What town in Italy will pay you to live there?

Italy is at it again, trying to inspire the next generation to move there. This time around, the offer is coming from the beautiful region of Calabria in southern Italy, which is giving a handful of new residents cold hard cash totaling €28,000 (about $33,000) over the course of three years to move to one of several charming small villages.

It’s wild to think of a place offering that kind of money, but this scheme resembles other deep-pocketed programs in Italy, like the village of Santo Stefano di Sessanio, which offered people up to $52,500 in grants to move there and work. The village of Santa Fiora will help pay your rent if you move there and work remotely (and even more if you open a hotel or have a baby). Then there were the numerous villages luring new residents with houses ranging in price from 1 euro to $9,000.

With all of these schemes—and the latest one in Calabria—the intention is to draw a new population into small Italian villages that have been losing residents over the years.

“The goal is to boost the local economy and breathe new life into small-scale communities,” Gianluca Gallo, a regional councilor, told CNN. Or as Gianpietro Coppola, mayor of the Calabrian village of Altomonte, explained it: “We want this to be an experiment of social inclusion. Draw people to live in the region, enjoy the settings, spruce up unused town locations.”

Bova, a town in southern Italy that is paying people to move there.

But as you might expect, there are a few catches. In order to get the funds from Calabria, new residents must promise that they will launch a small business or take a specific professional job. And don’t think just anyone can move there. These villages want an infusion of youth, so it’s limited to new residents age 40 and younger. Plus, if you get accepted into the program, you must move within 90 days.

The “active residency income” project (as it is called) with be launching in the coming weeks, and the region has set aside more than €700,000 (about $829,000). In addition, the region might give one-off grants to help new residents launch hotels, restaurants, bars, stores and more.

So far, nine of Calabria’s villages have signed up to participate in the program, and they range from seaside to mountain locations. Here’s a quick look at five of the villages, and even if you don’t decide to move there, you can daydream about living la dolce vita.

Panoramic view of Aieta.

Aieta

This rural village is set in the mountains but close to the sea. Its streets are lined with Renaissance palazzos that feel like a slice of Tuscany.

The colorful buildings of Albidona.

Albidona

The beachside village stretches from the coast into the hills and is located near Pollino Natural Park, where you can go trekking and mountain biking. Bonus: Albidona also has 1 euro houses for sale.

The rooftops of Bova.

Bova

This partially abandoned antique town is set in an area called “Greek Calabria,” due to all the early settlers from ancient Greece who moved here. It’s not far from Sicily.

An old church in Caccuri, Italy.

Caccuri

Originally built to defend against pirate raids, Caccuri is topped with a majestic fortress. The town is surrounded by olive groves and is known for its excellent olive oil.

The town of Santa Severina in Calabria, Italy.

Santa Severina

Santa Severina is perched on a rocky cliff and has palm trees and river views. The village is famous for its delicious oranges.

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​In 2017 the town of Candela in the Puglia region of Southern Italy began offering up to €2,000 to entice people into moving to the village of less than 2,000 inhabitants. Several other Italian towns have since followed suit albeit for a limited time only. Those looking to move from the United States will still need to go through the visa application process. But come prepared because you’ll need to start some kind of business to help breathe life into these regions.

Get paid to move to Italy in these 4 places

1. Candela

​It began with the small town of Candela, known as “La Piccola Napoli,” which now has only 2,700 inhabitants. It offered a grant of €800 euros per person and up to €2,000 for couples with children in exchange for moving to this town. Newcomers were required to live inside Candela, rent a house and have a job that pays a salary of at least €7,500 a year to be approved for the offer. They were also eligible for tax credits on city waste disposal, bills and nurseries in the future.

2. Santo Stefano di Sessanio

Santo Stefano di Sessanio in the Abruzzo region was next and there were only 115 residents living there! Of these, 41 are over 65 years old and only 13 residents are under the age of 20. The offer for this town expired on November 15, 2020.

According to the municipality, the small town was in need of (in order of necessity):

1. Tour / Cultural guide;
2. Tourist informant;
3. Cleaner;
4. Generic maintenance technician;
5. Drugstore shop operator;
6. Selling local food products and their marketing.

If you’re looking to live in a small village then these opportunities are definitely worth considering as they are still valid even during the pandemic. For remote workers there’s even more reason to look into the next area: Molise.

3. Molise: the secret region of Italy

​Now, Molise, Italy is proposing a similar offer that actually began in September of 2020. The region, which lies east of Rome, is paying people €700 (about $855) a month for up to three calendar years (a maximum of $27,000 to move) to people who move to villages with a population of 2,000 residents or fewer and open a business there—the idea being that you’re doing something to enhance the small community. There are about 100 villages which are currently underpopulated as much of the population moves to larger cities to look for work.

Glance of the beautiful, yet under populated village of Molise

To be eligible for the move, applicants must be between 18 and 40 year old, and be a resident of Italy or the EU (or have the ability to become one, so moving from the US is still viable). Additionally, they need to be moving from a place that has more than 2,000 residents.

While you’re not restricted in the type of business you open, it is good to keep in mind that people generally leave the area for a reason. Molise itself is a mountainous region and generally doesn’t receive many tourists because there is very little to do and many people don’t consider it a desirable place to live.

That being said, there is an opportunity to take advantage of Molise’s having everything in one place, that is, the sea, lakes, forest, and mountains (with ample slopes for skiing).

Some of the towns making the offer are are: Fornelli, Pesche (built high in the hills), Riccia, Capracotta and Campitello Matese (for those who love skiing), Pietrabbondante and Sepino (a large area with lots of archeological sites), San Giovanni in Galdo, Castel San Vincenzo, and Duronia (an area popular for trekking). Each Italian village has something different to offer.

In addition, the local government will also give low-population towns €10,000 a month in order to help build infrastructure and promote cultural activities for the residents.

4. Vetto

Situated in the Emilia Romagna region, the small village of Vetto has some homes to be auctioned, through our own website Auctions2Italy, starting from €1. The town itself is keen on having newcomers and is willing to fasttrack the associated paperwork to get the projects

Conclusion

​It is likely that in the coming years other small towns and villages across Italy will try to implement a similar program to lure people. Even outside of Italy, countries like Greece are making similar offers but at lower rates, generally around 500 euros per month. Other Italian regions have tried selling homes for as little as €1 or giving castles away to those who are to refurbish and repurpose them. There’s definitely no shortage of innovation in what Italy is trying to do, and it is a good opportunity for anyone interested in moving to Italy.

Learn More About Immigrating These Italian Towns

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Reach out to Nicolò and request a consultation to discuss the home buying process in Italy and the financial incentives in making such investment.

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