Presicce, situated in a charming province in southern Italy, is offering people over $30,000 to move there
Dreaming about packing up and moving somewhere off the grid? A small, beautiful Italian town could be your next destination.
Presicce – situated in the charming southern Puglia province known for its lush farmland and Mediterranean coastline – is offering people over $30,000 to move there amid a dwindling local population.
But what’s the catch?
To get the money, one must move to the town and buy a home built before 1991, because part of those funds must be used for renovations and redecorations. Similar schemes have been used in other parts of Italy, including the island of Sardinia which offered $15,000 to potential residents as well as the region of Calabria which dished out $33,000.
“In Italy, there are about 74 towns currently offering [$1] homes or something similar. There aren’t any public registries of these projects, but there’s an estimate of 5,000-7,000 people who have taken advantage,” said Elisa Serafini, a journalist from Milan.
“Italy is experiencing a huge demographic crisis, so there might be even more of these initiatives in the future,” she told i24NEWS. The journalist said the “demographic crisis” in Italy involves a higher rate of people aging than they are being born, tacked on with the lack of immigration.
“These towns, especially in the south, also have their challenges. You either love them or you hate them. It might be difficult to have access to infrastructure or to get internet. But you also have high-quality food, weather, and anything culture-related,” Serafini explained.
But who can make the move? And how would they go about it?
The Italian journalist noted that there are some private websites and blogs to look up information, such as 1eurohouses.com, which target not only Italians but foreigners as well.
“Foreigners cannot become Italian citizens, unless they live there for 10 or more years or if they have Italian grandparents. But one big advantage is tax breaks. There are great tax incentives for people living in the south, but it’s still not easy to live there.”
