Stunning Italian town selling homes for $1.60 to address population crisis

Bivona isn't the only underpopulated Italian town that's trying to turn around its luck. PHoto / 123RF

A couple of dollars can barely get you anything these days. Except, it seems, a rustic home in this stunning town in Italy.

Locals in the town of Bivona in Sicily are flogging homes for as little as one Euro — or $1.60 — in an attempt to revive the dwindling population.

There are about a dozen fixer-uppers up for grabs, CNN reports, and the town is also offering tax bonuses to any buyers who take up residency.

Locals say young people have deserted Bivona in favour of bigger cities, and it risks turning into a ghost town.

Bivona's culture councillor Angela Cannizzaro said the town wanted to return to its Renaissance-era glory days.

"In the last 40 years, our population has halved. Today we're down to just 3800 residents," she told CNN.

"We want to recover the lost grandeur of our greatest time in history, back in the Renaissance, when 8000 people lived in Bivona and it was a flourishing feudal duchy blessed by Emperor Charles V."

Bivona isn't the only underpopulated Italian town that's trying to turn around its luck by selling properties for a steal.

The Sicilian towns of Mussomeli and Sambuca are also selling ancient houses for just one Euro or less. Zungoli, near Naples, is doing the same. Going one step further, the town of Cammarata in Sicily is flogging homes for nothing.

The difference in Bivona is that it's asking buyers for a bond of about $4000 — significantly less than some other towns, which are asking for bonds of about $8000 for one-Euro homes.

Bivona has also set out a mandatory renovation period of four years, which is longer than other towns.

"Renovation can begin one year after all building permits are granted and must be completed within the following three. Also, there will be appealing tax bonuses for those who decide to take up residency and actually move here," Ms Cannizzaro said.

The state of the empty homes vary – some need a bit of sprucing, while others are nothing but stone walls.

Buyers who didn't want to live in Bivona can also develop their property into a rental.

So why would anyone want to move to Bivona?

Ms Cannizzaro said the town, which dated back to the Middle Ages, was "vibrant, packed with history and very welcoming", despite the empty homes.
It's surrounded by lush valleys that include olive and orange groves, almond plantations and peach trees.

"The fresh mountain air, the abundance of pristine rivers and stream water, the dense forests full of healing herbs and the colourful fruit orchards make it prosperous and healthy," the town's mayor Milko Cinà told CNN.

"There's no smog, no noise, just pure nature and a great panorama.

"A couple of Americans from Minneapolis recently visited. They were so fascinated by the place and the bucolic setting that they didn't want to leave."