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Tasting the World


ONE EURO HOME SELL-OFF HAS CREATED A 'LITTLE AMERICA' IN ITALY

Silvia Marchetti, CNN • Updated 4th May 2022
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1/12
Sambuca di Sicilia: This pretty Italian town was a pioneer in selling off homes
for just over a dollar to try to revive its fortunes. Many of the buyers are
said to be from North America.
Simone Padovani/Awakening/Alamy Stock Photo
Editor's Note — Sign up to CNN Travel's Unlocking Italy newsletter for insider
intel on Italy's best loved destinations and lesser-known regions to plan your
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suggestions, reading lists and recipes from Stanley Tucci.
(CNN) — There's a place on the Italian island of Sicily where you're
increasingly likely to hear an American accent wafting down its narrow streets
instead of the local language.
Sambuca di Sicilia, which gained a reputation as one of the first places in the
country to sell off old houses for next to nothing, is becoming something of an
Italian "Little America" after a wave of mostly Americans moved in to snap up
bargain properties and breathe new life into the town.
The Sicilian town began attracting overseas buyers in 2019 when it made CNN
headlines by selling off 16 dwellings for €1 each, or a little over a dollar.
Then again in July 2021 when it offered 10 more old buildings for a symbolic €2
each.

By the time the second application deadline closed last November, the town hall
was again flooded with hundreds of requests from interested buyers. Houses were
eventually auctioned to the highest bidder, for between €500 and €7,000 ($540
and $7,560).
Nearly all the new buyers are from North America, says deputy mayor Giuseppe
Cacioppo. Some bought their house site unseen while others defied Covid travel
restrictions and flew over to take a look.
"Let's say that almost 80% of people who wrote to us, applied and took part in
this second auction either come from the States or are American," Cacioppo says.
"There's a lot of interest from American buyers, and luckily it isn't waning.
The pandemic has been a challenge in pulling off this new sale, but we've been
lucky. All went well."
So what motivated these new buyers to take ownership of earthquake-damaged
properties in deepest Sicily? Surprisingly, many apparently didn't just want to
acquire a cut-price vacation retreat. They also want to help in reviving the
village's buzz and its economy.



'I'M GIVING IT AWAY'

David Waters says he'll use crowdsourcing to fund his renovations.
Courtesy David Waters
David Waters, an internet businessman from Idaho with a passion for Italian real
estate, plans to renovate his newly acquired Sicilian abodes through
crowdfunding -- and then give them away.
He bought two adjacent buildings by placing winning bids of €500 for each.
They're located in Sambuca's quietest corner, an ancient district where
abandoned houses line the streets.
Waters describes himself as a fan of Italy's one euro homes project and says he
wants to contribute to the revamp of dying, neglected communities.
"I wanted to create a way for the incoming investors to support smaller
communities like Sambuca of Sicily," he says. "I want to make it possible for
someone wishing to realize their dream of owning a piece of Italian history to
do just that."
Waters says his crowdfunding campaign will offer reward tiers, ranging from
merchandise to overnight stays in the finished home, for those who want to
support the local community.

"I purchased two properties in order to have the possibility of starting with a
small crowdfunding campaign and stretching to a higher campaign goal."
He says donations and services will be offered to improve Sambuca's park, roads
and infrastructure.
"We are going to involve the crowdfunding community as much as possible by
giving them the power to vote on what we offer within these community services,"
says Waters.
Crowdfunding members will take part in the renovation and also be given ticket
codes, representing a chance to win his Sambuca properties, based on what tier
they've chosen to participate in.
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1/19
Success story: Approximately 16 houses were snapped up as part of Sambuca di
Sicilia's 2019 €1 home scheme. Now the Italian town putting a new batch of
abandoned properties on the market.
Silvia Marchetti
Rewards will be fulfilled before the properties are awarded to the giveaway
winner, who will be selected randomly by computer.
Although his two-floor properties need a thorough makeover, Waters says he was
fascinated by their location and view, and wants to show people how such
dilapidated homes can be transformed into "something gorgeous and great."
One home is tiny, while the adjacent one is spread on 80 square meters and comes
with seven rooms.


THAT'S AMORE

The draw of Italian cuisine is what pushed Arizona-based chef Daniel Patino,
co-founder of a fresh food chain in the US, to take the big step forward and
grab a slice of la dolce vita.
Patino snapped up the only available building with three floors and a panoramic
terrace by placing a bid of only €2,500 -- and winning. He did it all remotely,
from the US. A local Sambuca lady contacted him through the town hall and sent
over a video and photos of the property, enough to give Patino an idea of what
he was bidding for.
"It's more than an adventure," he says. "Perhaps a gamble?
"I placed a bid sight unseen after looking at all properties online, but this
one in particular just spoke to me. It had an outside little rustic patio. I
could not see what the inside was like because it might have been dangerous to
walk in, so I guess it will need quite a lot of remodeling."
Patino doesn't yet know what exactly he plans to do with it -- whether to use it
just as a holiday home or also as an Italian branch of his food chain. For now,
he says, it's just a dream come true, and also a walk down memory lane.
"I've always loved Italy, when I traveled earlier in my career as a professional
chef, I discovered Italy's food culture and why food is so important to
Italians."
"I also learned what Italian lifestyle is. It's about living life, not going at
a hundred miles an hour like we do in the States. It's enjoying tranquility,
taking time to relax and not always be worried about work. It's simply the best
of all worlds."
Patino says his wife wasn't on board at first, telling him "you're crazy, it
can't be real."
Now that the property is his, he says he'll just see where it goes from here.
He might decide to start making some of his fresh salads in Sambuca and adapt
American-style healthy food and homemade dressings to antipasto alla Siciliana.


ARTISTS' SAFE HAVEN

Brigitte Dufour wants to turn two abandoned buildings into a refuge for artists.
Courtesy Brigitte Dufour
Brigitte Dufour, a French-Canadian lawyer and founder of a human rights
organization, bought two abandoned dwellings in the historical Saracen district
-- a small one for €1,000 and a larger home for €5,850. She placed both bids
without seeing either one.
"Just to be sure, I was aware the competition was big so I thought placing a bid
on two different houses would increase my chances of success," she says.
Dufour says she wants to help the local community by offering space to artists
from all over the world escaping crises.
Her smaller two-floor, 50-square-meter (about 540 square feet) property will
serve as an artist residence, she says. It will be a place where artists can
express themselves and "take a break from the difficult environment and pressure
in their home countries."
"They can stay for two weeks or a whole month, and be inspired by the beauty of
Sicily and Sambuca to create artworks that talk about gender issues, dignity,
human rights. They can benefit from using a nice safe place."
The property is in a good shape with a terrace providing an outside space with a
view of the surrounding green hills. Dufour likes the ancient majolica tile
painted floors which, she says, give the house a traditional feel. She even
found an old garlic braid dangling from a wall when she bought the place.
Dufour says the properties she purchased are in good shape.
Courtesy Brigitte Dufour
"It's quite better than what I expected, not a ruin," she says. "Everyone was
telling me 'oh but you'll get a ruin.' Instead, it has good walls, but there is
quite a bit of renovation to do."
Dufour plans an eco-friendly restyle and will be seeking advice from €1 house
buyers who have already remodeled their homes.
Her second property, measuring 80 square meters (about 860 square feet), will
serve as both private residence and extra space for incoming artists.
"I thought it was best to have more than one house to bring in more artists, but
then when I visited Sambuca after I won the bids I fell in love with the village
and thought I might keep this second home for me and my family.
"My children and my family in Canada, especially my brother and sister, are
really quite excited about this," says Dufour, who particularly loves how the
beach is a 25-minute drive from Sambuca.
If the artists' residence ends up needing more space she will use parts of the
second house for it, welcoming artists too if needed once it is renovated.
The second house has a huge open space which she says would be ideal for hosting
social events and exhibitions, with vaulted high ceilings and a great panorama.
Unlike the first floor, the second level needs extensive remodeling.
"I was unable to see it as it was dangerous to walk inside the rooms," she says.
"It wasn't clear how solid the floor is. But you can really feel the place."
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