A town in Italy is offering a £25,000 payout to people willing to buy a house and move there.
The ancient town of Presicce in the Puglia region says it will pay people to live there in the hope that new life will be breathed into its dwindling community, which is filled with dilapidated homes.
Presicce is just a 15-minute drive from the pristine beaches of Italy’s south-east shoreline, including Santa Maria di Leuca. Presicce is hundreds of years old and used to be known as the ‘city of green gold’ due to its expansive olive industry
To qualify for the cash incentive, one must purchase a house in the village built before 1991, with details available on the local government’s website. The lowest-priced homes there are small apartments in need of repair.
It’s not the first time that Italian government officials will splash the cash to rejuvenate rural areas across the country.
The ancient town of Presicce has a post office, supermarkets and a bank. The cinema has been abandoned.
According to a local councillor, the money can be used towards both the purchase of a home and renovating it, with homes on sale there from just over £21,000.
‘We will be offering up to 30,000 euros to people willing to move here and buy one of these abandoned dwellings,’ Alfredo Palese told CNN.
‘The total funding will be split in two: It will go partly into buying an old home and partly into restyling it, if needed.’
‘There are many empty homes in the historical centre built before 1991 which we would like to see alive again with new residents,’ Palese continued.
‘It is a pity witnessing how our old districts full of history, wonderful architecture and art are slowly emptying.’