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Buy a Sicilian villa... for only 1 euro!

by Anna Brones (RSS feed) on Sep 17th 2008 at 4:00PM

Vacation homes abroad don't scream cheap, so when I saw that the mayor of the hilltop town Salemi in Sicily was selling old stone villas for a mere euro (that's about $1.42 at today's exchange rate) I knew there had to be a catch. There is.

The picturesque villas were damaged in the 1968 earthquake and since then have remained unoccupied and left to deteriorate. Then again an old fixer-upper in a charming Sicilian village sort of sounds appealing. That's Mayor Vittorio Sgarbi's idea; he wants to get residents to restore the villas to their original character. Once you buy a villa, you have two years to restore it, complying with local architectural standards and hiring local builders, architects, decorators, etc. in order to stimulate the local economy.

Granted you're probably going to have to factor in 100,000€ ($142,000) for the restoration process, but hey, if you have a hundred grand to spend, isn't a fabulous vacation villa in Italy worth it?

Still tempted? Go the the mayor's website and find out more.

[Via Intelligent Traveler]

Filed under: Business, Europe, Italy, News

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Paul Sep 18th 2008 10:47AM

I had the great good fortune to be able to visit Sicily this past November. I found it to be an amazing and beautiful place. I would love to be in a position to be able to take advantage of this opportunity. It's not so much the expense of the renovations that causes me to stop, it's all the other related expenses. Time off from employment, travel expense, covering costs at home while gone, etc. This isn't an offer for those without substantial means. Great idea though. Best of luck to those who can..........

Kathy, Dream of Italy Sep 25th 2008 1:39PM

While I think this is a brilliant concept in bringing life back to Sicilian towns, I wonder about the hassle-factor. It would take an adventurous and patient person to take on this deal as building and renovating in Italy can take years due to the bureaucracy etc.

If you're interested in visiting Italy, you can get Dream of Italy's free Special Report: Sicily here:
http://www.dreamofitaly.com/public/424.cfm

MIPC Oct 3rd 2008 4:24AM

It's a fantastic idea. The mayor & his council are marketing gurus. YOu can apply for one of these houses at MIPC italian property, they have an automated free application procedure. www.mipc.co.uk

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