The municipality's features: Get paid to move to a beautiful Italian mountain village

The relocation had been going on for decades.

Slowly but surely the village was emptied of people.  

Today, only 122 people live in Santo Stefano di Sessanio, in the region of Abruzzo, east of Rome.  

The young people move to the cities, small communities are emptied of life.

This is what urbanization looks like, in large parts of Europe and the western world.

But in Santo Stefano di Sessanio, municipal politicians did not content themselves with mourning the rapidly crumbling desolate houses, but made a decision

- We offer money for three years to people under the age of 40 who move here, says local politician Ciro Ranieri.

Over 30,000 requests

The municipality offers 8,000 euros a year, corresponding to just under 90,000 kronor a year.

In addition, those who move there and start a company also receive a grant for it, a lump sum of a maximum of SEK 220,000.

You also get help finding accommodation at a very low price.

The village's management is aimed primarily at Italians and EU citizens, but there has been great interest around the world. 

- We have received over 30,000 requests, we are completely overwhelmed, says Ciro Ranieri.

We talk as we walk along winding little streets where the abandoned houses are now filled with new life.

The beautiful view of the mountains is partly obscured by cranes, it is being renovated everywhere and there is great faith in the future.

- Those who want to apply for the grant must move here and live in the village and be under 40 years old and work here.

We want to get young people here, get families and children to live here, to create a future for our society and inspire other sparsely populated municipalities across Europe, says Ciro Ranieri.

"Has tripled my turnover"

One of the younger people who runs his own business in Santo Stefano di Sessanio is Valeria Gallese who has a shop that sells wool clothes from all the sheep of the region.

- I have tripled my turnover since I opened a store here.

I feel like I'm part of this village now, of the future.

But the most important thing is not the money, it is the quality of life, says Valeria Gallese and continues:

- Everything I could not get in the city I have here: a house, garden, own chickens, fresh air, close to nature, a completely different way of life than in the city.

I hope more people follow, that the moving trains start going towards the sparsely populated area again and not away from it!