A London-based family have bought a
home for three euros in the Sicilian town of Sambuca and plan to
settle there and work remotely.
Sambuca is the latest ghost town in southern Italy to pull out
all the stops to attract new residents, starting with one-euro
home deals before its third round of sales, this time with
municipality-owned properties starting at just 3 euros, one of
which has been acquired by program manager Lindsey Fitzgerald,
36, her 44-year-old husband Robert Mosley, who works in
advertising, and their two children Mark and Maisy, aged four
and seven.
"Today I achieved a dream", Northern Ireland native Fitzgerald
said on Friday after signing the preliminary contract and being
handed over the keys to the property by Sambuca Mayor Giuseppe
Cacioppo.
The town owns the abandoned homes it has put on the market,
unlike other depopulated municipalities that struggle to get
permission from their absent owners.
"We like Sambuca", said the mother of two on Friday.
"We have been roaming the streets with my husband and children
since yesterday", she added, noting the family have visited
attractions including the ancient part of town, the local museum
and tasted typical dishes and the "excellent local wine".
"What a wonderful place, we are really happy about this choice",
she noted, explaining that when she first read about the deal on
a London paper "I thought it was a joke".
The 60-square-metre townhouse, which has two floors, was sold to
the couple who plans to move there and work remotely, like other
foreigners who have bought properties, said Sambuca Mayor
Giuseppe Cacioppo.
"We have become a multiethnic and multicultural town", he
stressed.
The mayor explained that "221 homes have been for the most part
bought by foreigners who moved here over the past years", after
Sambuca was named Italy's most beautiful village in 2016.
"They chose Sambuca as the place where they want to live", he
proudly said.
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