Taranto in Puglia has launched a
one-euro-a-house regeneration scheme for its historic centre,
similar to others that have brought an influx of foreign buyers
into towns and villages across the Italian south.
Taranto council says it has already been inundated by offers
from countries including the USA and Brazil.
The council said "we are aiming to set up a residential and
touristic network via the sale of property at the symbolic price
of one euro to all those willing to take part in the overall
restoration project".
People, including VIPs, have been snapping up the one-euro
properties across the Mezzogiorno and doing them up to
regenerate town and village centres.
Italo-American actress Lorraine Bracco has shot a reality TV
show on the home she has bought and done up in a Sicilian town
that has become famous for selling 17 houses at just one euro in
the last couple of years.
Bracco, 67, of Goodfellas and Sopranos fame, made the show on
her new flat at Sambuca di Sicilia and it is going out on the
Discovery Channel.
"This place has made me fall in love with Sicily," said the
Hollywood star.
An Iranian and American couple of Washington business lawyers
also bought a house in the 'borgo dei borghi' two years ago and
have just finished doing it up.
Massoud Ahmadi and Shelley Spencer were among the first overseas
buyers at Sambuca, which has since become a magnet for VIPs from
all over the world.
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