a big fan of HGTV and it occurred to her that this project would be a fun renovation show "Little did I know that there were 16 houses and there were 100,000 emails [from] people all over the world for these homes," she says But Bracco got her house and became the owner of a little piece of property in Sambuca "Nobody in their right mind would have bought this you had to have that adventurous spirit and I sadly have that," she laughs Bracco dreamed of turning her 1-euro wreck into a warm She says she has had many homes in her life and she considers it a "huge compliment" when visitors tell her: "Oh She says this house struck her as one that had potential: In addition to having good bones And she was blown away by the craftsmanship I saw these beautiful tiled floors under 3 inches of dust and dirt," she recalls The people who built this house — God bless them — they were incredible artists Bracco's paternal grandparents were born in Sicily so she has a family connection to the place but she hasn't had the opportunity to really get to know it "I can't wait to go there and spend two or three months in the house living in Sambuca," she says "I've not been able to do that because of COVID "It was just so sweet when I would wait at the cheese shop or go to the grocery store or the hardware store As for whether she'd recommend this sort of adventure to others dream big — you don't know what's out there." Sophia Boyd and Melissa Gray produced and edited this interview for broadcast Become an NPR sponsor So it was that at 11 o’clock on a Thursday morning in March I joined a small crowd gathered outside the arched town hall at the top of the rather grand corso in Sambuca di Sicilia as showcased in the Inspector Montalbano TV series But it is still well stocked with baroque churches palazzos and the best-preserved Arabic quarter on the island My similarly seduced companions included a television crew from Cologne; a couple of prospective buyers from Szczecin Poland; a passing tourist from Strasbourg; an empty-nested This as-told-to essay is based on an interview with Tam and Gary Holm, a Californian couple who bought homes in Sambuca di Sicilia It's been edited for length and clarity, and timed to be released with a YouTube documentary. Tam: I remember reading an article online in 2019 about the one-euro homes when Gary worked in England, much closer to Sicily than our hometown I wrote to the email address provided in the article and got a response from the actual mayor of Sambuca di Sicilia He said there were tours of the town and the houses they were selling for one euro ($1.08) Gary: She did the tour and saw the properties 'Are they really selling these houses for one euro?.' It turned out that the auctions started at a euro We ended up bidding €5,000 for one and lost Tam: If you were lucky enough to get one of the one-euro houses it meant we had to figure it out all alone Tam: We'd bought a couple of houses in America before Gary: The way they do real estate in Italy involves getting a notaio essentially a lawyer who draws up a legal contract with the owner which requires the people listed on the deed to be present with the new people wanting to buy the property the brother lived in America and hadn't been here for a decade we had to figure out to get him to Sambuca to sign the paperwork so we could buy his house Gary: There was a convoluted way we could have gotten him to an embassy in Washington, DC, but it would have been a whole thing it turned out that he had wanted to visit his family So we were able to all be here and sign at the same time Tam: Meeting a guy who hadn't been home in 10 years was super fun Gary: The family has essentially adopted us now They were selling their mother's home that they didn't live in; it hadn't been lived in for 20 years Tam: Our initial investment on the house was €19,000 ($20,581) We went in thinking we would just need to paint it nicely we realized that the place right next door had just gone up for sale and it's a house that shares three walls with other houses so the only way to make the place bigger would be with one of the adjacent houses Tam: Purchasing a property is a little different from American real estate because instead of it being a percentage-based commission that the real-estate agent takes We had to do that twice — a big expense we weren't expecting Gary: Another big expense was that we thought we could just put a hole in the wall between the two houses But it turned out that one had a lower floor than the other so the engineering side cost a lot of money Our whole costings were around $160,000 ($173,296) Gary: I think one of the things I fell in love with during all this was the people of Sambuca Everyone has been super welcoming and friendly and it's a small town that feels very international Tam: There are also people who have lived here for generations and generations and ready to make friends with people from around the world Gary: Everyone we have talked to in this town has had a great experience so I think it tells you something about the people They see the value in outsiders boosting the economy and tourism I think that the one-euro program was brilliant because it gave some people a chance to get houses for very little money You get to live this sort of dream; who doesn't want to have a house in Italy? Tam: Before coming to Sambuca for the program, I'd never been to Sicily, and we knew nothing about Sicily A home for a Euro or getting paid to move to an idyllic Italian village may seem like a dream come true but it pays to do some research before you take advantage of the much-publicised schemes in Locana or Sambuca Homes & Property | Where to live renting and decorating in London from our award-winning experts I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice here are some things to consider before you set off for a life among the olive groves and lemon trees many rural villages suffer with falling population says Simone Rossi MD of leading Italian property portal Gate-away.com and this scheme is a fantastic opportunity to breathe life back into abandoned homes “First the selling price of €1 is just a symbolic cost,” adds Rossi “Properties are assigned to future owners by public auction and the bidding starts at €1 Also there are other expenses buyers must face such as the security deposit "In the case of Sambuca di Sicilia that is a €5,000 guarantee which is returned once the property is fully refurbished Buyers must commit to spending a minimum of €15,000 on refurbishing the property and completing the work within three years.” There are also pros and cons in buying directly from the Town Hall On one hand all the paperwork will be in place says Rossi however you will not have the services and assistance you get from a reputable real estate agency Sambuca di Sicilia is a picturesque village winner of the most beautiful village in Italy in 2016 close to the sea at Menfi and the archaeological park of Selinute like many others offered in Italian villages is an excellent way for buyers to bag an Italian home at very affordable prices points out Rossi “We see many international buyers looking for homes in Italy and searching for a location where they can live like locals among Italian people,” concludes Rossi “Bear in mind however that in Sambuca di Sicilia the chances are that your neighbour might well be a non-Italian.” is well off the normal tourist trail in the southwest of Sicily 1.5 hours drive from Palermo and half an hour from the fishing town of Sciacca Best known for its thermal spa, Baroque architectures and wonderful seafood – much of it exported as far as Japan – Sciacca also one of Italy’s most flamboyant Easter Carnivals five days of celebration based around music artfully masked revellers and impressive costumes This is certainly traditional and off-the-radar Sicily yet it is also home to one of Italy’s best golf and spa resorts owned by Rocco Forte opened in 2009 fifteen minutes from Sciacca and just over one hour from Sambuca di Sicilia a mile of Mediterranean coastline and four restaurants five-star Verdura has transformed this quiet corner of Sicily An ideal if pricey base for home buyers while they are renovating their Sambuca homes perhaps Be warned though: overall the infrastructure in the south and west lags significantly behind the rest of the island remember that the beautiful but often crumbling historic homes —– with small windows and thick walls to keep homes cool — were not designed for modern living that authentic Italian lifestyle of long sun-soaked days Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean with a beautiful 600-mile coastline have created a unique patchwork of history and architecture From its Byzantine flourishes and baroque towns to its intimate seaside resorts the island is both supremely Italian and uniquely Sicilian Sicily also offers a guaranteed climate of sunshine and warmth and a delightfully affordable cost of living that is Sicily has never matched the popularity of Sardinia for second-home buyers thanks predominantly to a shortage of new-build properties and poor infrastructure in areas easy access through airports and the opportunity to live like a local are all on the wish list of most buyers who generally stay close to the coast Favourite areas include beautiful Taormina and Syracuse on the east coast and Cefalù in the north “To buy inland I would advise that you speak some Italian,” suggests Linda Travella of Casa Travella (www.casatravella.com) That would definitely include Sambuca di Sicilia where an influx of foreign property buyers snapping up €1 homes could well find their rudimentary Italian sorely tested Palermo airport provides good access to the centre and south Catania gets you to Taormina or Syracuse within forty minutes Modica and the southeast while rapidly expanding Trapani airport serves the west coast Italy places no restrictions on foreigners owning property but while the buying process is relatively straightforward it does differ to many other countries Be prepared by obtaining an Italian tax code number from a local tax office in Italy or the Italian consulate in the country where you live and then opening an Italian bank account Also bear in mind that Italy has its own inheritance laws and it is advisable to draw up a separate Italian will for the property Under the country’s ‘forced heirship’ rules a set percentage of any estate must be left to a surviving spouse A carefully drafted will is crucial for proper Buying costs in Italy are higher than the UK and differ depending on whether the purchase is a holiday/ investment home or a primary residence budget for between 10 and 15 per cent of the purchase price The buying process itself begins with a written proposal of purchase At this point the vendor can still consider other options When the offer is accepted a deposit is usually paid and the notary draws up the preliminary sale contract This is a legally binding contract signed by both parties with a full description of the property for sale and outlines the sale price Surveys and searches should be carried out before the compromesso di vendita is signed is signed in front of the notary by both the buyer and seller or someone with the power of attorney to sign on their behalf The outstanding balance plus all fees and taxes is paid at this point The notary will then issue the deeds and register them at the Land Registry the presence of a notary figure (notaio) is compulsory VE Day 2025 fashion: best looks from the day VE Day 2025 fashion: Princess of Wales to Lady Victoria Starmer Prince Louis steals the show at VE Day parade as he keeps dad William looking sharp and mimics brother George Prince Louis steals show with sweet antics at VE parade Ukraine 'launches stunning Kursk offensive' in major blow for Putin ahead of Victory Day celebrations Ukraine 'launches stunning Kursk offensive' in blow for Putin David Beckham extends olive branch to son Brooklyn amid 'family feud' New visa crackdown as Home Office plans to restrict applications from nationalities most likely to overstay New visa crackdown as Home Office plans to restrict applications where the council offices on Corso Umberto have been closed for more than three hours “They’re calling from Sydney, London, New York,” says the exhausted deputy mayor, Giuseppe Cacioppo. A week after the town announced it was putting up abandoned homes for sale at a euro each he has fielded requests for information from all over the globe By Wednesday last week the council had received more than 300 calls and 94,000 emails grabbed the first available flight to Palermo about an hour’s drive from the Sicilian capital In the town hall’s minuscule waiting room there are not enough seats for the dozens of visitors who have come from as far away as Panama Boston and Dubai to get their hands on one of these famed homes for the cost of an espresso They’re waiting anxiously for Cacioppo to take them on a guided tour of the ruins that are up for sale It is quite a sight for 63-year-old Franco Lo Vecchio Curious to see what the chatter is all about he has rushed out of his house in the nearby Saraceno quarter in his slippers looking at the long queue of foreigners who have come to see what’s on offer It’s been a long time since so many people have gathered in the streets of Sambuca: once a bustling town of 9,000 people, it now has about 5,000. Like many small towns in southern Italy it has been gradually abandoned by citizens seeking work elsewhere “The decline began with the industrialisation of the agricultural sector when machines replaced human labour and forced many peasants to abandon the fields,” says Lo Vecchio who used to work as a French language teacher the earthquake struck and even more families began abandoning their homes.” injuring more than 1,000 and leaving 100,000 homeless built around 1420 on part of the ancient Arab castle of Zabut in the oldest part of town The story of the Lo Vecchio family reflects the history of Sambuca and the emigratory trend that threatens its survival Franco’s grandfather left for the US in search of work and his daughter has now settled in Australia Franco returned to Sambuca three years ago “I was struck by the deserted roads and by the silence where once the voices of thousands of people echoed in the squares,” he says now seemed a cemetery for the living dead.” Visitors from London outside Sambuca’s Chiesa Madres Photograph: Alessio Mamo/The Observer“Some people think that’s all it takes – the cost of a cup of coffee,” says Cacioppo If those who participate do not bid higher the house will be sold for the price of a croissant.” Currently there are 17 council-owned homes for sale in Sambuca Another 400 privately owned homes may yet come up for sale because they have been abandoned The majority of the dwellings date from the mid-1800s; many of them were damaged in the earthquake and abandoned immediately after which once belonged to a local carabinieri officer a calendar on the wall is turned to July 1967 “There is much potential in these homes,” says Nick a 46-year-old property developer from London who did not want his surname to be published when he read an article about the sale of homes for a euro in a delightful Sicilian town We left the boarding queue for London and ran to the first ticket counter to purchase a flight to Palermo.” Sambuca sits on a hill above the Belice valley about an hour from Palermo Photograph: Alessio Mamo/The ObserverPolish couple Urszula and Maciej Kuziemska couldn’t resist either and came to Sambuca in the hope of buying a romantic pied-à-terre away from the big city came from Panama to propose buying several homes in Sambuca for a group of investors and Ammar Alansari came from the United Arab Emirates He says he was bewitched by Sicily’s Arab architecture and culture Franco Lo Vecchio looks at them with curiosity The people of Sambuca have largely embraced the mayor’s plan seeing it as a courageous act – a last-ditch effort to bring Sambuca back from its terminal illness Some believe there’s no way Sambuca can be saved from the decline history has reserved for small towns in southern Italy She regrets having returned to Sicily from Switzerland three years ago leaving a job where she earned about £2,700 a month Standing in front of her cafe on the deserted Corso Umberto she lights a cigarette and contemplates the streets of Sambuca “I still don’t know why I came back to work in a deserted bar where I’m forced to close two hours early because the place is totally empty Will houses on sale for a euro help this town While potential buyers seek shelter from the rain, the restoration of the Chiesa Madre continues. For the first time since the earthquake the church reopened last week just in time for the new visitors to admire it It is a fitting metaphor for Sambuca: a town that after 50 years refuses to disappear and will do anything it takes to survive even if it means selling its homes for the price of a coffee This is the archive of The Observer up until 21/04/2025 The Observer is now owned and operated by Tortoise Media.