It’s pretty picturesque!
It’s not unusual to see towns in Italy selling houses incredibly cheaply, in order to encourage buyers to renovate dilapidated properties. However, the town of Laurenzana in the South of the Basilicata region has houses on the market for just €1, and buyers won’t even have to front a deposit to obtain one.
The Mayor of Laurenzana, Michele Ungaro, told CNN that the aim was to ‘help newcomers purchase the house of their dreams without making it hard for them to follow tedious procedures and tight requirements.’ So, it seems like a mutually beneficial agreement between the town and new buyers because as more and more of its residents have moved to Italy’s larger metropolitan areas the town has become depopulated.
Laurenzana is a picturesque, but very rural town. It’s about a 2 hours drive to both Parco Nazionale Laurenza Del Cilento and Parco Nazionale Laurenza Del Pollino – both incredible places to visit. Plus, the Southern coast of Italy, with its beautiful beaches, is only an hour’s drive away, so perfect for beach-lovers.
If you quite like the idea of your very own house in stunning Italy, you can find more details on how to express an interest in a property on the local council’s website. Italy still has regulations in place to limit the spread of Covid-19, so it is unlikely visitors from all over the world will be flocking to Laurenzana, having bought a house any time soon. However, when visitors are allowed again, wouldn’t it be fantastic to have a little house an hour from the beach?