According to a CNN report on March 17, the town of Pennne, located in the Abruzzo region of central Italy, is selling properties for just €1 in an effort to combat depopulation and prevent the town from falling into disrepair.
Gilberto Petrucci, the mayor of Pennne, described the town as an "open-air museum," featuring both medieval and Renaissance-style architecture. However, since World War II, a significant portion of the population has moved abroad or relocated to larger nearby cities for work, leaving the town at risk of becoming a "ghost town," according to the mayor.
Currently, around 40 vacant homes in the town center are in search of new owners. In 2022, the local government launched the €1 housing program to revitalize the town, and so far, six properties have been sold, most of them to Italian buyers. A few more houses will become available in the coming weeks, with the only condition being that buyers must commit to renovating the properties.
The mayor emphasized that buyers are not required to pay a deposit but must pledge to complete renovations within three years.
"It just hurts me so much to see these houses just lying there abandoned. It's a like a wound," said Petrucci.
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