Idyllic Italian village will PAY YOU up to £40,000 to live there and will only charge 'symbolic' rent
The aging Italian village of Santo Stefano di Sessanio is offering to pay potential residents up to £40,000 to move there in an attempt to reboot the economy.
The picturesque, hilltop town is located in the mountains of the Abruzzo region and currently has just 115 residents, 13 of whom are under the age of 20, while 41 are over 65.
The town council said it was 'essential' to do something to ensure 'a sustainable and lasting development' of the area, which lies within the beautiful Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga national park.
The offer includes a monthly wage of up to £7,200 for the first three years, working out at £21,000 in total.
The aging Italian village of Santo Stefano di Sessanio is offering to pay potential residents up to £40,000 to move there in an attempt to reboot the economy
Street view from Santo Stefano di Sessiano, Italy,which currently has just 115 residents, 13 of whom are under the age of 20
The town council said it was 'essential' to do something to ensure 'a sustainable and lasting development' of the area, which lies within the beautiful Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga national park
The money would be paid to new residents of the medieval stone village in monthly installments.
New residents would be provided with a property to live in that they would have to pay a yet-to-be determined sum of rent on, although it would only be a 'symbolic' amount.
Those looking to start a business there to help the local town will be further supplemented by the local council with a one-off grant of £18,000.
However the offer is only available to those who are a resident of Italy, or have the legal ability to become one, or EU citizens.
New residents would be provided with a property to live in that they would have to pay a yet-to-be determined sum of rent on
Those looking to start a business there to help the local town will be further supplemented by the local council with a one-off grant of £18,000
The small and charming medieval stone village, in Gran Sasso National Park, Abruzzo region, has listed some key skills that it's hoping to attract, including tourist guides, cleaners, pharmacists and those who can promote local food products
The town has listed some key skills that it's hoping to attract, including tourist guides, cleaners, pharmacists and those who can promote local food products.
Applicants must also be aged between 18 and 40 and remain living in the village for a minimum of five years.
Mayor Fabio Santavicca told CNN Travel that he wanted to 'enable the village to continue to live'.
Applicants must also be aged between 18 and 40 and remain living in the village for a minimum of five years
Village of Saint Stephen of Sessanio, Italy, which perches 1,250 meters above sea level within the beautiful Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga national park
Town of Santo Stefano di Sessanio in Abruzzo, Italy. Mayor Fabio Santavicca said that he wanted to 'enable the village to continue to live'
Santo Stefano di Sessanio, the medieval village in the Abruzzo mountains, is offering to pay potential residents up to £40,000 to move there in an attempt to reboot the economy
The scheme was launched on October 15 and so far around 1,500 people have applied.
The town council is aiming to keep numbers to around 10 new residents for now, or five couples.
'We want to ramp numbers up gradually, and we have to work with the housing that belongs to the authorities,' Santavicca said.
Applications to the scheme must be submitted by November 15.
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Santo Stefano di Sessanio is a medieval hill town in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of southern Italy, in the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park, in the highest region of the Apennines
The town council is aiming to keep numbers to around 10 new residents for now, or five couples
