BEYOND A NEW CONCEPT OF LIVING IN THE COUNTRYSIDE
Is it a genuine Phenomenon Or Fake News?
Where everything started
Like a meteor falling from the sky, I, along with many other Italians, found myself catapulted into a new way of experiencing the concept of owning a house at prices which, though laughably low, kindled a long-buried dream: that of owning property in a magical place which also has all the comforts of the city.
A while ago, I came across an article on Google about houses being sold for one euro, which trumpeted it as a bargain for any buyer. My first thought was: "It can't be true! Nobody sells a house at such a low price, even if it's a ruin". But when I read the article, it showed places in Italy where this phenomenon started.
My mind was bursting with questions, including 'How is it possible to buy a house for just one euro?' 'What's behind this phenomenon?' 'Is it really a new phenomenon or simply smoke and mirrors?' 'What do the locals and those buying them think?' and 'What are the pros and cons?'
A DEDICATED WEBSITE FOR ONE EURO HOME
Does it sound too good to be true? There are several details which require close attention. Firstly, the houses must be renovated after being put on sale.
A dedicated site to facilitate the sale of these properties - named caseauneuro - was also created. It is basically a list of places participating in the project and features a map and a complete list of villages and small towns across Italy, from the north to the south, where properties are for sale. One of these is Maenza. The site is aimed at Italian citizens and foreigners who dream of moving to or owning a holiday home in Italy. The trend recently sprung up in villages up and down the peninsular as part of an attempt to repopulate abandoned rural areas.
For some time, we have been trying to repopulate these areas and create reconstruction plans which municipalities can adopt without too much red tape. People are also tired of living the kind of hectic life that is now standard in big cities and prefer quiet to noise as well as a lower cost of living.
One of the reasons for seeking a calmer, more welcoming place to flee to after an exhausting week is to escape from the country's chaotic cities. Italians still love spending time with their families, especially during the weekend, when they meet for long lunches while they discuss the week they've just finished, and what better place to do that than away from the metropolis? Sometimes you want to invest in happiness with the people dearest to you, both for the sake of your finances and your old age.
EXPLORING MAENZA
Saturated with culture and history and just an hour and a half away from Rome, Maenza is one of these small towns. The local area is known not only for its beautiful hills and the green valleys that surround it, where delicious produce is grown: during the second world war, the Germans headquartered there because of the bread produced in the area and Maenza's castle, which allowed for surveillance of the valley below. When the Allies landed on the beach at Anzio, just a few miles distant, they bombed and captured it. It is known mainly for being the first municipality to sell off houses for one euro, which was why it caught my attention.
Now It Is Famous for Cheap Houses - Why?
There have already been initiatives in other Italian villages that aim to attract new inhabitants and foster the regeneration of the historic centre.
The small town of Maenza is in the Lepini Mountains, in the province of Latina. Maenza is the last town in the Lazio region, located in the hills at an altitude of 300 meters and offers a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains. It is not isolated, though: Sermoneta and Priverno are nearby, and the sea is only 30 minutes away!
There's no longer any need to request a mortgage if you can buy your dream house in a remote village. All over Italy, increasing numbers of homes are for sale for the symbolic price of one euro to stop the depopulation of small, isolated towns and encourage new inhabitants to choose to live there. Bringing these properties back to life requires a lot of restoration work. The advantage exists for the seller and buyer, who pay nothing for waste collection, municipal property taxes, or an asset they no longer use. The town's historic centre contains numerous private houses which have been uninhabited for years. Their owners abandoned them for various reasons and have agreed to sell them at a symbolic price. The project will bring in new families, tourist accommodations and shops or craft shops. On the municipality's website, houses can be bid for on the "Un patto per il centro storico" page.
People who won the bid
People who won the bid
The first report dating back to 23.11.2021, was the first to contain a list of those who had won, who are highlighted. Based on this document, which was issued publicly by the municipality of Maenza, we can see how many houses had been awarded for one euro.
The interview with the Mayor of Maenza
With the COVID-19 pandemic, things ground to a halt, and as a result, renovation work was temporarily put on hold pending the Italian government's announcement that the pandemic was over.
Younger people, why do they live in this place?
One of the main reasons for the decline of these villages and small towns is the tendency of younger people to abandon them and move to the City for study or work, leaving their hometowns with an ageing population. Therefore, they need increased generational turnover, and initiatives such as selling houses for one euro are proving successful ways to reverse the trend. Another recent factor to consider is the Covid-19 pandemic, which has forced many to return to their hometowns, along with other factors, including a desire to live in larger spaces, be in closer contact with nature, and work from home.
What Do the Locals Think? Does It Change Their Life In Any Way? The town's inhabitants are thrilled that new people are coming to live in the area they have cherished for so long and are happy to share with others. Each week, the municipality offers a range of initiatives made possible by the repopulation the project has triggered, and there is an atmosphere of possibility and a desire for new ideas. Everyone I met in the main square where the locals meet told me they think the initiative is positive.
Marcolino, pseudonym, said he loved having new neighbours to spend time with and that they often offered to do the shopping for him since he's an older man.
Wearing farmer's trousers and a red check shirt, the wrinkles on his face speaking of a lifetime spent working in the fields, he now sits in the square with his friends from dawn to dusk, drinking coffee. This wave of newly-arrived young people seems to have given him a new lease on life, and he is involved both by them and by the municipality in activities that keep him active. Thus, A new community has been born through simple but supportive initiatives with the help of the new residents who bought houses for one euro. They treat Marcolino and the others of his generation as if they were village elders, the respect and affection that his section of Italian society once enjoyed are now back in vogue among the young people who have moved here.
How does the purchase work?
The properties' owners sell them at the price of 1 euro. The municipal administration promotes the project and guarantees the regularity of the sale, even if it is a private sale among citizens.
House bought at one euro
House bought at one euro
The critical conditions of the buyer:
-provide for restructuring and revaluation of the property within a period established by the City (usually one year after purchase);
-to pay the notarial fees for registration, vault and stacking.
-Start work within the defined time frame
- take out a guarantee policy of a figure that usually goes between 1,000 and 5,000 euros, which will expire at the end of the work.
Talking with whom purchased the building
He was the first to win the house for one euro.
A thousand questions come to mind, like: How did you know the houses for one euro; why did you decide to go and live in Maenza?; how did you find the purchase was as you imagined, or were you disappointed? Did you do any work, and did you intend to buy the house for investment or personal use? He wants to show me, in particular, some photos of the infrastructure before or after the details of the works.
Being very reserved and not keen on appearing in public or speaking much about the house he bought, he underlined that the renovation project is keeping him going and that he would like to do it privately without any public exposure.
This news was disappointing because it meant it was impossible to ask him any questions.
Nothing and nobody could stop me from continuing this journey towards a truth that now more than ever seemed shrouded in mystery: the fact that the people who had bought the houses for one euro were no longer inclined to talk about it. Something about the situation seemed strange and forced me to make another visit to the town to find an explanation for the reluctance of the homeowners to discuss their decision, even though the locals were enthusiastic.
Walking between an alley and the other, I went out on the village's main square, and here I met two amiable and lovely ladies who had very clear the issue of selling houses for a euro. They were comfortably sitting on a bench; Laura and Maria were chatting about how good it was on that sunny day. So I approached them and kindly asked her what they thought about this new reality. They were thrilled because they saw many more people newcomer who was repopulating the historic centre of the country and creating a community thanks to them now came back in vogue both the original local festivals but also new as, for example, the tasting of wine and local food held between May 19 and May 21. It started from May until October, and thanks to this desire, the country created a new community.
The Other Side Of The Coin
The Municipality of Maenza
The Municipality of Maenza
Not all of the same idea
Thanks to rumours circulated in Maenza, in particular by a person working in the municipality who wishes to remain anonymous and who disagrees with the mayor's plan, I learned the intriguing fact that many people no longer want to buy houses for one euro because of the restrictions involved, including fines if all renovation work on the houses is not finished within three years. Buyers, therefore, prefer to buy homes at relatively low prices of between €30,000 and €40,000, which they can renovate and then either move into themselves or use for businesses like B-and-Bs in the centre of the town or even sell on at a profit.
The Hostel
The Hostel
During the restoration
During the restoration
Working in progress
As the photo shows, wherever you go in the town, there is a tangible mood of renewal – a desire to start living again or to dive into a new adventure. Mimma moved here to write a new page of her life. She originally came here as a child with her grandparents because they lived in the house she has now decided to buy and renovate in order to reconnect with her roots and bask in her happy childhood memories.
Through her bright and radiant eyes, I could see all the love she has for this lovely place full of history and happy summers spent walking along the local roads with her friends from the time who are still here living with their families and whose grandchildren have also been drawn to raise their families here.
The restoration of her house
The restoration of her house
Photo by Brad Helmink on Unsplash
Photo by Brad Helmink on Unsplash
The foreigners
On one of the many boiling hot days, I found myself talking about the people who wanted to buy houses in Maenza to Giulia, who volunteered that the locals prefer to give preference to people who have some kinship, even second or third generation, with the town. It is not that they dislike foreigners or outsiders, but they prefer those who have some emotional ties with the place, even if they do not say so openly. Houses are only sold in the event of no one having requested them, and they prefer to keep them out of the hands of foreigners. While telling me this, she was afraid someone might overhear, showing how there is still a certain distrust of the 'other' – i.e. foreigners.
Photo by Nicholas Ng on Unsplash
Photo by Nicholas Ng on Unsplash
The Italian American Dream
At this point of our research into and study of the houses for sale for one euro, it is clear that hidden behind the sale of homes for one euro, there is also the sale of private dwellings for small sums to realise a lifelong dream. In this case, we can speak of two parallel realities: sales made through the municipality for houses for one euro and other sales between private individuals that do not include the one-euro homes but are relatively simple dwellings which can be easily renovated, often by and for local people. Therefore, there is a clash between a municipal and private reality, sometimes pursuing the same end goal. An example of a private sale is that shown below, where an American decided to buy a plot of land and create an authentic Texan ranch with horses and a farm producing everything from cheese to homemade jams to cheesecakes, recreating a corner of paradise.
Reaching the ranch
Reaching the ranch
The place for the horses
The place for the horses
The house
The house
We then used local labour.
Giovanni M. & his newly wife
Giovanni is another character with the face of someone who has lived a life full of work and sacrifice. What was the ruin he purchased like, and what is it like now after the renovation work?
It is a structure that had been abandoned for many years, located near the main street and organized on two floors. Included was a barn or cellar, in my case, that had been used a lot in past centuries, often for storing animal feed. On the first floor was a huge living room which we divided up to obtain a bathroom, a kitchen and the main bedroom and another bedroom. We transformed the cellar into a hobby room. The work involved the roof and all the interiors. A complete renovation of the old building, of which nothing remains but the supporting structures.
We obtained wonderful results, with an arch that joins one building to the other and an entrance typical of this type of construction. I am a surveyor, and my wife still works as a teacher in Rome. We both realized that our lives had become too hectic, and we couldn't even talk or eat together because we were always too tired. We couldn't go on like that and we had to make a change, so we decided to invest our savings in something that would make us happy and allow us to spend more time together. We didn't have a life of our own. We've been reborn since we came here. On the weekend, we take long walks, and we enjoy every second of our life as a couple. So even if they asked me now to go back, I wouldn't, and the best news is that my wife, who couldn't have children, is now pregnant, and we are delighted!
Who Created the Repopulation Project?
On December 20 2021, at 11.30 am, the Minister of Culture (MIC), Dario Franceschini, presented to the press a call for projects for the "Borghi" program funded with a billion euros from the National Plan.
The meeting was broadcast on Zoom (accreditistampa@beniculturali.it) and sponsored by the institutional site of the Minister of Culture.
"We are managing a grand operation of cultural and social importance. There has been talk for many years in our country about the recovery of inland areas and villages, but there have been no large-scale initiatives to achieve this goal. The new technologies make it possible to turn places that until a few years ago were unable to attract either people or employment into places of work. The National Plan for Small Towns adopts this approach with significant resources of one billion euros to overcome the challenge of repopulation".
https://cultura.gov.it/comunicato/21911
The project's main aim was not simply the economic one of renovating houses but also sociocultural, aiming to renew and provide depopulated places with new technologies. It planned to create a community with all its comforts, including museums, social centres, schools, residences for older people, and pharmacies, thereby boosting small and medium industries. Behind the project was the idea of 360-degree renewal.
The Numbers:
One billion for the relaunch of 250 villages and small towns, with projects to be submitted by March 15.
Two lines of action with 420 million euros to 21 villages identified by regions and autonomous provinces and 580 million euros to at least 229 villages and small towns selected through public announcements addressed to the municipalities.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Buying a House for One Euro?
As we have seen, the project has many positive and negative sides.
The positives include the low cost of purchases and the repopulation of young people, who are increasingly encouraged to buy due to their desire for a more pleasant life.
The disadvantages are that renovation work must be completed within three years. The houses cannot be sold immediately, and there are legal constraints and expenses, including that of the notary and land registry.
During the research
During the research
What it is really happening
I returned to the mayor, telling him I had discovered that alongside the houses being sold for one euro, about which the locals were enthusiastic, due to the many restrictions like the required timeframe for renovation work, some preferred to buy houses in the historic centre of Maenza not at the symbolic price but in any case at a low cost to renovate them. I wanted to know what he thought to clarify an idea that had formed in my mind while I had been studying the phenomenon, namely that we were not looking at an explosive phenomenon but rather at a more contained event which opened the way for new ways of purchasing houses, not all of which were priced at one euro. In other words, we are not facing an epochal turning point but a simple planning initiative that attracts buyers, not all of whom end up in the town and who often continue looking elsewhere.
There are two parallel realities, one institutional and one private. The institutional reality promotes this phenomenon of houses being offered for one euro, but as we have seen, at least so far, the project has not been particularly successful. In the other reality, meanwhile, are the individuals who sell each other properties not for one euro but in any case with financial advantages which include reduced costs and inexpensive renovation work with no obligatory deadline, leaving them much freer to create the home they want.
This being the case, we cannot speak about a genuinely successful phenomenon but rather about something much more limited at a local level, meaning that our view of it must be scaled down. It may have started as a great and daring idea but, in the end, did not achieve the expected results. Paradoxically, far more houses have been sold by individuals at a reduced cost. The reason for this failure can be found in an overestimation of the phenomenon with an investment in time and money by institutions that could not change those aspects of the project, which proved infeasible, for example, the overly rigid timeframe for renovation work. The realization of the project came up against institutional reality and thus against a limit that led to a defeat for the institutions themselves.
