--- title: This Town in Sicily, Italy is Giving Away Houses for Free description: The drastic move is designed to rejuvenate the town of Gangi, which has seen steep population declines canonical: https://time.com/3931395/free-holiday-vacation-home-villa-gangi-sicily-italy/ author: Alissa Greenberg article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-23T07:07:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:47:21.978Z og:title: This Is How to Own an Italian Vacation Home for Free og:description: But there's a catch (naturally). og:url: https://time.com/3931395/free-holiday-vacation-home-villa-gangi-sicily-italy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt42f9671dd6ad6b57/698857e1428a9ecbefccdd83/453687734.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: ITALY-SICILY-GANGI og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Is How to Own an Italian Vacation Home for Free twitter:description: But there's a catch (naturally). twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt42f9671dd6ad6b57/698857e1428a9ecbefccdd83/453687734.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Is How You Can Own an Italian Vacation Home for Free by [Alissa Greenberg](https://time.com/author/alissa-greenberg/) ## Alissa Greenberg Jun 23, 2015 7:07 AM UTC  A man walks in the center of the village of Gangi, 120 kms from Palermo, on August 14, 2014 A man walks in the center of the village of Gangi, 120 kms from Palermo, on August 14, 2014Tiziana Fabi—AFP/Getty Images by [Alissa Greenberg](https://time.com/author/alissa-greenberg/) ## Alissa Greenberg Jun 23, 2015 7:07 AM UTC In a move straight out of your European daydreams, the Sicilian mountain village of Gangi is [giving away for free](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/23/world/europe/sicilian-town-tells-outsiders-take-our-homes-please.html) or at a steep discount many of the houses that line its ancient stone streets. But there’s a catch, the New York _Times_ reports. Anyone who takes the 13th century village up on its offer of a house has only a few years to restore it, and the buildings are often long abandoned and in advanced states of decay, requiring extremely costly renovations in order to become habitable. Starting in the 1890s, Gangi experienced mass emigration, with much of its population leaving for the U.S. or Argentina. In the 1950s, the village had 16,000 residents, the town’s Mayor Giuseppe Ferrarello told the _Times_. Today the population is less than half that. The result was a glut of empty homes, many of them traditional structures that hosted farm animals on the bottom floors and the family on the top.Their history and charm has lured interest from as close as Palermo and as far as Abu Dhabi. There’s now a lengthy waiting list, allowing the village to choose applicants that will add something to the town. One Florence-based company, for example, acquired two free houses, and bought seven more. It plans on joining them together to make a hotel with historical character. It’s all for the love of the town and its future. “We want our children to stay here and not leave,” Ferrarello said. \[[_NYT_](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/23/world/europe/sicilian-town-tells-outsiders-take-our-homes-please.html)\] ### Boat Migrants Risk It All for New Life in Europe  Italian navy rescues asylum seekers traveling by boat off the coast of Africa on the Mediterranean, June 7, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris  A soldier using binoculars to spot boats carrying asylum seekers, June 2, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris  Refugees rescued off a boat and carried onto an Italian navy ship, June 7, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris  Italian navy rescues asylum seekers traveling by boat off the coast of Africa, June 7, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris  Italian soldier carries a Syrian child on a ship after the Italian navy rescued 443 Syrian asylum seekers off a fishing vessel, June 5, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris  African asylum seekers rescued off boats and taken aboard an Italy navy ship, June 8, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris  An empty dinghy with leftover lifesavers after the Italian navy rescued asylum seekers off the coast of Africa, June 7, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris  Syrian refugees sleeping on an Italian navy ship after being rescued from a fishing vessel carrying 443 Syrian asylum seekers, June 5, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris  Syrian refugees on an Italian navy ship after being rescued from a fishing vessel carrying 443 Syrian asylum seekers, June 5, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris  Syrian refugees sleeping on an Italian navy ship after being rescued from a fishing vessel carrying 443 Syrian asylum seekers, June 5, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris  African asylum seekers rescued off boats and taken aboard an Italy navy ship, June 8, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris  African refugees rescued by the Italian navy at night off a rubber dinghy, June 8, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris  African asylum seekers rescued off boats and taken aboard an Italian navy ship, June 8, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris  African asylum seekers on board a rescue craft dispatched from an Italian navy ship, June 7. Massimo Sestini—Polaris  Africa refugees on an Italian navy ship after being rescued at sea, June 8, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris  A mother and child on a Italian navy ship after being rescued from a fishing vessel carrying 443 Syrian asylum seekers, June 5, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris  Abandoned boats graveyard in Lampedusa, May 29, 2014. 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