Italy has no shortage of grand plans to fight depopulation, but Trentino’s latest one seems to be working. Earlier this year the province opened a call for applications offering up to €100,000 to anyone willing to buy and restore a home in 32 small comuni at risk of being abandoned. The response was immediate: nearly 300 people applied in just six weeks, most of them under 45.
Now a second call is open until October. The terms are clear: restore an old house, live in it (or rent it at a modest rate), and stay at least ten years. The province will cover a good slice of the cost. Popular places like Rabbi, Mezzano and Novella already had queues of would-be residents in round one, while a few hardy souls even applied from abroad.
Trentino may be showing the rest of Italy that money, when tied to real commitments, can actually turn the tide.
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