12 Things About the Italian Town That Will Pay You to Move There

Presicce-Acquarica is the latest Italian town offering financial incentives for new residents 

The charming Italian town of Pressice-Acquarica, located in the southern Puglia region, or the bit that makes up Italy’s boot, is offering €30,000 (roughly $32,500) to move there. The financial incentive is part of an effort to combat population, a problem that is plaguing many of Italy’s small, rural towns. America Domani has compiled a brief list of information regarding the initiative, as well as some facts on the history of the town, by sourcing from Travel + Leisure, CNN and Forbes. Here is everything to know about the charming southern Italian town that will pay you to move there. 

12 things to know about this Italian town

1. Pressice-Acquarica is actually made up of two towns, Pressice and Acquarica, that merged in 2019.
2. The financial incentive program is called “Welcome to Presicce-Acquarica.”
3. To take advantage of this initiative, you will need to buy a house in the town and register it as your official address. 
4. Homes for sale were built before 1991 and begin at €25,000.
5. Around 30 percent of the town’s available housing is eligible for purchase
6. The program will cover 50 percent of the costs of purchasing a home, including any renovations that will add up to €30,000
7. The town is also paying parents €1,000 for every newborn baby registered in the town
8. The two towns together have some 9,000 inhabitants, but less than half live in the historic city center
9. Presicce traces its origins back to the Middle Ages and is built upon a network of 23 secret chambers and olive mills where farmers spent the harvesting months pressing olives in stone mills pushed by donkeys
10. The town is known for its palazzos and Baroque architecture. Just outside of the historic city center are miles of olive groves
11. Presicce-Acquarica is one of the latest Italian towns offering financial incentives to attract new residents.  In 2008, the mayor of Salemi, a city in Sicily, offered up historic homes for just €1.
12.  In the fall of 2021, The Washington Post reported that 34 municipalities across Italy had adopted the €1 house program.

Other Italian towns offering financial incentives

In 2021, the town of Santo Stefano di Sessanio, located in the Abruzzo region, was offering people up to $52,500 to move there and work. The village of Santa Fiora in Tuscany was offering to pay 50 percent of your rent if you moved there to work remotely. The town stated it would pay more if you moved there to open a business or have a child.