Italy’s one euro homes scheme: What’s it really like to buy a bargain house in ‘paradise’?

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy “I’m leaving”, Rubia Daniels told her husband before her first-ever flight to Sicily, just three days after reading about €1 houses in Italy. open image in gallery Rubia Daniels in front of one of her three Italian properties How it works The Italy-wide “Case 1 Euro” initiative was launched in 2017 in a bid to reclaim derelict properties, as well as attract investment and residents to breathe new life into poorly populated rural areas. “I come from a small town, so it felt like I had gone back home,” says Rubia, who currently spends three to four months a year in Mussomeli and intends to retire to Sicily. Removing years of plaster in favour of the original limestone walls has been a process Rubia finds “fascinating”, and she’s excited that it’s “going to look like a little castle when you go inside, all stones and art.” The initial process of buying the houses was “very easy and friendly”, according to Ms Daniels; local estate agents are “very engaged and do the best they can to guide the buyer.