Italy: Stunning city offers homes for just 85p

Taranto: The city of Taranto, located in the “heel” of Italy, is joining a number of Italian towns that are selling off 1€ homes in a bid to boost the size of its population.

While most of the places selling the heavily discounted homes so far have been tiny towns and villages in relatively remote areas, Taranto is the first city taking part in the stunt according to The Local.

City officials hopes that the cheap homes will improve Taranto’s image, which is frequently associated with a polluting steel plant within Italy. Specifically, the council wants people to move into the historic old town.

It had previously been home to some 40,000 people, although the population has now dwindled to less than 3,000, in part because the streets have been considered dangerous because they’re so old according to Corriere Della Sera.

The old town is situated on a strip of land located between the sea and the lagoon, and there are some stunning coastal views. Aside from sandy beaches, there’s also a nature reserve that’s home to flamingos. Nearby, there are also historical attractions including castles and cathedrals.

While Taranto is initially listing just three properties for sale, they want to ultimately attract some 25,000 people into the old city, and will list more homes once the first ones sell out.

Those who want to move into the new homes will have to fix them up and live there – so you can’t just restore the buildings and sell them for a profit.