The houses offered at such a ridiculous price are in a deplorable condition. Carrying out planning and renovation of each of them will require at least £80,000 (about €100,000).
According to Lenta.ru, the offer 'that you cannot refuse' comes from the mayor of the town, Vittorio Sgarbi, an art historian by profession. The eccentric mayor is confident that selling houses at 'ridiculous' prices will help preserve the abandoned old quarter. After the 1968 earthquake, the ancient center of Salemi, some of whose buildings date back to the era of the Muslim invasion – they are already over 1000 years old – became uninhabitable.
According to Sgarbi, about 3,700 houses located in the very center belong to the municipality. Most of them are at risk of collapse. To start, he offered to give these houses for free to the residents of Salemi itself, who would agree to invest in reconstruction. Then Sgarbi decided to attract celebrities – the first offer to take a house was received by the chairman of the football club Inter Milan, Massimo Moratti.
“We are counting on people whose sense of beauty is as great as their financial resources,” says Sgarbi. “In exchange for a contribution of one euro and a commitment to complete the restoration process within two years, we will offer them one of the houses.”
_