Italy: Sicily town offers villas for $2

To stimulate investments, the Sicilian village of Salemi is giving its dilapidated buildings away. A 1968 earthquake killed 200 people and reducing thousands of buildings to rubble. The town was rebuilt down the hill, but the historical center has been a ghost town ever since. The ruins are frozen in time and now Salemi is taking an unusual step to reincarnate the old town by giving the dilapidated villas away. The city’s new mayor, Vittorio Sgarbi, is offering 3,000 of the villas for 1 euro a piece. The catch? The new owners have 2 years to renovate, staying true to each building’s original characteristics and, when possible, using the area’s local artisans, masons and builders. The idea is to attract foreign investors interested in a remote Sicilian escape for vacations or businesses. The authorities also hope the plan will turn Salemi into a boomtown, employing hundreds of out-of-work locals in construction and renovation projects. Unemployment hovers around 30 % in this part of Italy. Agents involved in the sale say there has been plenty of interest. David Moss, who runs MIPC, a bilingual Italian property consultancy with offices in London and Italy, says he has received nearly 2,000 inquiries from interested buyers. He plans to offer a free downloadable letter-of-intent to his website for those who want to go directly to the Salemi city council. Whoever signs on must be willing to pay around $100,000 in renovation costs to bring the villas up to snuff.

Bron: Newsweek (17-09-2008)

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