Castropignano, the little Italian town that sells houses for one euro.
Of the grandeur of this medieval castle-topped town in the southern region of Molise, which attracted merchants and shoe buyers, not much remains today. Yes indeed, still retains the charm of an Italian villa surrounded by nature, quiet and with outstanding cuisine.
The town of Castropignano today it has about 923 residents, compared to 2,500 in the 1930s. After World War II, young people began to seek a better life in the big cities until today when the town has 60% of an aging population, with more than 70 years. Sounds familiar to us, right?
Depopulation is not the only thing your mayor fears, Nicola Scapillatti , a great lover and defender of the town, but rather insecurity, since most of the buildings are in poor condition and in danger of collapsing if restoration is not carried out soon. **The quickest solution has been to put them up for sale for one euro. **
Its medieval castle.
In this town, located in the region of Molise east of Lazio and between Abruzzo and Puglia on the southern Adriatic coast, very few tourists come here, and not because it is not beautiful but because of a lack of knowledge. Now it is possible that many put their eyes on this villa wanting to renew themselves.
In total about 100 buildings hope to find a new owner , after it has been the mayor himself who has encouraged their former owners to hand them over to the City Council (most have done so with delight because they fear more the costs of the collapse). But the procedure is somewhat different from what we have seen in other villages of houses for one euro in Sicily.
in Castropignano it is the mayor himself who decides who gets the houses . First you have to send him an email ([email protected]) applying as the new owner, telling him what your intentions are for the building, whether it is to convert it into a home, open an artisan shop or a B&B. And it is he who finally has the last word.
"I don't want my city to be overrun by a real estate stampede or to become the latest speculative deal," he tells CNN. The more specific the request, the easier it is to find the right home and get in touch with the current owner. .
To make his request official, Scapillati has sent a notice to Italian embassies abroad. The conditions to acquire the property are that buyers must renovate the property within three years from the purchase and deliver a guarantee of initial payment of 2,000 euros , which will be returned once the works are finished.