In a bid to revitalize a crumbling housing market, an “eccentric” Italian mayor has proposed to slash property in a Sicilian ghost town to a euro, the London Telegraph reports.
Salemi, the famed one-day capital of Italy in 1860, was virtually abandoned in 1968 when an earthquake all but destroyed the town.
But Vittorio Sgarbi, Salemi's mayor and Italy’s former culture minister, thinks selling off the historic ruins at a euro a piece will return the tiny town in the heart of Mafia country to its former glory.
In exchange for about $1.45, the new homeowner will agree to restore the property within two years, “while respecting their original characteristics,” Sgarbi told the newspaper.
''We have had a lot of interest. People are already booking up to come down here,” he said, including Genesis icon Peter Gabriel and Italian oil tycoon Massimo Moratti, according to the Telegraph.
''We're thinking of people who have the sensibility and economic resources to embark on this adventure," the mayor said.
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