You Could Have a Free House in Sicily

The town of Gangi in the Sicilian mountains is so desperate to reverse its population decline -- down from 16,000 in the 1950s to 7,000 today -- that it is giving away houses:

There is a catch, naturally. The properties in Gangi, a picturesque central town that straddles the Madonie Mountains, are generally dilapidated, some abandoned generations ago.

The structures give new meaning to the term “fixer-upper,” and anyone who acquires one of the properties has just four years to restore it and make it livable. . . .

Many family homes left behind were the so-called pagglialore typical of this town. The squat, tower-like structures housed donkeys on the ground floor with the paglia, or straw. Chickens and goats were kept on the middle floor. The farmer’s family lived on top.

But it's free, and the town is taking steps to reduce the notorious Italian paperwork that usually has to be filed for any renovation. Plus, what a place.