Another Italian village rents out houses - for ten kroner

Italian villages such as Salemi in Sicily and Santo Stefano di Sessanio in Abruzzo have recently sold old houses at low prices to save their economies and attract new residents.

Now another village joins the crowd.

The picturesque small mountain community of Castropignano in southern Molise, about 224 kilometers south of Rome, now offers those who want to buy a house for one euro, which is equivalent to about ten kronor, reports CNN.

- I want to stop the decay and keep the village alive, says Mayor Nicola Scapillati.

The village is marketed as extremely quiet, with nice surrounding nature, oxygen-rich air, fantastic views and as a "detox" from the daily stress.

But there are conditions.

The buyer undertakes to renovate the house within three years and also add a down payment of 2000 euros, which is refunded when the renovation is completed.

Do not want real estate boom

In total, there are about a hundred older properties in Castropignano that are considered abandoned or otherwise severely neglected in the maintenance that will now find new owners.

And the price tag is fixed - the important thing is, according to the mayor, that it is the right buyer.

- Without renovation, these buildings are a danger, they can collapse at any minute.

It is also a question of making the village safer, says Nicola Scapillati.

His hope now is that the project will primarily attract people who want to run a bed and breakfast, a shop, a craft store or just want a unique home.

This is because Castropignano, like many other smaller communities in the country, has been hit hard by depopulation and unemployment as a result of financial crises and now a pandemic.

At the same time, they are strongly characterized by an aging population where 60 percent of the inhabitants of, for example, Castropignano today are over 70 years old.

Many have heard of it

- This is a targeted and tailored operation.

"People need to know exactly what they are signing up for," Nicola Scapillati told CNN.

- I do not want my city to be invaded by speculators or transformed into a commercial place for real estate development.

According to Nicola Scapillati, who herself will mediate contact between sellers and buyers, a dozen interested people from all over Europe have already heard from her.