Coronavirus free Italian town selling houses at merely $1
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Similar to the other towns in Italy with homes on the market for almost nothing, many of Cindquefrondi's young people have been moving away to search for jobs, causing a trend of depopulation.
As countries reopen and travel begins to resume in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, one small town in Italy is selling homes for just one dollar.
In the southern area of Calabria, the quaint community of Cinquefrondi overlooks picturesque coasts. Amid the ongoing pandemic, the town claims to be a "COVID-free village''.
With the hope of attracting more residents and revitalizing its urban areas, it's selling homes for just a little more than a dollar, calling the mission "Operation Beauty." Similar to the other towns in Italy with homes on the market for almost nothing, many of Cindquefrondi's young people have been moving away to search for jobs, causing a trend of depopulation.
Like many Italian villages and towns, Cinquefrondi has suffered from depopulation.
"Finding new owners for the many abandoned houses we have is a key part of the Operation Beauty [mission] that I have launched to recover degraded, lost parts of town," said Cinquefrondi Mayor Michele Conia.
"I grew up in Germany where my parents had migrated, then I came back to save my land. Too many people have fled from here over the decades, leaving behind empty houses. We can't succumb to resignation."
The new home owners will have to renovate their house within three years. As opposed to other Italian towns that have offered homes for a euro, Cinquefrondi won't require a hefty down payment the buyer must give up if they fail to renovate the home. The town only requires an annual €250 policy insurance fee until work on the home is complete.
If the new home owners don't revamp the home within the deadline, they're liable €20,000 fine. But the one-euro houses, which once belonged to farmers, shepherds, and artisans, are fairly small, so the three-year timeline seems doable.
Cinquefrondi has reported zero coronavirus cases among its residents and is located within a region which has had one of Italy's lowest levels of contagion.
Nationwide, Italy has begun to open borders to visitors after making significant progress in reducing the infection.